Bowl Projections: Plenty Left to Be Decided As the SEC's Picture Simplifies
Four top-10 teams fell in Week 11, altering the shape of the playoff race and creating a ripple effect that trickles all the way down to December’s first wave of bowl games through the various conference postseason contracts that fill out the lineup beyond the New Year’s Six bowls. After suffering its first loss of the season in humbling fashion, Georgia’s playoff hopes are still very much alive, but if the Bulldogs can’t upend Alabama or Auburn in the SEC title game, they’re still set up well to land in a marquee bowl—and push another conference’s second- or third-best team out of the New Year’s Six. Whichever conference that would be may have an opportunity to pick up a bowl slot or two from the bottom of the SEC pecking order, where losses by Tennessee, Arkansas and Vanderbilt have increased the likelihood that the league won’t be able to fill all of its bowl slots. In any case, the dream scenario in which the SEC lands two of the four playoff spots seems to be off the table—for now.
Below, the latest look at the projected (but far from official) matchups for all 39 bowl games leading up to the College Football Playoff national championship in Atlanta on Jan. 8. Because they take into account predicted results for the final weeks of the regular season, these projections won’t change when the new playoff rankings come out on Tuesday.
Saturday, Dec. 16
R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans (1 p.m., ESPN)
Sun Belt vs. C-USA
Troy vs. Southern Mississippi
AutoNation Cure Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (2:30 p.m., CBSSN)
AAC vs. Sun Belt
South Florida vs. Appalachian State
Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas (3:30 p.m., ABC)
MWC vs. Pac-12
Boise State vs. Arizona State
Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. MWC
UTSA vs. San Diego State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (8 p.m., ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Toledo vs. Georgia State
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. (7 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. C-USA
Temple vs. Florida International
Wednesday, Dec. 20
Frisco Bowl, Frisco, Texas (8 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. C-USA/MAC/MWC/BYU
Houston vs. Middle Tennessee
Thursday, Dec. 21
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, St. Petersburg, Fla. (8 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. AAC
Marshall vs. Akron
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
Western Michigan vs. Colorado State
Saturday, Dec. 23
Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham, Ala. (12 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. SEC
Memphis vs. Boston College
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Army vs. C-USA
Army vs. Oregon
Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. (7 p.m., ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Ohio vs. Arkansas State
Sunday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
AAC vs. MWC
SMU vs. Fresno State
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dallas (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Big Ten
Texas Tech vs. North Texas
Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten
Syracuse vs. Central Michigan
Cactus Bowl, Phoenix (9 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Kansas State vs. Utah
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. SEC
Florida State vs. UAB
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten
Georgia Tech vs. Michigan State
Foster Farms Bowl, Santa Clara, Calif. (8 p.m., FOX)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Indiana vs. Washington
Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Texas vs. Cal
Thursday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. AAC
Virginia vs. Navy
Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big 12
NC State vs. Iowa State
Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Pac-12 vs. Big 12
Washington State vs. TCU
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
Wake Forest vs. Kentucky
Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m., CBS)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Louisville vs. Arizona
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville, Tenn. (4:30 p.m., ESPN)
SEC vs. Big Ten or ACC
Texas A&M vs. Iowa
Arizona Bowl, Tucson, Ariz. (5:30 p.m., CBSSN)
Sun Belt vs. MWC
New Mexico State vs. Wyoming
Saturday, Dec. 30
TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. (12 p.m., ESPN)
SEC vs. Big Ten or ACC
LSU vs. Virginia Tech
AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tenn. (12:30 p.m., ABC)
Big 12 vs. SEC
West Virginia vs. Missouri
Monday, Jan. 1, 2018
Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. (12 p.m., ESPN2)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Michigan vs. South Carolina
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (1 p.m., ABC)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Mississippi State vs. Penn State
New Year's Six Bowls
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 8:30 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Auburn vs. Notre Dame
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Dec. 30, 4 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
USC vs. Oklahoma State
Capital One Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 30, 8 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame
Clemson vs. Georgia
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. At-Large
UCF vs. Ohio State
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 1, 5 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Oklahoma vs. Miami
Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Alabama vs. Wisconsin
College Football Playoff National Championship, Atlanta (Jan. 8, 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinal winner vs. CFP semifinal winner
