Bowl Projections: Updated Postseason Picture After the Regular Season's Final Week
It’s the last fully loaded Saturday of the 2018 college football regular season, and by the end of this weekend we’ll have a much better sense of the postseason picture. Only Notre Dame can truly clinch its spot in the final four with a Week 13 win, but Alabama and Clemson can take a big step in that direction by taking down their in-state rivals, and the New Year's Six lineup should get much clearer once every conference title game matchup is set.
Where is your team heading next month? Below, a look at the latest projections for all 39 bowl matchups and the updated College Football Playoff field, adjusted after all of Week 13’s results. With one week to go, the FBS has 81 teams with six wins or more, meaning that at least three eligible teams won’t be going bowling (and Liberty and Virginia Tech can add to the pool if they win their final games next weekend). An asterisk (*) denotes that an at-large team is filling a spot left vacant by the conference under contract with that bowl. Matchups in bold have been confirmed and announced by the bowls themselves.
Dec. 15
New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. Conference USA
San Diego State vs. Middle Tennessee
AutoNation Cure Bowl, Orlando (2:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
American vs. Sun Belt
Eastern Michigan* vs. Troy
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Pac-12 vs. Mountain West
Arizona State vs. Boise State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sun Belt vs. MAC
Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sun Belt vs. Conference USA
Appalachian State vs. Marshall
Dec. 18
Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. Conference USA
Tulane vs. Southern Miss
Dec. 19
Frisco Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. At-large
Temple vs. Utah State
Dec. 20
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. ACC/Conference USA
South Florida vs. Wake Forest
Dec. 21
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, Nassau (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Conference USA vs. MAC
Florida International vs. Toledo
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. MAC
Nevada vs. Western Michigan
Dec. 22
Birmingham Bowl (Noon ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. American
Vanderbilt vs. Memphis
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. American
Army* vs. Houston
Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana
Hawai'i Bowl, Honolulu (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. Conference USA
Hawai’i vs. Louisiana Tech
Dec. 26
SERVPRO First Responders Bowl, Dallas (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Conference USA
Buffalo* vs. North Texas
Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. ACC
Minnesota vs. Virginia
Cheez-It Bowl, Phoenix (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
TCU vs. BYU*
Dec. 27
Walk-On's Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC
UAB* vs. Miami
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. ACC
Purdue vs. Pitt
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Baylor vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 28
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
South Carolina vs. Boston College
Camping World Bowl, Orlando (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. ACC
West Virginia vs. NC State
Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Iowa State vs. Utah
Dec. 29
Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C. (Noon ET, ABC)
SEC vs. ACC
Kentucky vs. Duke
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, Tucson (1:15 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
Fresno State vs. Arkansas State
Dec. 31
Redbox Bowl, Santa Clara, Calif. (3 p.m. ET, Fox)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Wisconsin vs. Stanford
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. (Noon ET, ESPN)
ACC vs. American
Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati
AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis (3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, San Diego (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Iowa vs. Oregon
TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Auburn vs. Northwestern
Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m. ET, CBS)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Syracuse vs. Cal
Jan. 1
Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. (Noon ET, ESPN2)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Michigan State vs. LSU
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (1 p.m. ET, ABC)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Mississippi State vs. Penn State
New Year's Six Bowls
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Dec. 29, Noon ET, ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Michigan vs. Florida
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Washington State vs. UCF
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Ohio State vs. Washington
Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. Big 12
Georgia vs. Texas
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Capital One Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 29, 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Clemson vs. Notre Dame
College Football Playoff National Championship, Santa Clara (Jan. 7, 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinal winner vs. CFP semifinal winner
