Written By
Written By
Written By
Written By
Celebration Bowl, December 14th, Atlanta, GA; 12 PM ET on ABC (SWAC Champ vs. MEAC Champ):
Florida A&M Vs NC Central
Camellia Bowl, December 14th, Montgomery, Alabama; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Sun Belt vs MAC):
South Alabama vs. Western Michigan
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, December 17th, Frisco, TX; 9 PM ET on ESPN (Group B of Five vs Group of Five):
Central Michigan vs. Louisiana
Boca Raton Bowl, December 18th, Boca Raton, FL; 5:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. Group of Five):
App State vs. Georgia Tech
For the second straight year, an ACC team will play in the Boca Raton Bowl. I hardly think anyone saw this coming at the onset of this bowl cycle. But other ESPN “made for TV” matchups and recent bowl appearances by other Group of Five teams push this matchup to Boca Raton.
LA Bowl, December 18th, Los Angeles, CA; 9:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Former PAC-12 member):
San Jose State vs. Cal
San Jose State plays its first Power Four bowl opponent in this projection due to UNLV making the playoff.
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):
Toledo vs. Georgia State
Gasparilla Bowl, December 20th, Tampa FL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC):
South Florida vs. Pitt
USF faces a former Big East rival for the second year in a row during bowl season. The two schools have not met since Pitt left the Big East after the 2012 season. The Panthers have a 7-3 advantage in the series.
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):
Colorado State vs. Buffalo
Hawaii Bowl, December 24th, Honolulu, HI; 8:00 PM ET on ESPN (Mountain West vs. Conference USA):
Oregon State vs. Jacksonville State
With only six bowls to go around for the 12 former PAC-12 members, Oregon State looks like the odd team out. So, I have the Mountain West forfeiting its Hawaii Bowl spot to Oregon State due to the distance from the islands and the opponent coming from C-USA.
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):
Iowa State vs. Maryland
68 Ventures Bowl, December 26th, Mobile, AL; 9 PM ET on ESPN (MAC vs. Sun Belt):
Georgia Southern vs. UConn
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. Texas Tech
Tulane gets a Power Four matchup outside of the AAC’s two confirmed Power Four bowl games.
Birmingham Bowl, December 27th, Birmingham AL; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. ACC/SEC):
Liberty vs. James Madison
I have moved this Commonwealth Clash to the Magic City due to my new projection for the New Orleans Bowl. I think James Madison drops a game in the Sun Belt gauntlet, pushing them outside the playoff. Awaiting them, is a Liberty squad with one of the weakest resumes in the c
Liberty Bowl, December 27th, Memphis, TN; 7:00 PM ET on ESPN (Big 12 vs SEC):
UCF vs. Kentucky
A throwback to UCF’s Conference USA days, when they played in the Liberty Bowl twice as the conference’s champions in 2007 and 2010.
Las Vegas Bowl, December 27th, Las Vegas, NV; 10:30 PM ET on ESPN (Former Pac-12 Member vs. SEC):
Washington vs. Tennessee
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):
Indiana vs. Boston College
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):
BYU vs. Louisville
Arizona Bowl, December 28th, Tucson, AZ; 4:30 PM ET on The CW (MAC vs. Mountain West):
Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Military Bowl, December 28th, Annapolis, MD; 5:45 PM on ESPN (American vs. AAC):
Navy vs. North Carolina
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. Washington State
Music City Bowl, December 30th, Nashville, TN; 2:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):
Arkansas vs. Illinois
Reliaquest Bowl, December 31st, Tampa, FL: 12:00 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big Ten):
Iowa vs. Oklahoma
Sun Bowl, December 31st, El Paso, TX; 2:00 PM ET on CBS (ACC vs. Former PAC-12 member):
SMU vs. Arizona
SMU would surprisingly be the first team from Texas to play in the Sun Bowl since TCU in 1998.
Citrus Bowl, December 31st, Orlando, FL; 3:00 PM on ABC (Big Ten vs. SEC):
LSU vs. Nebraska
These two have faced off in bowls four different times. The last meeting overall was in the 1987 Sugar Bowl. Nebraska won 30-15 to stretch their advantage to 5-0-1 against the Tigers.
Texas Bowl, December 31st, Houston, TX; 3:30 PM ET on ESPN (SEC vs. Big 12):
Oklahoma State vs. Vanderbilt
Gator Bowl, January 2nd, Jacksonville, FL; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (ACC vs. SEC):
Virginia Tech vs.Auburn
First Responder Bowl, January 3rd, Dallas, TX; 4:00 PM ET on ESPN (Group of Five vs. at-large):
Boise State vs. Northern Illinois
Rose Bowl-esque matchup in Dallas anybody? Northern Illinois’ loss removes them from the Group of Five Playoff race lead. Boise State could re-emerge in the lead with wins over Washington State and Oregon State after a close loss to Oregon. For now, I have the powers at ESPN creating a 2015 Poinsettia Bowl rematch in Dallas. Boise State had one of the most dominant bowl performances ever the last time these two schools met, holding NIU to 38 yards of offense in a 55-7 win.
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-one 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. Clemson
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 UNLV vs. 5-seed Texas
What a wild week four for the Group of Five. Buffalo shockingly upset NIU, taking the Huskies out of the lead for the Group of Five’s Playoff spot. UNLV takes the 12-seed with wins over Houston and Kansas. The Rebels can really make their resume the best in the Group of Five with wins over Syracuse and Oregon State
First Round Matchup #2: 11-seed Michigan vs. 6-seed Georgia
First Round Matchup #3: 10-seed Oregon vs. 7-seed Penn State
First Round Matchup #4: 9-seed Tennessee vs. 8-seed Missouri
Quarterfinal #1: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ, December 31st; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
4-seed Utah vs. 5-seed Texas
Quarterfinal #2: Peach Bowl, Atlanta, GA, January 1st; 1:00 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Alabama vs. 10-seed Oregon
Quarterfinal #3: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, January 1st; 5:00 PM ET on ESPN
2-seed Ohio State vs. 8-seed Missouri
Quarterfinal #4: Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA, January 1st; 8:30 PM ET on ESPN
3-seed Miami vs. 6-seed Georgia
Semifinal #1: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL; January 9th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Alabama vs. 5-seed Texas
Semifinal #2: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX, January 10th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
6-seed Alabama vs. 2-seed Ohio State
National Championship Game, Atlanta, GA; January 20th; 7:30 PM ET on ESPN
1-seed Alabama Vs 2-seed Ohio State
