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In our latest bowl projections, three 13-0 teams — Georgia, Michigan and Florida State — join 12-1 Pac-12 champ Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals, sending 12-1 Big 12 champ Texas to the Cotton Bowl and 11-1 Ohio State to the Orange Bowl.
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Because the Longhorns played Alabama earlier this season and faced Washington in last year’s Alamo Bowl, we had Texas meet Penn State in Arlington while shipping the Tide to the Fiesta Bowl to face the Huskies. Of course, Texas and Alabama could be flipped.
We are picking Oregon State to knock off Washington in Corvallis this weekend, lifting the Beavers to the Alamo Bowl and thus depriving us of a juicy USC–Oklahoma showdown. A few notable matchups: Ole Miss’ offense vs. Iowa’s defense in the Citrus Bowl; Notre Dame–Tennessee in the ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly Outback Bowl) and Clemson-LSU in the Gator Bowl.
With Air Force fading and Tulane looking shakier by the week, SMU is our projected Group of 5 New Year’s Six Bowl representative. While the Mustangs would make sense geographically in the Cotton Bowl, that bowl has had G5 teams each of the last two years. SMU would go to the Peach Bowl (our choice) or Fiesta Bowl.
Finally, we currently project 78 eligible teams for 82 spots. That means both James Madison and Jacksonville State get in, plus two 5-7 teams (hello, Rice and Mississippi State). Finding a worthy opponent for a possible 12-0 JMU team was difficult. A Cure Bowl date with projected 11-2 MAC champ Toledo was the best we could offer.
A reminder: Most bowls do not have to choose in order of conference standings. Just because you see Utah listed as “Pac-12 No. 3” does not mean the Utes necessarily finish with the third-best record.
The fine print:
* Replacement for a conference without enough eligible teams
** Projected 5-7 team
New Year's Six
| Bowl | Date | Teams | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cotton | Dec. 29 | Texas (Big 12) vs. Penn State (at-large) | Arlington, Texas | 8 p.m. |
Peach | Dec. 30 | Missouri (at-large) vs. SMU (at-large) | Atlanta | Noon |
Orange | Dec. 30 | Louisville (ACC) vs. Ohio State (SEC/B1G/ND) | Miami | 4 p.m. |
Fiesta | Jan. 1 | Washington (at-large) vs. Alabama (at-large) | Glendale, Ariz. | 1 p.m. |
Rose | Jan. 1 | No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Florida State | Pasadena, Calif. | 5 p.m. |
Sugar | Jan. 1 | No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Oregon | New Orleans | 8:45 p.m. |
Remaining Bowls
| Bowl | Date | Team | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
Independence | Dec. 16 | West Virginia (Big 12 No. 7) | Texas State* (Pac-12 7) |
LA Bowl | Dec. 16 | UCLA (Pac-12 6) | UNLV (MWC 1) |
New Mexico | Dec. 16 | San Jose State (MWC) | New Mexico State (ESPN) |
Cure | Dec. 16 | James Madison (ESPN) | Toledo (ESPN) |
New Orleans | Dec. 16 | Troy (Sun Belt) | Jacksonville St. (C-USA) |
Myrtle Beach | Dec. 16 | Georgia State (ESPN) | Ohio (ESPN) |
Famous Toastery | Dec. 18 | Georgia Southern (ESPN) | Western Kentucky (ESPN) |
Frisco | Dec. 19 | Colorado State (ESPN) | Rice** (ESPN) |
Boca Raton | Dec. 21 | UTSA (ESPN) | Coastal Carolina (ESPN) |
Gasparilla | Dec. 22 | UCF (ESPN) | Georgia Tech (ACC/SEC) |
Hawaii | Dec. 23 | Boise State (MWC) | USF (AAC) |
Vegas | Dec. 23 | Utah (Pac-12 3) | Nebraska (Big Ten 3) |
68 Ventures | Dec. 23 | South Alabama (Sun Belt) | Northern Illinois (MAC) |
Idaho Potato | Dec. 23 | Utah State (MWC) | Louisiana (ESPN) |
Armed Forces | Dec. 23 | Texas Tech (Big 12 No. 8) | Air Force (ESPN) |
Birmingham | Dec. 23 | Tulane (ESPN) | Liberty* (SEC 9) |
Camellia | Dec. 23 | Bowling Green (ESPN) | Appalachian State (ESPN) |
Guaranteed Rate | Dec. 26 | Illinois (Big Ten 6) | Iowa State (Big 12 6) |
First Responder | Dec. 26 | Wyoming (ESPN) | Marshall (ESPN) |
Quick Lane | Dec. 26 | Northwestern (Big Ten 7) | Eastern Michigan (MAC) |
Texas | Dec. 27 | Kansas (Big 12 4) | Texas A&M (SEC 3-8) |
Holiday | Dec. 27 | Duke (ACC 3-5) | USC (Pac-12 4) |
Duke's Mayo | Dec. 27 | Kentucky (SEC 3-8) | Virginia Tech (ACC 6-8) |
Military | Dec. 27 | Memphis (AAC) | NC State (ACC 9) |
Alamo | Dec. 28 | Oklahoma (Big 12 2) | Oregon State (Pac-12 2) |
Pop Tarts | Dec. 28 | Kansas State (Big 12 3) | North Carolina (ACC 3-5) |
Pinstripe | Dec. 28 | Rutgers (Big Ten 5) | Boston College (ACC 6-8) |
Fenway | Dec. 28 | Syracuse (ACC 10) | Maryland* (AAC) |
Liberty | Dec. 29 | Oklahoma State (Big 12 5) | Mississippi State** (SEC 3-8) |
Sun | Dec. 29 | Miami (ACC 6-8) | Arizona (Pac-12 5) |
Gator | Dec. 29 | Clemson (ACC 3-5) | LSU (SEC 3-8) |
Arizona | Dec. 30 | Fresno State (MWC) | Miami (Ohio) (MAC) |
Music City | Dec. 30 | Wisconsin (Big Ten 4) | Auburn (SEC 3-8) |
Citrus | Jan. 1 | Iowa (Big Ten No. 2) | Ole Miss (SEC No. 2) |
ReliaQuest | Jan. 1 | Notre Dame (ACC No. 2) | Tennessee (SEC 3-8) |
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
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