Bowl Projections: Tracking the 2018 Postseason Picture as Every Matchup Is Set
Three months of speculation and debate came down to one final weekend, and after the College Football Playoff hopefuls got one last chance to make a good impression on the selection committee, a nation of bowl-eligible teams awaited the announcement of everyone else’s postseason destination, from Albuquerque to Arlington.
Where is your team headed? Below, a look at all 39 bowl matchups and the College Football Playoff field, with the finalized pairing below our final set of predictions. The FBS ended up with 82 teams with six wins or more after Virginia Tech's win over Marshall, meaning that four eligible teams aren’t going bowling: Miami (Ohio), Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Miss and Wyoming.
Dec. 15
New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. Conference USA
Prediction: San Diego State vs. Middle Tennessee
Matchup: Utah State vs. North Texas
AutoNation Cure Bowl, Orlando (2:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
American vs. Sun Belt runner-up
Prediction: Eastern Michigan* vs. Louisiana
Matchup: Tulane vs. Louisiana
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Pac-12 vs. Mountain West
Prediction: Arizona State vs. Fresno State
Matchup: Arizona State vs. Fresno State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sun Belt vs. MAC
Prediction: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
Matchup: Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sun Belt champion vs. Conference USA
Prediction: Appalachian State vs. Marshall
Matchup: Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee
Dec. 18
Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. Conference USA
Prediction: Tulane vs. Buffalo*
Matchup: Northern Illinois vs. UAB
Dec. 19
Frisco Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. At-large
Prediction: Temple vs. Utah State
Matchup: Ohio vs. San Diego State
Dec. 20
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. ACC/Conference USA
Prediction: South Florida vs. Wake Forest
Matchup: South Florida vs. Marshall
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
Prediction: Nevada vs. Western Michigan
Matchup: BYU vs. Western Michigan
Dec. 22
Birmingham Bowl (Noon ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. American
Prediction: Virginia Tech* vs. Memphis
Matchup: Wake Forest vs. Memphis
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. American
Prediction: Army* vs. Houston
Matchup: Army vs. Houston
Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Prediction: Northern Illinois vs. Troy
Matchup: Buffalo vs. Troy
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
Prediction: BYU* vs. North Texas
Matchup: Boston College vs. Boise State
Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. ACC
Prediction: Minnesota vs. Virginia
Matchup: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech
Cheez-It Bowl, Phoenix (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Prediction: TCU vs. Stanford
Matchup: TCU vs. Cal
Dec. 27
Walk-On's Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC
Prediction: UAB* vs. Miami
Matchup: Temple vs. Duke
New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. ACC
Prediction: Purdue vs. Pitt
Matchup: Wisconsin vs. Miami
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Prediction: Baylor vs. Texas A&M
Matchup: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt
Dec. 28
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Prediction: Vanderbilt vs. Boston College
Matchup: Purdue vs. Auburn
Camping World Bowl, Orlando (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. ACC
Prediction: West Virginia vs. NC State
Matchup: West Virginia vs. Syracuse
Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Iowa State vs. Washington State
Matchup: Iowa State vs. Washington State
Dec. 29
Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C. (Noon ET, ABC)
SEC vs. ACC
Prediction: South Carolina vs. Duke
Matchup: South Carolina vs. Virginia
NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, Tucson (1:15 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
Prediction: Boise State vs. Arkansas State
Matchup: Nevada vs. Arkansas State
Dec. 31
Redbox Bowl, Santa Clara, Calif. (3 p.m. ET, Fox)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Matchup: Michigan State vs. Oregon
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. (Noon ET, ESPN)
ACC vs. American
Prediction: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Matchup: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis (3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Prediction: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
Matchup: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, San Diego (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Iowa vs. Utah
Matchup: Northwestern vs. Utah
TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Prediction: Auburn vs. Northwestern
Matchup: Texas A&M vs. NC State
Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m. ET, CBS)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Syracuse vs. Cal
Matchup: Pitt vs. Stanford
Jan. 1
Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. (Noon ET, ESPN2)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Prediction: Michigan State vs. Mississippi State
Matchup: Iowa vs. Mississippi State
Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (1 p.m. ET, ABC)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Prediction: Kentucky vs. Penn State
Matchup: Kentucky vs. Penn State
New Year's Six Bowls
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Dec. 29, Noon ET, ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Prediction: Michigan vs. Florida
Matchup: Michigan vs. Florida
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Prediction: LSU vs. UCF
Matchup: LSU vs. UCF
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Ohio State vs. Washington
Matchup: Ohio State vs. Washington
Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. Big 12
Prediction: Georgia vs. Texas
Matchup: Georgia va. Texas
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Prediction: Clemson vs. Notre Dame
Matchup: Clemson vs. Notre Dame
Capital One Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 29, 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Prediction: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Matchup: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
College Football Playoff National Championship, Santa Clara (Jan. 7, 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinal winner vs. CFP semifinal winner
