CFB: Complete Bowl Projections
College Football Playoff:
Orange: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Cotton: Clemson vs. Notre Dame
It doesn't seem very fun to pick the favorites, Alabama and Clemson (again), but that's what we're going to do. The two have met in the CFP in the last three years, two of which were in the national championship game, and it certainly seems like we're headed for Round 4 in early January. The Crimson Tide will face 4th ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, and while QB Kyler Murray will be tough to contain, it doesn't seem like the Sooners' defense can hold up for an entire 60 minutes. According to CBS Sports, Alabama is 14-point favorites, and this one is expected to be high scoring. Clemson gets 3rd ranked Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, and the Tigers opened as double-digit favorites as well (-11.5). RB Travis Etienne (1,463 yards, 21 touchdowns) will look to push him team to a nation title game appearance.
New Year's Six:
Rose: Ohio State vs. Washington
Peach: Michigan vs. Florida
Sugar: Georgia vs. Texas
Fiesta: LSU vs. UCF
In the other New Year's Six bowl games, there are three SEC teams and two Big Ten programs who will look to finish their year off on a high note. Along with those five, we also have the American champion (UCF), Big 12 runner-up (Texas), and Pac-12 leader (Washington). In the coveted Rose Bowl, 6th ranked Ohio State will face the Huskies in HC Urban Meyer's final game before retirement. Michigan will take on 9th ranked Florida in the Peach Bowl as the two meet for the third time in four years. In the Sugar Bowl, 5th ranked Georgia looks for their 12th win of the year against Texas and QB Jake Fromm (2,537 yards, 27 touchdowns) should have a big game. 8th ranked UCF gets 10th ranked LSU in the Fiesta Bowl, looking for their 26th consecutive win. We're picking Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, and UCF.
ACC:
Birmingham: Wake Forest vs. Memphis
First Responder: Boston College vs. Boise State
Independence: Duke vs. Temple
Military: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
In the ACC, there are four Power Five and Group of Five matchups, beginning with Wake Forest facing American runner-up, Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl. The second matchup, which should be the best, pits Group of Five powerhouse Boise State against RB A.J. Dillon (1,108 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Boston College. Duke, who ended their regular season with a disappointing loss to the Demon Deacons at home, have a chance to redeem their season and earn an eighth victory, as they'll face Temple, who just loss their HC Geoff Collins to Georgia Tech. Lastly, Virginia Tech, riding a two-game winning streak, can get to 7-6 as they oppose Cincinnati. The Bearcats have seen an amazing turnaround this year, and currently sit at 10-2. We'll take Wake Forest, Boise State, Duke, and Virginia Tech to win.
Big Ten:
Quick Lane: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech
Pinstripe: Wisconsin vs. Miami
Holiday: Northwestern vs. Utah
Citrus: Penn State vs. Kentucky
The Big Ten had a pretty disappointing year with the likes of Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, and Wisconsin all falling off to a degree after 10+ win seasons last year. However, they have a chance to compete in the bowl season and that could change the attitude around the Midwest. That'll begin in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, as Minnesota got to a bowl for the first time in HC P.J. Fleck's tenure. They will have to deal with the triple option and Georgia Tech in HC Paul Johnson's last game. In the Pinstripe Bowl, there's a rematch of last years Orange Bowl as preseason top-10 teams Wisconsin and Miami meet. Keep an eye on RB Jonathan Taylor (1,989 yards, 15 touchdowns). Northwestern and Penn State will face Utah and Kentucky, respectively. We have Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Utah, and Penn State.
Big 12:
Texas: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt
Cheez-It: TCU vs. California
Camping World: West Virginia vs. Syracuse
Liberty: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
The Big 12 is stacked full of 6-6 teams and three of them land here, while the outlier, West Virginia gets Syracuse in the Camping World Bowl. The defensing champions of that bowl game happen to be Oklahoma State, who will face former Big 12 foe Missouri in the Liberty Bowl. Elsewhere, Baylor returns to a bowl game in HC Matt Rhule's second year with the program. And lastly, TCU looks for a second straight bowl win over a Pac-12 opponent as they get California a season after defeating Stanford. West Virginia QB Will Grier (3,864 yards, 37 touchdowns) will not play in the bowl game as he prepares for the NFL Draft, according to ESPN, and the Mountaineers will start back-up QB Jake Allison. We're riding with the Big 12 in three of these (Baylor, TCU, and West Virginia), but Missouri should handle Oklahoma State.
Pac-12:
Las Vegas: Arizona State vs. Fresno State
Alamo: Washington State vs. Iowa State
Sun: Stanford vs. Pittsburgh
Redbox: Oregon vs. Michigan State
Out West, it appears the Pac-12 has a real opportunity to have a special bowl season if things fall their way. Obviously it wasn't a good regular season for the conference as their champions, Washington, is just 10-3. Meanwhile, programs like Arizona (5-7), UCLA (3-9), and USC (5-7) were extremely disappointing. Arizona State, who actually had a surprisingly good season, will have a shot at an 8-5 year under first-year HC Herm Edwards, as they get Mountain West champion Fresno State. Washington State and QB Gardner Minshew (4,477 yards, 36 touchdowns) will see Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl and could finish 11-2 which would be incredible. Stanford will head back to the Sun Bowl, this time against Pittsburgh. Also, Oregon and Michigan State will meet. We're taking the Pac-12 to sweep these four games.
SEC:
Music City: Auburn vs. Purdue
Belk: South Carolina vs. Virginia
Outback: Mississippi State vs. Iowa
Gator: Texas A&M vs. NC State
The SEC is considered by many to be the best conference in the country, and this is the time to prove it. The conference has these four games, three New Year's Six matchups, Kentucky, Missouri, Vanderbilt (who we previously mentioned), and of course, top ranked Alabama, to prove just how dominant they are. Luckily for them, we think all four of these games will go the SEC's way. Auburn has much more talent at virtually every spot compared to Purdue, and the same can be said for South Carolina compared to Virginia. In the Outback Bowl, Mississippi State and Iowa is a better matchup, but QB Nick Fitzgerald (1,615 yards, 15 touchdowns) should be the difference for the Bulldogs. And finally, Texas A&M will encounter NC State. Give us the SEC in all four outings.
Group of Five:
New Mexico: Utah State vs. North Texas
Cure: Louisiana vs. Tulane
Camellia Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. EMU
New Orleans: Middle Tennessee vs. Appalachian
Boca Raton: UAB vs. Northern Illinois
Frisco: San Diego State vs. Ohio
Gasparilla: Marshall vs. South Florida
Bahamas: FIU vs. Toledo
Idaho Potato: BYU vs. Western Michigan
Armed Forces: Houston vs. Army
Dollar General: Buffalo vs. Troy
Hawaii: Hawaii vs. Louisiana Tech
Arizona: Arkansas State vs. Nevada
In the Group of Five, there are several interesting matchups that pit some of the most underrated teams in the country against one another. A couple examples of that has to be Utah State (10-2) versus North Texas (9-3) and UAB (10-3) against Northern Illinois (8-5). Both UAB and Northern Illinois have an opportunity to end their season with a victory in the conference championship game and a bowl, which is just about the best season you can ask for a Group of Five team. Besides the Huskies, the MAC is very well represented this year with Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Ohio, Toledo, and Western Michigan all earning bowl bids. Elsewhere, the Armed Forces Bowl is always an exciting matchup and this year we'll get to see QB D'Eriq King (2,982 yards, 36 touchdowns) and Houston against 10-2 Army.
Photo Credit: Wisconsin Athletics.
