Tag: bowl projection

College Football insider projects that the Tide miss out on the playoffs again in 2023

CFB insider predicts that Alabama will face off against Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl and miss out on the playoffs.

Alabama football had a relatively disappointing season in 2022 after dropping two games to SEC rivals LSU and Tennessee. For most schools, an 11-win season and a Sugar Bowl victory would be an incredible season, but that’s not the standard in Tuscaloosa.

While there are a lot of question marks looming over the Tide, such as the quarterback position and what the two new coordinators will look like, the doubt continues to grow. College Football insider for the Action Network, Brett McMurphy, projects that the Tide will miss out on the playoffs again in 2023 and face off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl. Alabama last faced Cincinnati in the 2021 Cotton Bowl in a CFB semi-final matchup.

The 2023 season has a much more manageable schedule for the Tide than last season was as their most difficult games (LSU, Texas, Tennessee) will all be at home. The Tide will also clean things up this year after being one of the most undisciplined and penalized teams last year. I expect the Alabama defense to play at an elite level while also establishing a more prominent run game.

McMurphy predicts that the first semi-final game will be between Georgia and Washington in the Sugar Bowl and the other one will be Florida State vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama Football as the 2023 offseason progresses.

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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 Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

ESPN analyst: Arkansas vs Bielema, Illinois very likely

Arkansas vs Bret Bielema and Illinois would be a wild bowl game. It’s possible, too.

Doomsaying fans of the Arkansas football program are proclaiming the Hogs have lost. Arkansas won’t make a bowl game.

The most realistic fans, however, see that the Razorbacks’ most likely record at the end of the regular season is 6-6. Such a record would put Arkansas right in position for a second consecutive bowl game for the first time since Bret Bielema was coach.

Oh, and speaking of Bielema…

ESPN college football analyst Kyle Bonagura thinks the two old flames might rekindle. Bonagura has Arkansas and Illinois projected to meet in the Music City Bowl on December 31.

It would be the first meeting between the two since Bielema was let go as coach following a season-ending loss to Missouri in 2017. He has since become head coach at Illinois and has the Fighting Illini at 7-3 with two games remaining.

Arkansas needs a win against either Ole Miss on Saturday or at Missouri the day after Thanksgiving to clinch bowl eligibility. Kickoff from Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium against the Rebels is at 6:30 p.m.

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Arkansas versus Notre Dame? CBS Sports analyst think it will happen

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm is predicting Arkansas to play Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.

After Saturday’s win over Auburn, the Arkansas football team is one win away from bowl eligiblity.

And while that might not be the most sought after result for the Razorbacks fan base, it is at least a first step that coach Sam Pittman is seeking in his third year in charge.

Arkansas still has four regular-season games left, so any projection right now is likely to change. But where CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has the Razorbacks landing as of Sunday wouldn’t be half bad. And the opponent would be quite the catch for the program.

Palm is projecting Arkansas to play Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl on December 30. The Hogs have played in that particular bowl twice in history, once in 1960 and again in 1981.

But Arkansas’ never played Notre Dame, a college football blueblood. Doing so would raise the program’s profile even futher and a boon for Pittman in Year Three.

Arkansas’ (5-3, 2-3 in SEC) hosts Liberty in Week 10 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium with a chance to clinch bowl eligibility.

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Who and where is Alabama expected to play in the College Football Playoff?

Who will Alabama face in the CFP according to latest predictions?

The Alabama Crimson Tide are undefeated through the first four weeks of the college football season, however, they face their toughest task to date this week when they travel to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. In 2021, the Razorbacks traveled to Tuscaloosa and nearly pulled off the upset of the season before coming up a touchdown short.

After Alabama narrowly escaped with a victory over the Texas Longhorns in Week 2, the Georgia Bulldogs jumped the Tide for the No. 1 overall spot in the country. The Bulldogs haven’t given up the No. 1 spot yet, but the Tide are hot on their trail after a poor showing against Kent State.

USA TODAY Sports released their updated bowl projections and the Crimson Tide are still on pace to make the CFP semifinal. As of right now, USA TODAY Sports predicts that Alabama will meet up with Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl. While Clemson and Georgia will meet in the other semifinal, the Peach Bowl.

Clemson replaces the Oklahoma Sooners who were upset by Kansas State this past weekend in the updated playoff projections. However, the biggest change this week as that they no longer predict the Crimson Tide to play for a national title. They now have the Buckeyes taking on Georgia for the national title on Jan. 9.

Even after their test against Arkansas on Saturday, the Tide have some tough matchups in the next few weeks. They face the No. 17 Texas A&M Aggies, No. 8 Tennessee, Mississippi State, @LSU and to cap it off @ No. 14 Ole Miss.

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Brett McMurphy sees Wisconsin traveling to a familiar bowl game

Brett McMurphy sees Wisconsin traveling to a familiar bowl game

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy released his final College Football Bowl Projections earlier today in advance of conference championship weekend and the sport’s “Selection Sunday.”

He sees the Badgers traveling to a familiar destination for their bowl game: the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Wisconsin last played in the Outback Bowl in 2015 when Barry Alvarez famously took over after Gary Andersen’s departure. They defeated Auburn 34-31 that day thanks to a 251-yard performance from Melvin Gordon and a 400-yard rushing performance as a team.

We now await the results of this weekend’s conference championship games to see where Wisconsin will travel for its bowl game in a few weeks.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Arkansas projected to play Penn State in latest bowl projection

Arkansas and Penn State projected for Music City Bowl. Would be first game between the two.

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Arkansas and Penn State are each the biggest college football programs in their state. Both play in the best two conferences in the country. But the Hogs and Nittany Lions have never met on the football field.

If CBS Sports’ latest bowl projections hold, that could change this winter.

Jerry Palm, CBS postseason prognosticator for both basketball and football, has Arkansas and Penn State tabbed to play each other in the Music City Bowl. It’s the first time in a couple weeks Palm moved the Razorbacks off the Outback Bowl spot.

Arkansas has played in the Nashville-based bowl once. The Razorbacks lost to Minnesota three weeks after falling to Georgia in the SEC title game in 2002. Penn State has never played in the Music City Bowl.

The Outback, Gator and Music City bowls are considered the best bowls with SEC ties outside the Sugar Bowl, which has a College Football Playoff connection.

Arkansas guaranteed a bowl trip with a 31-28 win over Mississippi State last week. The last time the Razorbacks went to a bowl was in 2016 when they lost to Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl. They will be seeking a seventh regular-season win Saturday when they travel to Baton Rouge to play LSU.

Will Rutgers still get a bowl game? One projection says it is all but ‘Guaranteed’

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix is the latest bowl game projection for Rutgers football.

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Rutgers is coming off a tough 52-3 loss to Wisconsin, a result that dropped the Scarlet Knights record to 4-5 (1-5 Big Ten). But with three games remaining, bowl eligibility is very much in play for the Scarlet Knights with one projection this week all but a guaranteed postseason appearance.

Relax people, it is a joke.

Phil Harrison at ‘Buckeyes Wire’ has Rutgers making the ‘Guaranteed Rate Bowl’ against Washington State. The Dec. 28 bowl is held at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. For the history buffs around these parts, that is the same stadium where head coach Greg Schiano took Rutgers to a bowl game in 2005.

 

The then Insight Bowl was the first bowl game under Schiano and just the second in program history. Rutgers lost to Arizona State but that bowl appearance set up Rutgers the next season to finish the year ranked and with an impressive Texas Bowl victory over Kansas State.

Washington State is currently 5-4 and has lost consecutive games to Stanford and this past weekend to BYU.

Bowl projections for Arkansas heading into November

Arkansas is slated to make a trip to the Music City to face Wisconsin. The Razorbacks last faced the Badgers in the 2007
Capital One Bowl.

Arkansas needs only one more win to achieve bowl eligibility.

The Razorbacks would’ve gone bowling last year, but their Texas Bowl meeting with TCU was canceled because the Horned Frogs were dealing with COVID issues.

Therefore, a bowl berth would be the first for the program since the 2016 team went 7-5 and made a trip to Charlotte for the Belk Bowl, which has since been renamed the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

With games remaining against Mississippi State, LSU, Alabama and Missouri, Arkansas will need to go 1-3 to ensure a bowl destination.

The current projections have Arkansas facing Wisconsin in the Music City Bowl.

The Razorbacks haven’t played in that bowl game since the 2002 season, when they faced Minnesota.

Arkansas the eighth-best team in SEC? Hogs projected for Liberty Bowl

Arkansas is projected to play in the Liberty Bowl, meaning they’re eighth in the SEC pecking order when it comes to bowls.

Quick. Name the last bowl game, by name, the Arkansas football team won.

…

The answer would be the Liberty Bowl. Arkansas beat Kansas State in Memphis in 2016, marking the last postseason victory the Razorbacks have had. If Wednesday’s USA TODAY bowl projections come true, that locale could be in the cards again this year.

Arkansas is predicted to play Texas Christian on December 28 in the Bluff City. Such a bowl would place Arkansas at eighth in the SEC hierarchy in theory.

Other possible destinations include the Texas Bowl in Houston or something called the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. By the way, that’s the bowl formerly known as the Belk Bowl. Right now, LSU and Tennessee are in those slots, meaning they’re ahead of Arkansas, if only by a touch.

Here is the complete list of the projections.

Wisconsin returns to the NY6 in Brett McMurphy’s bowl projections

Wisconsin returns to the NY6 in Brett McMurphy’s bowl projections

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, formerly of Stadium, released his 2021 college football bowl projections yesterday, including his projected spread in each matchup.

For a Wisconsin team that settled with a Duke’s Mayo Bowl appearance last season, the New Year’s Six should be an attainable goal for this year’s team.

The New Year’s Six is where McMurphy sees the Badgers finishing, projecting them to face off against the Pac 12’s Utah in the Rose Bowl.

McMurphy’s projected spread in that game? Wisconsin -1.

After all that’s gone on in the last two years and in their recent Rose Bowl appearances, a matchup against Utah would be looked upon fondly by Badger fans. And at least entering the year, it is a game they would have a great chance to win.

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