College Football Bowl Projections Through Week 9
Tuesday night saw the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee release its first Top 25 rankings. Tennessee led the pack at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, and Michigan. With the initial rankings being released, it seems like a good time to project teams’ postseason bowl destinations.
Some notes before the projections: all rankings here are from the initial CFP committee rankings. Teams are selected based on their records through Week 9, with any team over .500 eligible for one of 82 slots in 41 bowl games. With 83 ‘eligible’ teams, one team was left out of the projections (sorry, Marshall).
Only games involving FBS teams are shown here (hence no prediction for the Celebration Bowl) and the national championship is not being projected. Onto the projections:
New Year’s Six Bowls
CFP Semifinal / Peach Bowl (Dec. 31, Atlanta): No. 4 Clemson versus No. 1 Tennessee
CFP Semifinal / Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31, Glendale, Ariz.): No. 3 Georgia versus No. 2 Ohio State
Orange Bowl (Dec. 30, Miami Gardens, Fla.): No. 10 LSU versus No. 17 North Carolina
Sugar Bowl (Dec. 31, New Orleans): No. 7 TCU versus No. 6 Alabama
Cotton Bowl Classic (Jan. 2, Arlington, Texas): No. 19 Tulane versus No. 9 USC
Rose Bowl Game (Jan. 2, Pasadena, Calif.): No. 5 Michigan versus No. 8 Oregon
Among these matchups, the Fiesta Bowl definitely stands out, as Georgia and Ohio State would meet for just the second time. In addition, the Rose Bowl Game sees teams with contrasting offenses collide: run-heavy Michigan against pass-focused Oregon. Other storylines include four SEC teams in the New Year’s Six and Tulane representing the Group of Five.
Remaining Bowls: From Bahamas to Citrus
Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 16, Nassau, Bahamas): Ball State versus Florida International
Cure Bowl (Dec. 16, Orlando, Fla.): Rice versus Southern Miss
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 17, Boston): East Carolina versus Duke
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 17, Albuquerque, N.M.): North Texas versus Air Force
LA Bowl (Dec. 17, Inglewood, Calif.): Boise State versus Washington State
LendingTree Bowl (Dec. 17, Mobile, Ala.): Ohio versus Appalachian State
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 17, Las Vegas): Kentucky versus No. 14 Utah
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 17, Frisco, Texas): South Alabama versus San Jose State
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 19, Conway, S.C.): Middle Tennessee versus Louisiana
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 20, Boise, Idaho): Eastern Michigan versus Fresno State
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 20, Boca Raton, Fla.): Coastal Carolina versus Liberty
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 21, New Orleans): UTSA versus Troy
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22, Fort Worth, Texas): Cincinnati versus Kansas
Independence Bowl (Dec. 23, Shreveport, La.): SMU versus San Diego State
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 23, Tampa, Fla.): Memphis versus UAB
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24, Honolulu): Western Kentucky versus UNLV
Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 26, Detroit): Toledo versus Iowa
Camellia Bowl (Dec. 27, Montgomery, Ala.): Bowling Green versus Georgia Southern
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27, Birmingham, Ala.): No. 25 UCF versus Pittsburgh
First Responder Bowl (Dec. 27, Dallas): Rutgers versus Texas Tech
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Dec. 27, Phoenix): Wisconsin versus Baylor
Military Bowl (Dec. 28, Annapolis, Md.): Houston versus Louisville
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28, Memphis, Tenn.): Oklahoma versus Missouri
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 28, San Diego): No. 22 North Carolina State versus No. 23 Oregon State
Texas Bowl (Dec. 28, Houston): No. 24 Texas versus Arkansas
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 29, New York): Florida State versus Minnesota
Cheez-It Bowl (Dec. 29, Orlando, Fla.): No. 21 Wake Forest versus No. 18 Oklahoma State
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 29, San Antonio): No. 13 Kansas State versus No. 12 UCLA
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 30, Charlotte, N.C.): No. 16 Illinois versus No. 20 Syracuse
Sun Bowl (Dec. 30, El Paso, Texas): Notre Dame versus Washington
Gator Bowl (Dec. 30, Jacksonville, Fla.): Miami-FL versus Florida
Arizona Bowl (Dec. 30, Tucson, Ariz.): Buffalo versus Wyoming
Music City Bowl (Dec. 31, Nashville, Tenn.): Maryland versus Mississippi State
ReliaQuest Bowl (Jan. 2, Tampa, Fla.): Purdue versus South Carolina
Citrus Bowl (Jan. 2, Orlando, Fla.): No. 15 Penn State versus No. 11 Ole Miss
Highlights of the pre-Christmas bowls include three games involving Power 5 teams on Dec. 17 and two games where future conference opponents meet. The best game might be Dec. 20’s Boca Raton Bowl, as Coastal Carolina faces Liberty in a battle of 7-1 teams. The Chanticleers and Flames previously met in the 2020 Cure Bowl, won by Liberty in overtime.
The post-Christmas bowl games offer many compelling matchups. Historical rivals clash in the Gator, Liberty, and Texas bowls and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl pits two surprise teams against each other. Five non-New Year’s Six bowls feature two ranked teams going head-to-head, including the Citrus Bowl. Both teams built their respective programs differently: Penn State relies on their improving recruiting classes, whereas Ole Miss brought in 17 players via the transfer portal.
Will Duerksen is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email wdd5066@psu.edu.
