Bowl Game Projections – Syndication Server

Where Alabama lands in new USA TODAY Sports College Football Playoff, bowl projections

A look at where USA TODAY Sports sees Alabama in the College Football Playoff race entering Week 9.

With two losses in their last three games, the Alabama Crimson Tide‘s College Football Playoff hopes are looking bleak.

The Crimson Tide (5-2) fell 24-17 to the Tennessee Volunteers in the annual ‘Third Saturday in October’ rivalry last Saturday — two weeks after a stunning 40-35 loss to quarterback Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville.

That’s put Kalen DeBoer’s team on the outside looking in for the College Football Playoff race, according to the latest postseason projections from USA TODAY Sports analyst Erick Smith.

Smith has Alabama facing the Indiana Hoosiers and former Nick Saban assistant Curt Cignetti in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 in Orlando. Alabama last played in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2020, a 35-16 victory over Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines.

While it’s not the matchup Alabama fans would prefer, Tide vs. Hoosiers would be a first. The two schools have never met on the gridiron in either the regular season or a bowl game.

Smith has the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes, Clemson Tigers and Kansas State Wildcats as his four projected conference champions who would receive a first-round bye in the Playoff.

Alabama could improve its Playoff stock significantly in its next two games. The Tide hosts the 17th-ranked Missouri Tigers Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. After a bye in Week 10, Alabama visits Baton Rouge for the latest chapter in its rivalry with a surging LSU Tigers team on Nov. 9.

Kickoff for Alabama-Missouri this Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m. The game can be seen on ABC.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama news and notes, plus opinions.

Where does the Sporting News project Rutgers football’s bowl game?

Rutgers football has a bowl game projection from the Sporting News

It will be a second straight bowl appearance for Rutgers football, with the Sporting News projecting another postseason berth for the Big Ten program.

The projections come from the highly-respected Bill Bender (who is a great follow on ~~Twitter~~ X). Bender has projected all 35 non-College Football Playoff bowl games and the result is poignant for Rutgers.

Rutgers finished last year 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten).

The projection has Rutgers in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 26 against Maryland. The game is held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

Rutgers played in this bowl game in 2005 against Arizona State in what was their first postseason appearance under head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag]. Last year, they played in the Pinstripe Bowl, defeating Miami.

The Pinstripe Bowl was the scene of Schiano’s last game with Rutgers in 2011 before he left for the NFL. So in back-to-back years, Rutgers will have played in the first and last bowl game under Schiano.

Fitting from Bender, isn’t it?

Here are the Sporting News bowl game projections for all the Big Ten programs:

Detroit Bowl (Ohio vs. Michigan State, Dec. 26)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Rutgers vs. West Virginia, Dec. 26)
Pinstripe Bowl (Louisville vs. Maryland, Dec. 28)
Music City Bowl (Wisconsin vs. Tennessee, Dec. 30)
Reliaquest Bowl (Nebraska vs. Texas A&M, Dec. 31)
Citrus Bowl (LSU vs. Penn State, Dec. 31)
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Miami vs. Iowa, Jan. 3)
Holiday Bowl (Pittsburgh vs. Washington, TBD)

Extrapolating these projections means that Bender seems to see Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and USC making the expanded College Football Playoff.

Alabama football bowl game projections after Week 8

Alabama projected to face a potential undefeated conference champion in latest bowl game predictions.

Alabama’s early-season loss to Texas at home did serious damage to the Crimson Tide’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff, but it did not eliminate the possibility of a playoff push, which is exactly what we are witnessing now.

Following the Tide’s impressive comeback win against Tennessee, the latest bowl game projections by ESPN (subscription required) have Alabama out of the playoffs.

College football experts Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura both have the Crimson Tide facing Oklahoma in their respective projections. The difference, however, is that Schlabach has Alabama in the Peach Bowl, while Bonagura has them in the Cotton Bowl.

Oklahoma is currently undefeated, with an impressive win over Texas, and appears poised to run the table in the Big 12. If this is the case, it would be the second consecutive season that Alabama takes on a Big 12 champion. Last season, the Tide defeated Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 season progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM.

Alabama to face familiar opponent in latest bowl game projection

Alabama’s projected fall from the top continues with this latest bowl game projection.

Alabama has only suffered one loss in the 2023 season, but many have already given up on the Crimson Tide heading into Week 4. The latest bowl projections by Action Network’s Brett McMurphy are a perfect example of that.

No, Saban and the Tide are destined for the College Football Playoff. Instead, McMurphy has Alabama facing Clemson, another team that’s taken a deep dive from the top, in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Last season, the No. 20 South Carolina Gamecocks took on the No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was the first matchup between two ranked opponents in the Gator Bowl since 2006 when No. 12 Virginia Tech faced No. 15 Louisville.

This is not a bowl game Tide fans want to be a part of. The masses were upset in 2022 when Alabama had to settle for a Sugar Bowl appearance instead of the CFP.

Alabama last appeared in the Gator Bowl in 1993, where the team earned a win over North Carolina State. The program has only appeared in the contest twice since its inception in 1946.

With three-quarters of the 2023 college football season remaining, there is a lot that can and will change. However, as things stand, the Crimson Tide is not in the best place.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the season progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.

Latest USA TODAY Sports’ bowl projections have Auburn facing off with the Big 12

USA TODAY Sports still has Auburn facing a Big 12 foe in the Texas Bowl.

Despite the 41-12 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, bowl projections are still in favor of the Auburn Tigers. They can get back on track and improve to 3-1 on Saturday when they host the Missouri Tigers.

These teams have met three times in their history and only once in the regular season. Their first SEC matchup came in the 2013 SEC Championship. Auburn outscored Mizzou 59-42 on that day.

While that game is still days away, we will shift our focus to the latest bowl game projections from USA TODAY Sports.

Texas Bowl on Dec. 28 in Houston, Texas

Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports projects the Baylor Bears will face off with the Auburn Tigers in the annual Texas Bowl featuring the Big 12 and the SEC.

Last year the Bears faced off with Ole Miss in the All State Sugar Bowl. It ended with a 21-7 victory over the Rebels. Auburn fell to future Big 12 school Houston in the Birmingham Bowl, 17-13.

Both teams are currently 2-1 with losses against top 25 teams. Baylor lost to BYU in Week 2 and bounced back against Texas State on Saturday. Auburn and Baylor have met four times in their history, the first was a 33-13 victory over the Bears in the 1954 Gator Bowl. Baylor is 2-0-1 against Auburn since that game.

The rest of the SEC bowl projections:

UCLA vs Florida: Las Vegas Bowl (Pac-12 vs SEC)
UCF vs Mississippi State: Birmingham Bowl (American vs SEC)
Iowa State vs LSU: Liberty Bowl (Big 12 vs SEC)
Florida State vs Texas A&M: Gator Bowl (ACC vs SEC)
Michigan State vs Ole Miss: Music City Bowl (Big Ten vs SEC)
Miami (Fl) vs Tennessee: ReliaQuest Bowl (ACC/Big Ten vs SEC)
Oklahoma State vs Arkansas: Sugar Bowl (Big 12 vs SEC)
Oklahoma vs Georgia: Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal)
Ohio State vs Alabama: Fiesta Bowl (CFP semifinal)
Georgia vs Alabama: CFP title game

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Sporting News’ college football bowl projections include seven Big 12 teams

This is loaded with intriguing matchups, including Texas facing former head coach Mack Brown.

Texas is hoping to qualify for a bowl game this upcoming season in Steve Sarkisian’s second year leading the program. Continue reading “Sporting News’ college football bowl projections include seven Big 12 teams”

What bowl game Brett McMurphy foresees Texas making in 2022

It’s not glamorous, but it’s a step above last season.

To say that the 2021 season did not go as planned for Texas would be an understatement.

The Longhorns parted ways with Tom Herman and hired who many viewed as the best offensive mind in college football, Steve Sarkisian. What many didn’t realize was how shallow Texas was at seemingly almost every position on the field, and the season went about as poorly as it could.

Texas blew multiple double digit leads and lost six consecutive games in what seemed like the worst stretch of Texas football in years.

The staff more than made up for it this offseason, as they hit the recruiting trail as hard as possible bringing in the No. 5 recruiting class, with the addition of multiple talented transfers.

All of the offseason movements have led to the expectations for Texas to continually grow. Action Sports’ Brett McMurphy released his predictions for next season’s bowl games, and the Longhorns were featured.

McMurphy has the Longhorns slated to play in the Texas Bowl against Tennessee. While it isn’t the most glamorous of bowl games, any bowl game is better than nothing for a Texas team that wasn’t eligible for one in 2021.

Texas still has a long way to go before thinking about the postseason, as this team needs to find their identity this offseason, while also settling numerous position battles.

Bowl game projections: Where LSU and the SEC are slated to play

A look at where USA TODAY Sports is projecting the SEC for bowl season.

Time for the weekly update on bowl projections for the LSU Tigers and the SEC.

The LSU Tigers currently sit at 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in SEC play. This week they take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night in Death Valley. A game that will help decide the SEC West race behind Alabama. The other huge matchup involves the Tide as they take on Ole Miss.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators in the East are vying for the top spot to challenge the Tide in the SEC title game. They have a monster matchup coming.

Breaking down how Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports views bowl season with his latest projections.

What are the bowl projections for Rutgers football?

Rutgers football is 3-0. A look at where the Scarlet Knights are projected to go come bowl season.

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A month ago, it was laughable to think that Rutgers football would be making a bowl game. But now off to a 3-0 start, the Scarlet Knights could be postseason-bound if they take care of big business in the Big Ten.

Last season, Rutgers went 3-6 in Big Ten play and the same record, given their undefeated start through three games, in the conference would make the program bowl eligible for the first time since 2014. Ironically, that was the first season in the Big Ten for the Scarlet Knights.

But while it is early to begin thinking that Rutgers has arrived in the second season under head coach Greg Schiano, there certainly has been progress made.

Several national outlets have Rutgers making a bowl game this season. ESPN FPI recently projected Rutgers at 6.6 wins, which would make them bowl eligible.

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Oklahoma and seven other Big 12 teams in the latest bowl projections

A look at the Big 12 Conference’s bowl projections, Oklahoma is joined by one team in the New Year’s Six bowl games.

We know the level of expectations for the Oklahoma Sooners and Lincoln Riley in the 2021 season. It will be College Football Playoffs or bust for the Crimson and Cream. Last year the Sooners just narrowly missed out on another CFP berth but drew the Florida Gators in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. They ran away with that game and now all eyes are on the annual four-team playoff.

While the committee is discussing plans for an expansion to 12 teams, that won’t come any time soon. We are likely at least two years away from adding another eight teams to the tournament. Even with just four teams making the cut, the Sooners are expected to be right in the thick of it. You will see the usual suspects in most projections with Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, and of course the Sooners.

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Iowa State is a team that could potentially compete for a spot in the CFP but to do so they will need to beat the Sooners twice in 2021. A feat that isn’t easy to come by. The Texas Longhorns have caviar dreams but on a tuna fish budget. The team could get there but right now they have to figure out how to be more consistent.

According to 247Sports, they have eight of the 10 conference teams in their latest bowl projections. The only two not receiving a bowl bid being Texas Tech and of course Kansas.