Omar-Rashon Borja's 2024 Week Nine Bowl Projections

Celebration Bowl, December 14th, Atlanta, GA; 12 PM ET on ABC (SWAC Champ vs. MEAC Champ):

Jackson State Vs NC Central

Jackson State has the upper hand in the SWAC East after its electric comeback against Florida A&M last week.

Camellia Bowl, December 14th, Montgomery, Alabama; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Sun Belt vs MAC):

Louisiana vs. Central Michigan

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, December 17th, Frisco, TX; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Group B of Five vs Group of Five):

Arkansas State vs. San Diego State

Boca Raton Bowl, December 18th, Boca Raton, FL; 5:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):

Western Michigan vs. FAU

LA Bowl, December 18th, Los Angeles, CA; 9:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Former PAC-12 member):

UNLV vs. Arizona State

I project Boise State to get into the Playoff with wins against Washington State and Oregon State and a narrow loss to projected Playoff team Oregon. This sends league runner up UNLV to the LA Bowl.

New Orleans Bowl, December 19th, New Orleans, LA; 7 PM ET on ESPN (Conference USA vs. Sun Belt):

Sam Houston vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Let’s have some fun here. Louisiana-Monroe has never appeared in the New Orleans Bowl despite 24 years as a member of the Sun Belt. Louisiana-Monroe is off to a 3-1 start with great defense and a solid run game. The Warhawks could end up taking the New Orleans Bowl bid over Louisiana who not only appeared in the game last year, but have played in the bowl seven times. I think the Ragin’ Cajuns will be fine not playing in New Orleans this year.

Cure Bowl, December 20th, Orlando, FL; 12 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):

Northern Illinois vs. Marshall

Former MAC rivals clash in this one. Marshall was a member of the MAC from 1997 to 2004 and met the Rockets in the 1997, 1998, and 2002 MAC Championship games.

Gasparilla Bowl, December 20th, Tampa FL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC):

South Florida vs. Old Dominion

Myrtle Beach Bowl, December 23rd, Conway, SC; 11:00 AM on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):

Coastal Carolina vs. Miami (OH)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, December 23rd, Boise, ID; 2:30 PM on ESPN (Sun Belt vs. MAC):

Fresno State vs. UConn

Hawaii Bowl, December 24th, Honolulu, HI; 8:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Conference USA):

Colorado State vs. Jacksonville State

Detroit Bowl, December 26th, Detroit, MI; 2:00 PM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Big Ten):

Ohio vs. Michigan State

The Bobcats play their first bowl against a Power Five opponent in this one.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl, December 26th, Phoenix, AZ; 5:30 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs. Big Ten):

San Jose State vs. Iowa

68 Ventures Bowl, December 26th, Mobile, AL; 9 PM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Sun Belt):

Georgia Southern vs. Toledo

Armed Forces Bowl, December 27th, Fort Worth, TX; 12 PM ET or 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs. Group of Five):

Tulane vs. Washington State

Birmingham Bowl, December 27th, Birmingham AL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC/SEC):

Liberty vs. James Madison

Liberty Bowl, December 27th, Memphis, TN; 7:00 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs SEC):

Cincinnati vs. South Carolina

Las Vegas Bowl, December 27th, Las Vegas, NV; 10:30 PM ET on ESPN (Former Pac-12 Member vs. SEC):

Washington vs. Texas A&M

Fenway Bowl, December 28th, Boston, MA; 11:00 AM ET on ESPN (AAC vs. ACC):

Syracuse vs. Memphis

Pinstripe Bowl, December 28th, Bronx, NY; 12:00 PM ET on ABC (Big Ten vs. ACC):

Wisconsin vs. Pitt

New Mexico Bowl, December 28th, Albuquerque, NM; 2:15 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Group of Five/at-large):

North Texas vs. Texas State

Pop Tarts Bowl, December 28th, Orlando, FL; 3:30 PM ET on ABC (Big 12 vs. ACC):

Iowa State vs. Duke

Arizona Bowl, December 28th, Tucson, AZ; 4:30 PM ET on The CW (MAC vs. Mountain West):

Buffalo vs. Nevada

Military Bowl, December 28th, Annapolis, MD; 5:45 PM on ESPN (American vs. AAC):

Navy vs. NC State

Alamo Bowl, December 28th, San Antonio, TX; 7:30 PM ET on ABC (Big 12 vs. Former PAC-12 member):

Kansas State vs USC

This will be USC’s first appearance in the Alamo Bowl despite the Alamo Bowl being tied to the PAC-12 since 2010.

Independence Bowl, December 28th, Shreveport, LA; 9:15 PM ET on ESPN (Former PAC-12 member vs. Army):

Army vs. Utah

Music City Bowl, December 30th, Nashville, TN; 2:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):

Vanderbilt vs. Michigan

Reliaquest Bowl, December 31st, Tampa, FL: 12:00 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):

Nebraska vs. Ole Miss

Sun Bowl, December 31st, El Paso, TX; 2:00 PM ET on CBS (ACC vs. Former PAC-12 member):

Louisville vs. Arizona

Citrus Bowl, December 31st, Orlando, FL; 3:00 PM on ABC (Big Ten vs. SEC):

Alabama vs. Illinois

These two schools have just one meeting, the 1982 Liberty Bowl, Bear Bryant’s final game as coach. A chance at Alabama for just the third time since 1995 and the first time since 2019 is too good to pass up.

How does Illinois end up here instead of Michigan? Big Ten bowl procedures prevent Michigan from jumping Illinois unless there is a one-game gap in conference records between them.

Texas Bowl, December 31st, Houston, TX; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big 12):

Arkansas vs. Texas Tech

Gator Bowl, January 2nd, Jacksonville, FL; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. SEC):

Georgia Tech vs. Missouri

First Responder Bowl, January 3rd, Dallas, TX; 4:00 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. at-large):

Virginia Tech vs. Oregon State

Duke’s Mayo Bowl, January 3rd, Charlotte, NC; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. Big Ten):

Notre Dame vs. Rutgers

Buckle up for this explanation. Last year, the ACC directed its tier one bowls (Pop Tarts, Holiday, and Gator) to pass on Notre Dame. This, they landed in the Tier Two Sun Bowl. I project Notre Dame finishes 10-2 or 9-3 with the most likely losses coming against USC and Louisville. If the ACC pushes Notre Dame out of the tier 1 bowls again, the only logical destination is the Mayo Bowl since they already play Army at Yankee Stadium this year.

Bahamas Bowl, January 4th, Nassau, Bahamas; 11:00 AM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Conference USA):

Eastern Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

Holiday Bowl, December 27th, 8 PM ET, Fox, San Diego, CA; (ACC vs. PAC-12):

Colorado vs. SMU

Washington State will likely have a better record than Colorado. However, due to the crazy PAC-12 bowl selection process involving its legacy members, conference standings or records play no role in where teams go. The Holiday Bowl has the second choice of eligible former Pac-12 schools. Colorado and the media attention that comes with them are arguably the second-most desirable non-playoff team out of the pool of former Pac-12 members. Thus, the Buffaloes look bound for San Diego.

College Football Playoff

First Round Matchup #1:

12-seed Boise State vs. 5-seed Texas

First Round Matchup #2:

11-seed Kansas State vs. 6-seed Ohio State

First Round Matchup #3:

10-seed LSU vs. 7-seed Penn State

First Round Matchup #4:

9-seed Clemson vs. 8-seed Indiana

Quarterfinal #1: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ, December 31st; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN

4-seed BYU vs. 5-seed Texas

Quarterfinal #2: Peach Bowl, Atlanta, GA, January 1st; 1:00 PM ET on ESPN

2-seed Georgia vs. 7-seed Penn State

Quarterfinal #3: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, January 1st; 5:00 PM ET on ESPN

1-seed Oregon vs. 8-seed Indiana

Quarterfinal #4: Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA, January 1st; 8:30 PM ET on ESPN

3-seed Miami vs. 6-seed Ohio State

Semifinal #1: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL; January 9th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN

1-seed Oregon vs. 5-seed Texas

Semifinal #2: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX, January 10th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN

6-seed Ohio State vs. 2-seed Georgia

National Championship Game, Atlanta, GA; January 20th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN

1-seed Oregon Vs 2-seed Georgia