Tag: Bowl Predictions

Where Wisconsin lands in Action Network bowl projections after Week 12

Where Wisconsin lands in Action Network bowl projections after Week 12

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy released his bowl predictions ahead of Week 13 of the 2024 college football season on Monday.

For the fourth time in five weeks, McMurphy predicts Wisconsin to return to the Pinstripe Bowl. And, as he did after Week 10, the analyst has the Badgers facing Pittsburgh.

The Panthers, the No. 8 team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, are on a three-game skid. At 7-3, Pittsburgh has fallen into the ‘receiving votes’ category in the latest installation of the AP top 25 poll.

Still, the Panthers have beaten Kent State, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Youngstown State, North Carolina, California and Syracuse. Their recent losses have arrived against No. 13 SMU, No. 17 SMU and Virginia.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, is 5-5 after Week 12 after losing its most recent game against Oregon by three points in the fourth quarter. The Badgers also dropped their previous two games to No. 4 Penn State and Iowa by a combined 57 points.

Luke Fickell’s program also elected to fire offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Saturday. At No. 11 in the Big Ten, the organization appears to be amid an identity crisis.

If McMurphy’s prediction rings true, this will be the first time UW will participate in the Pinstripe Bowl since 2018 when it defeated Miami 35-3.

Four Big Ten teams are currently projected to land in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff this winter. No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana are included in the AP’s top 5 ahead of Week 12.

Wisconsin in still search of its 23rd consecutive bowl game appearance. It needs a win over its final two games against Nebraska and Minnesota.

CBS Sports includes Florida in bowl projections after LSU upset

With Florida just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has included the Gators in his latest bowl predictions update.

Florida’s path to a bowl game has been in doubt all season long, but an upset win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday has the Gators just one win away from securing bowl eligibility.

As a result, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has included the Orange and Blue in its post-Week 12 bowl predictions. Palm projects Florida to matchup with Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Should that prediction come true, it would provide Billy Napier and the Gators a chance at redemption after falling, 30-3, against the Oregon State Beavers in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl. Adam Mihalek’s fourth-quarter field goal kept Florida’s now 458-game scoring streak alive, but the rest of the game was a complete disappointment.

The Gators finished the 2023 season 5-7 and failed to reach bowl eligibility, so any postseason appearance would be a sign of improvement for Napier and Co. Of course, Florida must win one of its final two games against Ole Miss and Florida State to reach the six-win mark.

Florida is projected to beat a 1-9 Florida State team in the regular-season finale, especially with true freshman quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] back in the fold.

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Wisconsin returns to familiar setting in Action Network bowl projections after Week 9

Wisconsin returns to familiar setting in Action Network bowl projections after Week 9

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy released his bowl predictions ahead of Week 10 of the 2024 college football season on Monday.

Wisconsin returns to the Pinstripe Bowl in McMurphy’s latest iteration of the bowl prediction list, the exact same game the Badgers were predicted to land in after Week 8.

This time, however, Wisconsin is slated to play NC State in the contest. The Wolfpack, a member of the American Athletic Conference, boast a 4-4 mark through eight games of the 2024 season. They are currently ranked No. 14 in the conference, only ahead of Stanford, Florida State and California.

The Badgers, meanwhile, are 5-3 after Week 9 after dropping its most recent game against No. 3 Penn State by two touchdowns. Luke Fickell’s program is in search of its 23rd consecutive bowl game appearance.

Action Network currently considers Wisconsin a 7.5-point favorite over NC State. If McMurphy’s prediction is accurate, this will be the first time the Badgers will play in the Pinstripe Bowl since 2018 season when they defeated Miami 35-3.

Wisconsin’s next batch of games could certainly alter where they land in the bowl game landscape. UW is yet to play Iowa, No. 1 Oregon, Nebraska and Minnesota. A strong showing in the regular season’s final month could push the Badgers into a better bowl standing.

Wisconsin faces ACC power in Action Network bowl prediction ahead of Week 2

Wisconsin faces ACC power in Action Network bowl prediction ahead of Week 2

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy released his bowl predictions ahead of Week 2 of the 2024 college football season on Monday.

While last week’s installation had Wisconsin facing Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, the outlet now has UW squaring off against the Louisville Cardinals on Jan. 3 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina.

McMurphy placed LSU and Indiana in the Music City Bowl slot following the Tigers’ recent loss to the USC Trojans on Sunday night.

If the prediction rings true, it would be the 23rd straight season that UW appears in a bowl game following the regular season.

The Badgers last appeared in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 30, 2020, in a 42-28 victory over Wake Forest. Just 1,500 fans witnessed former Badger quarterback Graham Mertz lead UW to victory during the pandemic season.

In 2023, West Virginia (9-4) matched up with North Carolina (8-5), which is a somewhat generous projection for where the Badgers will land following the underwhelming 28-14 triumph over Western Michigan on Friday.

The Badgers still await Alabama, USC, Penn State, Oregon, Iowa and Nebraska this season and will need to win two of those contests to compete for an upper-echelon bowl game.

The Athletic’s preseason prediction for Florida’s bowl game

Any bowl prediction is a good one for the Gators as it assumes at least a .500 regular-season finish.

Florida football faces one of the toughest schedules in recent memory this season which includes a gauntlet of top-25 teams. While some struggle to foresee a bowl appearance for the Gators this winter, others can squint hard enough to envision the Orange and Blue in the postseason.

The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman and Stewart Mandel put together their college football preseason bowl projections recently and the good news is that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. earned a December berth — which assumes at least a .500 finish during the regular season.

Dochterman and Mandel picked Florida to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Liberty Bowl held in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. ET.

Other bowl predictions

USA TODAY Sports writer Erick Smith submitted his preseason bowl projections and foresees Florida making it into the Gasparilla Bowl against the Duke Blue Devils. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 20, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Florida’s season opener for 2024

The Florida Gators and No. 19 Miami Hurricanes square off on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida to open their schedule for the 2024 season. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

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USA TODAY Sports foresees a familiar bowl game for Florida football

If USA TODAY Sports’ bowl game projections are correct, the Gators will finish the regular season this fall at least at the .500 mark.

The opening kickoff for Florida football’s 2024 campaign is just days away, and ahead of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s third season in Gainesville, the final preseason predictions have been cast by members of the sports media.

The Gators face one of the most brutal regular-season schedules which has many feeling bearish on their chances of success, but surprisingly, some have forecast a postseason bowl berth for the Orange and Blue. That in itself assumes a least a .500 finish for Napier and Co. which would be a welcome event for the Gator Nation.

USA TODAY Sports writer Erick Smith submitted his preseason bowl projections and foresees Florida making it into the Gasparilla Bowl against the Duke Blue Devils. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 20.

Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl

Florida played in the Gasparilla once before back in 2021 against the Central Florida Knights. Head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] had been dismissed a game prior, leaving Greg Knox as the skipper for the final two games including the postseason appearance.

Unfortunately, the Gators came out flat in that game and fell to UCF, 29-17. The loss cemented the first of three straight losing seasons for the Orange and Blue.

USA TODAY Sports preseason college football bowl projections

Florida’s season opener for 2024

The Florida Gators and No. 19 Miami Hurricanes square off on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida to open their schedule for the 2024 season. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

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Three Big Ten teams featured in CBS Sports’ latest CFP bowl projections for 2024 season

Three Big Ten teams featured in CBS Sports’ latest CFP projections for 2024 season

Three Big Ten squads cracked CBS Sports’ latest College Football Playoff bowl projections for the 2024 season this week.

In the first iteration of the expanded 12-team postseason scenario, Ohio State lands at No. 2, Oregon earns the No. 6 slot and Penn State comes in at No. 9 to represent the Big Ten conference in this forecast. The projection also includes Georgia at No. 1, Utah at No. 3 and Florida State at No. 4.

Unlike in previous seasons, the playoff bowl games this winter will include games between a collection of the four highest-rated teams and the winners of the first-round matchups.

A season ago, Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama would have served as the playoff’s top four and received a first-round bye. The other eight squads will play in a knockout-style, first-round bracket. Plus, the higher-ranked seeds will host the lower-ranked seeds in the first round on campus.

CBS has Penn State squaring off against No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 11 Kansas State Playing Oregon in round one. By virtue of a top-four seed. Ohio State would play the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game.

While Wisconsin is not included in this hierarchy, victories against top-ranked teams such as Alabama, Oregon, Penn State or USC could vault them into playoff consideration.

Bowl predictions: Is a New Year’s Day bowl on the horizon?

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura pictures Auburn facing a familiar bowl foe on New Year’s Day in his latest projection.

Auburn’s chance of making a bowl game has increased drastically over the last two weeks, and the experts at ESPN are confident that the Tigers will end the season with a respectable bowl bid.

ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach updated their bowl projections following week 10’s action, and both have given Auburn a favorable bowl outlook.

Bonagura’s prediction is the best one that Auburn has received to date. According to Bonagura’s calculations, the Tigers are poised to meet Wisconsin in the Reliaquest Bowl on New Year’s Day in Tampa, Florida. Heading into week 11, Wisconsin is 5-4 under first-year head coach Luke Fickell.

Auburn has an immense history with the Badgers in bowl games. Auburn and Wisconsin have played three times in bowl season, with the Badgers winning the last two games in 2006 and 2015. Auburn’s lone win over the Badgers came in 2003 when [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Ronnie Brown[/autotag] each rushed for two scores in the Tigers’ 28-14 win over Wisconsin in the Music City Bowl.

Schlabach predicts that Auburn will play two days earlier in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville against another Big Ten squad in Minnesota. The Tigers and Golden Gophers have met just once on the gridiron, which was the 2020 Outback Bowl. Auburn’s [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] threw for 176 yards and [autotag]Noah Igbinoghene[/autotag] had a 96-yard kickoff return, but the Tigers ultimately fell to Minnesota, 31-24. The game would ultimately be the final game for head coach [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag].

Auburn is currently 5-4 and needs just one more win to qualify for a bowl game. The Tigers have three chances to earn at least one more win, starting this Saturday at Arkansas.

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USC bowl projections for Week 3: some playoff semifinals, one Holiday Bowl

Some experts have USC in the playoff, but one forecasts a Holiday Bowl. Predictions are all over the map.

The USC Trojans have done everything they were supposed to do up to this point. They have gone 3-0 with convincing wins every week, and Caleb Williams has been playing essentially the first half only.

They now get a rest for Week 3 before facing Arizona State and then a massive, must-watch, star-studded game against the Colorado Buffaloes on September 30 in Boulder.

The Trojans have their eyes set on a trip to the College Football Playoff, although the Pac-12 schedule won’t be easy for them, especially toward the end of the year. Here is a quick rundown of some of the bowl predictions for the Trojans after the first two full weeks of college football.

Alamo Bowl: Five bold predictions for Texas vs. Washington

Time to get BOLD.

No. 20 Texas is set for an Alamo Bowl matchup with No. 12 Washington on Thursday night.

The Longhorns are going to be without three key players as Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson and DeMarvion Overshown have opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. Washington is at full strength with no players opting out; quarterback Michael Penix Jr announced he is returning for his senior year.

Washington enters the Alamo Bowl playing a high level of football down the stretch of the season. They are riding a six-game winning streak, scoring over 40 points per game over that span.

Texas currently sits as a slight favorite in the ballgame. The Horns are a three-point favorite over the Huskies. ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Texas a 75% chance to come out on top.

Here are five bold predictions for Texas’ showdown against Washington this Thursday. Expect a shootout between two of the top offensive attacks in college football.