Bowl Projections: 2017's First Look at All 39 Projected Matchups
As much drama as the College Football Playoff has brought to the sport, most FBS teams won’t be in a position to spend November tracking the inscrutable deliberations of the committee that decides the final four teams. With multiple losses on their ledger by that point, they’ll instead watch out-of-town scoreboards and press box credential lists, trying to predict which teams will get to six wins to become bowl eligible and which matchups the bowl organizers themselves are pursuing.
As Week 1 of the 2017 season arrives, we’re getting a head start on that speculation game before most teams have a chance to bury their national title hopes, sketching out a first look at how all 39 bowl games will shake out leading up to the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 8 in Atlanta. These projections will come into more focus as each week of action unfolds; for now, all we have to go off of are preseason expectations, conference tie-ins and a general sense of which matchups might entice bowl and TV execs the most.
My five favorite hypothetical matchups from this year’s first edition of the projections:
1. Orange Bowl: Sure, it won’t quite mean as much as last year’s Fiesta Bowl semifinal, but don’t forget that two years prior Clemson and Ohio State turned an Orange Bowl matchup with no national title implications into one of the most compelling games of the season.
2. Texas Bowl, aka Borderline Erotic 2: Erotic Boogaloo: I’m not just saying this as a member of the media: If Bret Bielema and Tom Herman, two of the best talkers in the nation right now, ever get a chance to start beef, everyone wins.
3. Gasparilla Bowl: I’m not sure whether we’ve determined whether Tropicana Field’s turf counts as a “fast track”, but some serious points will be put up if even just one of UCF or Middle Tennessee makes it there. It feels like a safe assumption that Bad Boy Mowers is not trying to attach its brand to low-scoring, conservative football.
4. Military Bowl: Georgia Tech and Navy might combine for 800 rushing yards and wrap this game up in a tidy two hours.
5. Belk Bowl: With Brian Kelly and Will Muschamp patrolling opposite sidelines, every referee, player, coach and fan in that stadium would be one false word away from the chewing-out of a lifetime.
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Below, the early picks for all 39 bowls leading up to the title game.
Saturday, Dec. 16
R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans (1 p.m., ESPN)
Sun Belt vs. C-USA
Arkansas State vs. Western Kentucky
AutoNation Cure Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (2:30 p.m., CBSSN)
AAC vs. Sun Belt
SMU vs. Georgia Southern
Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas (3:30 p.m., ABC)
MWC vs. Pac-12
BYU vs. UCLA
Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. MWC
Southern Miss vs. San Diego State
Raycom Media Camelia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (8 p.m., ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Western Michigan vs. Troy
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. (7 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. C-USA
East Carolina vs. Old Dominion
Wednesday, Dec. 20
Frisco Bowl, Frisco, Texas (8 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. Sun Belt
Houston vs. Boise State
Thursday, Dec. 21
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, St. Petersburg, Fla. (8 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. AAC
Middle Tennessee vs. UCF
Friday, Dec. 22
Bahamas Bowl, Nassau, Bahamas (12:30 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. MAC
Florida Atlantic vs. Northern Illinois
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise (4 p.m., ESPN)
MAC vs. MWC
Ohio vs. Wyoming
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Saturday, Dec. 23
Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. (12 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. SEC
Memphis vs. Vanderbilt
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Army vs. C-USA
Army vs. Louisiana Tech
Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. (7 p.m., ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Toledo vs. Appalachian State
Sunday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. MWC
Tulsa vs. Hawaii
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dallas (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. C-USA
Minnesota vs. UTSA
Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten
Pittsburgh vs. Indiana
Cactus Bowl, Phoenix (9 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
TCU vs. Utah
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. SEC
Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten
Syracuse vs. Michigan State
Foster Farms Bowl, Santa Clara, Calif. (8 p.m., FOX)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Iowa vs. Washington State
Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Texas vs. Arkansas
Thursday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. AAC
Georgia Tech vs. Navy
Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big 12
North Carolina vs. West Virginia
Valero Alamo Bowl, Big 12 vs. Pac-12, San Antonio, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Pac-12 vs. Big 12
USC vs. Oklahoma State
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, San Diego (9 p.m., FS1)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Northwestern vs. Stanford
Friday, Dec. 29
Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C. (1 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. SEC
Notre Dame vs. South Carolina
Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m., CBS)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Miami vs. Oregon
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tenn. (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
SEC vs. Big Ten or ACC
Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech
Arizona Bowl, Tucson, Ariz. (5:30 p.m., CBSSN)
Sun Belt vs. MWC
Colorado State vs. Idaho
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Saturday, Dec. 30
TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. (12 p.m., ESPN)
SEC vs. Big Ten or ACC
Nebraska vs. Florida
AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn. (12:30 p.m., ABC)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Kansas State vs. Tennessee
Monday, Jan. 1, 2018
Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. (12 p.m., ESPN2)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Wisconsin vs. Georgia
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (1 p.m., ABC)
SEC vs. ACC
NC State vs. Mississippi State
New Year's Six Bowls
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 8:30 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
South Florida vs. Penn State
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Dec. 30, 4 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Michigan vs. LSU
Capital One Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame
Clemson vs. Ohio State
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. At-Large
Auburn vs. Louisville
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Florida State vs. Washington
Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
College Football Playoff National Championship, Atlanta (Jan. 8, 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinal winner vs. CFP semifinal winner
