College Football Bowl Games – Page 2

College Football Bowl Ties, Affiliations For Each Conference 2021-2022

College football bowl tie-ins and bowl affiliations for every conference going into the 2021 season.

College football bowl tie-ins and bowl affiliations for every conference going into the 2021 season.

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College Football Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations 2020-2021

– The top four teams ranked by the College Football Playoff selection committee will be slotted in the semifinals: Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl, both on Friday, December 31st, 2021.

– The two winners to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Indianapolis on Monday, January 10th, 2022.

– The highest-ranked conference champion from the American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt will automatically get one spot in either the College Football Playoff, Peach Bowl or Fiesta Bowl.

– The Rose Bowl will be the Big Ten and Pac-12, the Sugar Bowl will be Big 12 vs. SEC.

ACC Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

Notre Dame is eligible for any ACC bowl tie-in as long as it’s within one game of the team eligible for the slot.

The ACC Champion normally goes to the Orange Bowl – unless it makes the College Football Playoff – in which case the next-highest ranked ACC team in the final College Football Playoff rankings will get in. That’s off for this year with the Orange Bowl a CFP semifinal.

1. College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

First Tier

– Cheez-It Bowl vs. Big 12
– Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. SEC
– Fenway Bowl vs. American Athletic
– Military Bowl Presented by Peraton vs. American Athletic
– New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs Big Ten
– San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs Pac-12
– TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. SEC
– Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl vs. Pac-12

Second Tier

– Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs. AAC, Pac-12 or SEC
– TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. SEC or AAC
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. SEC or AAC or Pac-12

American Athletic Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – either a College Football Playoff semifinal, Peach Bowl, or Fiesta Bowl.

The American Athletic Conference doesn’t have a true pecking order – the bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

Also, these tie-ins are a bit loose – ESPN might make changes if there’s a better opportunity and stronger matchup in one of its owned and operated bowls.

The American Athletic will get teams in these bowl slots …

– Fenway Bowl vs. ACC
– Military Bowl vs. ACC (2021, 2023, 2025)
– SoFi Hawaii Bowl vs. Mountain West

The AAC will get a chance at putting four teams in these bowls …

– Cure Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Myrtle Beach Bowl vs. MAC or Sun Belt
– RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. ACC, Big 12, or Pac-12
– TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. SEC
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs. ACC, Pac-12, or SEC

Also in the affiliation mix going forward …
– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (2020, 2022, 2024)

Big Ten Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

1. Rose Bowl vs. Pac-12
Big Ten Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff, or highest-ranked Big Ten team

2. Vrbo Citrus Bowl vs. SEC

3. Outback Bowl vs. SEC

3. SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl vs. Pac-12

4. TransPerfect Music City Bowl vs. SEC

6. New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs. ACC

7. Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. Big 12

8. Redbox Bowl vs. Pac-12*
Logistics on the Redbox Bowl TBD

9. Quick Lane Bowl vs. MAC

Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Pac-12
Note: Big Ten alternates with the SEC between the Las Vegas and Duke’s Mayo (formerly the Belk) bowls over six seasons. Las Vegas is 2021, 2023, 2025, Duke’s Mayo is 2020, 2022, 2024

Big 12 Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

1. Sugar Bowl vs. SEC
Big 12 Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff, or highest-ranked Big 12 team

2. Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Pac-12
3. Cheez-It Bowl vs. ACC
4. Mercari Texas Bowl vs. SEC
5. AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. SEC
6. Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. Big Ten

Potential other matchups
– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. C-USA, Pac-12, or Army
– SERVPRO First Responders Bowl vs. ACC, American Athletic, or Pac-12

Conference USA Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – either a College Football Playoff semifinal, Peach Bowl, or Fiesta Bowl.

Conference USA doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography

– Bahamas Bowl vs. MAC
– Hawaii Bowl (in 2020, 2022, 2024 NOT 2021)
– New Mexico Bowl vs. Mountain West
– Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. BYU (2021 & 2025)
– R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Sun Belt

To be determined among the Group of Five conferences …

– Cure Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Big 12, Pac-12 or Army
– RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army

Conference USA has an affiliation to fill-in if needed …

– Camellia Bowl vs. MAC or Sun Belt
– Fenway Bowl vs. ACC or American
– TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. American or SEC
– Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs. ACC, American, SEC
– Myrtle Beach Bowl vs. American, MAC or Sun Belt

Independent Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

– Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn and UMass don’t have direct bowl ties or affiliations.

– Army doesn’t have a direct bowl tie-in, but it’ll have a slot in an ESPN owned and operated game – likely the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl.

– BYU has a tie-in with the Independence Bowl vs. Conference USA. The Cougars will be in an ESPN owned and operated bowl in 2020, 2022 and 2024, and in the Independence Bowl in 2021, 2023 and 2025.

– Notre Dame can take one of the ACC’s bowl spots – if it’s not in the College Football Playoff – but it must be within one overall win over another available ACC team.

MAC Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – either a College Football Playoff semifinal, Peach Bowl, or Fiesta Bowl.

The MAC doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

– Bahamas Bowl vs. Conference USA
– Camellia Bowl vs. American Athletic or Sun Belt
– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Mountain West
– LendingTree Bowl vs. Sun Belt
– Offerpad Arizona Bowl vs. Mountain West
– Quick Lane Bowl vs. Big Ten

To be determined among the Group of Five conferences. MAC will get spots in two of these bowls …

– Cure Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Myrtle Beach Bowl vs. American Athletic or Sun Belt
– New Mexico Bowl vs. Conference USA
– RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army

Mountain West Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – either a College Football Playoff semifinal, Peach Bowl, or Fiesta Bowl.

The Mountain West doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowl matchups are based on best possible games and geography. The conference is guaranteed to have six bowl slots during each bowl season until 2025-2026.

– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. MAC
– Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl vs. Pac-12
– New Mexico Bowl vs. Conference USA
– Offerpad Arizona Bowl vs. MAC
– SoFi Hawai’i Bowl vs. American Athletic

Mountain West has an affiliation to fill-in if needed …

– Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. Big Ten or Big 12

To be determined among the Group of Five conferences …

– Cure Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army

Pac-12 Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

1. Rose Bowl vs. Big Ten
Pac-12 Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff, or highest-ranked Pac-12 team

The Pac-12 doesn’t have a true pecking order – the bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

– Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl vs. Mountain West
– San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. ACC
– SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl vs. Big Ten
– Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl vs. ACC
– Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Big 12
– Redbox Bowl vs. Big Ten*
*Logistics on the Redbox Bowl TBD

From the ESPN owned and operated bowl games, the Pac-12 will likely fill one of these three slots …

– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Big 12, C-USA, or Army
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. ACC, American Athletic, or Big 12
– Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs. Big 12, ACC or SEC

SEC Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

1. Sugar Bowl vs. Big 12
SEC Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff, or highest-ranked SEC team

2. Vrbo Citrus Bowl vs. Big Ten
The Citrus Bowl gets its pick of the top SEC team available after the CFP and Sugar Bowl are in place

The SEC will assign teams to the respective bowls in this pool.

– AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Big 12
– Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. ACC
– Mercari Texas Bowl vs. Big 12
– Outback Bowl vs. Big Ten or ACC
– TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. ACC
– TransPerfect Music City Bowl vs. Big Ten

Second Tier

– TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. American Athletic
– Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs. AAC, ACC, or Pac-12

Las Vegas Bowl vs. Pac-12
Note: SEC alternates with the Big Ten between the Las Vegas and Duke’s Mayo (formerly the Belk) bowls over six seasons. Duke’s Mayo is 2021, 2023, 2025, Las Vegas is 2020, 2022, 2024

Sun Belt Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – either a College Football Playoff semifinal, Peach Bowl, or Fiesta Bowl.

The Sun Belt will get five bowl slots available to eligible teams.

ESPN owned and operated bowls get the first pick of Sun Belt teams, and it gets third and fourth picks. The New Orleans gets the second pick of the bunch, and the LendingTree has the fifth selection.

2. R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Conference USA
5. LendingTree Bowl vs. MAC

To be determined among the Group of Five conferences. The Sun Belt will get spots in at least three of these bowls …

– Camellia Bowl vs. C-USA or Sun Belt
– Cure Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Group of Five or Army
– Myrtle Beach Bowl vs. American Athletic or MAC

The Sun Belt has an affiliation to fill-in if needed …

– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. MAC or Mountain West
– New Mexico Bowl vs. C-USA or Mountain West

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Bowl Rankings: How Good Were All 25 Bowl Games?

How good were the games in the 2020-2021 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.

How good were the games in the 2020-2021 bowl season? Ranking all the bowl games from the worst to the best.

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This was a miserable bowl season, but there were different levels of pain and suffering.

Out of the 25 bowl games played – with one big one still to go – 16 of them were double-digit blowouts, most of the close games were ugly-bad, and there wasn’t any classic that hasn’t already been memory dumped by anyone outside of the winning fan base.

But it was a bowl season – the fact that we got as many games as we did is incredible.

There’s still one little game to go with this turning into a ranking of the 26 best bowl games after Monday night.

Here’s how good the bowl games were this season.

Bowl Rankings
Total Duds | Bowls: No More, No Less
Decent Bowls | Good Bowls | Best Bowls

Bowl Rankings: Total Duds

These weren’t just the worst games of this bowl season. These made people question the world and their reason for living in it. None of them were 2018 Cheez-It Bowl-level awful, but …

25. Offerpad Arizona Bowl

Ball State 34, San Jose State 13
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 11
– 10 Thoughts on the Arizona Bowl

This one wasn’t fair.

Ball State will more than happily take the first bowl win in the program’s history, but San Jose State was walloped by COVID issues announced just before the game, the Mountain West champ was a shadow of its regular season self, and it got ugly immediately.

Ball State got up 27-0 in the first quarter starting with a pick-six, and were up 34-0 in the third before the Spartans finally got on the board with a kickoff return for a touchdown.

24. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 22
– 10 Things To Know from the New Orleans Bowl

Would Shai Werts play or not?

The Georgia Southern quarterback played through a shoulder problem, he was awesome, and this game was a disaster. The Eagles took a 21-0 first half lead, only allowed one measly Louisiana Tech field goal, and totally dominated.

Louisiana Tech was -4 in turnover margin, never had the ball, and generated 232 yards of total offense whether it needed them or not.

Werts? 71 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and 7-of-12 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown for the option attack.

23. The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One

Alabama 31, Notre Dame 14
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 9
– 5 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Rose Bowl

Start with the Rose Bowl being played in Arlington instead of Pasadena, and it goes downhill from there.

No one thought Notre Dame had a prayer, the game was supposed to be a light scrimmage, and that’s exactly what happened. It was 7-0 Crimson Tide five minutes in, and that was about it.

There was the slightest fraction of a moment in the second quarter when it looked like this might be interesting after a 15-play Irish touchdown drive to make it 14-7, but that only seemed to make Alabama mad.

DeVonta Smith caught a 34-yard touchdown pass just over two minutes later, and that was that.

22. LendingTree Bowl

Georgia State 39, WKU 21
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 23
– 10 Things To Know from the LendingTree Bowl

WKU was up 7-0 on a strong first quarter drive, the defense was doing okay, and …

Ugh.

Georgia State rolled for 27 straight points on three second quarter touchdown passes from Cornelious Brown, the defense forced three takeaways, and the team was in total control throughout. Even after WKU came up with a third quarter touchdown, it was all Panther O from there with scoring drive after scoring drive to go up 39-14 until the final moments.

21. GoodYear Cotton Bowl Classic

Oklahoma 55, Florida 20
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 3
– 10 Thoughts on the Cotton Bowl

The ONLY reason why this isn’t even lower is because Oklahoma was so much fun to watch.

It was over the moment most of Florida’s receiving corps opted out, there were more key players out, and Oklahoma put it away with a 17-0 lead – ended on a Tre Norwood pick six of Kyle Trask – in the first seven minutes.

Emory Jones and the Gators made it interesting for a little bit in the second quarter to pull within 17-13, but the Sooners ended the fun four plays later with a quick touchdown drive as part of a 38-point run to turn this into an embarrassment.

Bowl Rankings
Bowls: No More, No Less
Decent Bowls | Good Bowls | Best Bowls

NEXT: Bowl Rankings: Bowl Games. No More, No Less

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Will MSU be bowling this year? Assessing where Spartans could end up

Check out the four possibilities where I could see Michigan State football land this bowl season.

In a normal season, we would know by now where (or if) Michigan State football would be bowling this holiday season. However, this year we won’t have that answer for a few more weeks so we still have time to speculate where the Spartans could be bowling this year.

MSU is 2-4 on the season with two games still left on the schedule so reaching a .500 record is still in play. Again, in a normal year that would mean MSU would need to win out to qualify for a bowl, but the normal restrictions are not in place this year. So regardless of the next two week’s results, MSU is able to go bowling this year — whether they are selected or not is what we need to determine.

Erick Smith of USA TODAY currently has the Spartans not listed in his latest bowl projections — which are released every Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean MSU is dead in the water when it comes to making a bowl game. At least, not at this point in time.

Here are the four possibilities where I could see MSU land this bowl season:

LOOK: Texas players, staff receive Alamo Bowl rings

The 2019 Alamo Bowl rings have arrived.

When you defeat a highly-ranked team in the Alamo Bowl, you have to show off the ring.

That’s exactly what players and staff began to do on Wednesday via Twitter.

Bob Shipley, father of former wide receivers Jordan and Jaxon, has had a wide variety of job titles in regards to Texas football. Currently, he serves as a football analyst. In the past, he was the director of high school relations.

It’s clear that the entire Shipley family bleeds burnt orange, it’s no surprise that he’s one of the first to show off a proud accomplishment. As a staff member, he received a 2019 Alamo Bowl ring after Texas defeated No. 11 Utah 38-10 on Dec. 31.

New arrival. pic.twitter.com/lnP5J7H8Kf

— Bob Shipley (@RobertShipley2) July 15, 2020

Over the past two seasons, the Longhorns have dominated both Georgia and Utah in the Sugar Bowl and Alamo Bowl. Tom Herman is now the first Texas head coach to win his first three bowl game appearances.

It’s certainly not their primary goals of the Big 12 title, appearing in the college football playoff, or winning the National Championship. Even if you fall short of those goals, you at least hope to play in one of the New Year’s Six (NY6) bowls that are the top major NCAA Division I bowl games.

However, the dominating fashion in which they’ve handled well-respected opponents is worth showing off. The ring showcases the Longhorns logo in the middle of the bling, with the Texas tower and respective last name on the side.

2020-2021 College Football Bowl Ties, Affiliations For Each Conference

All the 2020-2021 college football bowl ties, tie-ins and affiliations by conference.

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All the 2020-2021 college football bowl ties, tie-ins and affiliations by conference.

2020-2021 College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Of course, everything is up in the air when it comes to college football, any bowl schedules and games, and far more important things overall. For now, hoping all is okay and the season goes off as planned, these are the expected conference bowl tie-ins and affiliations for the 2020-2021 bowl season.

The Power Five conferences are close to set, but the Group of Five conferences are still going to need time to lock in exactly what their official tie-ins will be. Please note that there likely will be several changes over the next several months.

– The top four teams ranked by the College Football Playoff selection committee will be slotted in the semifinals: Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, both on Friday, January 1st, 2021.

– The two winners to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Miami, Florida on Monday, January 11th, 2021.

– The Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal, so the Big Ten and Pac-12 tie-ins aren’t a factor this season.

– The Capital One Orange Bowl will be the ACC vs. SEC no matter what. The champion of each league goes here if not in the College Football Playoff.

American Athletic Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange.

The American Athletic Conference doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

– TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. SEC
– Fenway Park Bowl vs. ACC
– Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman vs. ACC
– FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl vs. Sun Belt or MAC
– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Conference USA
– Myrtle Beach Bowl vs. MAC or Sun Belt

Still to be determined among the Group of Five conferences
– Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl vs. Conference USA or MAC
– New Mexico Bowl vs. Conference USA or Mountain West
– SoFi Hawaii Bowl or Conference USA vs. Mountain West
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Conference USA or MAC or Mountain West

Alternates if the one of the other conferences can’t fill the spots
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs. ACC or Big 12
– Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl vs. SEC or ACC

ACC Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Notre Dame is eligible for any ACC bowl tie-in as long as it’s within one game of the team eligible for the slot.

The ACC Champion goes to the Orange Bowl unless it makes the College Football Playoff, in which case the next-highest ranked ACC team in the final College Football Playoff rankings will get in.

1. College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected
2. Capital One Orange Bowl vs. SEC or Big Ten

First Tier

– Camping World Bowl vs. Big 12
– Belk Bowl vs. SEC
– San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Pac-12
– Fenway Park Bowl vs. American Athletic Conference
– New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs. Big Ten
– Sun Bowl vs. Pac-12
– TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. SEC
– Walk-On’s Independence Bowl vs. Pac-12

– ACC and Big Ten combine in the Music City and TaxSlayer, with each getting three appearances in six years. The ACC played in the Music City in 2015 and the TaxSlayer in 2016, 2017 & 2018. It’s almost certainly going to be in the Music City, but can still play in the TaxSlayer.

Second Tier

– Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl vs. SEC (or American Athletic)
Conditional if American Athletic or Conference USA can’t fill the spot.

– Birmingham Bowl vs. SEC
Conditional if American Athletic or SEC can’t fill the spot.

– SERVPRO First Responders Bowl vs. Big 12

Big Ten Bowl Ties, Affiliations

The Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal. The Big Ten isn’t locked into the Rose if it gets a team into the CFP.

College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

1. New Year’s Six (Chick-Fil-A Peach, Fiesta, Cotton or Orange Bowl) vs. New Year’s Six. Big Ten Champion gets a New Year’s Six spot if it’s not in the College Football Playoff.

2. Citrus Bowl vs. SEC

3. Outback Bowl vs. SEC

4. Las Vegas Bowl vs. Pac-12
Note: Big Ten alternates with the SEC between Las Vegas and Belk bowls over the next six seasons

5. Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl vs. SEC

6. New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs. ACC

7. Cheez-It Bowl vs. Big 12

8. Redbox Bowl vs. Pac-12

9. Quick Lane Bowl vs. MAC

Big 12 Bowl Ties, Affiliations

The Sugar Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal. The Big 12 isn’t locked into the Sugar if it gets a team in.

College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

1. New Year’s Six (Chick-fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta) vs. New Year’s Six
Big 12 Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff.

2. Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Pac-12
3. Camping World Bowl vs. ACC
4. Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl vs. SEC
5. Liberty Bowl vs. SEC
6. Cheez-It Bowl vs. Big Ten
7. Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Group of Five Program

Conference USA Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange.

The Conference USA doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography

– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. American Athletic or Army
– Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl vs. MAC
– R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Sun Belt

Still to be determined among the Group of Five conferences
– Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl vs. American Athletic or MAC
– New Mexico Bowl vs. Conference USA or Mountain West
– SoFi Hawaii Bowl or American Athletic vs. Mountain West
– Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl vs. Conference USA or MAC or Mountain West

Independent Bowl Ties, Affiliations

– Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn and UMass don’t have direct bowl ties or affiliations.

– Army will be in an ESPN owned and operated bowl.

– BYU will be in an ESPN owned and operated bowl in 2020, 2022 and 2024, and in the Independence Bowl in 2021, 2023 and 2025.

– Notre Dame can take one of the ACC’s bowl spots – if it’s not in the College Football Playoff – but it must be within one overall win over the available ACC team with the best overall record.

MAC Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange.

The MAC doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

– Camellia Bowl vs. Sun Belt
– LendingTree Bowl vs. Sun Belt
– Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl vs. Conference USA
– Nova Homes Loans Arizona Bowl vs. Mountain West
– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Mountain West
– Quick Lane Bowl vs. Big Ten

Still to be determined among the Group of Five conferences. MAC will get spots in two of them.
– FBS Mortgage Cure Bowl or American Athletic or Sun Belt
– Tropical Smoothie Frisco Bowl or American Athletic, Conference USA or Mountain West
– Myrtle Beach Bowl or American Athletic or Sun Belt
– Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl or American Athletic or Conference USA

Mountain West Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange.

The Mountain West doesn’t have a true pecking order. The bowl matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

– Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs. MAC
– SoFi Hawai’i Bowl vs. American Athletic or Conference USA
– LA Bowl vs. Pac-12
– Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Big Ten
– NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl vs. MAC

Still to be determined among the Group of Five conferences.
– Gildan New Mexico Bowl or American Athletic or Conference USA
– Tropical Smoothie Frisco Bowl or American Athletic, Conference USA or MAC

Pac-12 Bowl Ties, Affiliations

The Rose Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal. The Pac-12 isn’t locked into the Rose if it gets a team into the CFP.

Note: Pac-12 will have one more bowl tie-in to be named later.

College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

1. New Year’s Six (Chick-fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta) vs. New Year’s Six
Pac-12 Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff.

Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Big 12
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Big Ten
Las Vegas Bowl vs. Big Ten
Redbox Bowl vs. Big Ten
Sun Bowl vs. ACC
Walk-On’s Independence Bowl vs. ACC
LA Bowl vs. Mountain West

SEC Bowl Ties, Affiliations

The Sugar Bowl is a College Football Playoff semifinal. The SEC isn’t locked into the Sugar if it gets a team in.

College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

1. New Year’s Six (Chick-fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange) vs. New Year’s Six
SEC Champion goes here if not in the College Football Playoff.

2. VRBO Citrus Bowl vs. Big Ten
The Citrus Bowl gets its pick of the top SEC team available after the CFP shakes

The SEC will assign teams to the respective bowls in this pool.

– Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl vs. Big 12
– AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Big 12
– Belk Bowl vs. ACC
Note: SEC alternates with the Big Ten between Las Vegas and Belk bowls over the next six seasons
– Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl vs. Big Ten
– Outback Bowl vs. Big Ten
– TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. ACC

Second Tier

– Birmingham Bowl vs. American Athletic or ACC
– Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl vs. ACC (or American Athletic)

Sun Belt Bowl Ties, Affiliations

Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl – Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta, Orange.

The Sun Belt doesn’t have a true pecking order after the New Orleans. The bowls matchups are based on best possible games and geography.

1. R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Conference USA

– Camellia Bowl vs. MAC
– LendingTree Bowl vs. MAC

Still to be determined among the Group of Five conferences.
– FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl or American Athletic or MAC
– Myrtle Beach Bowl or American Athletic or MAC

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Week 14 College Football Bowl Projections

With two weeks left in the college football season, let’s look at where each team currently stands in the bowl picture.

Welcome to the second set of bowl projections that I will be providing. Make sure not to miss Phil Harrison’s projections. Every week, Phil projects to the end of the season and gives you where he thinks the Big Ten teams will end up.

I, however, will not be predicting who will win games. Instead, these projections are based on where every team sits now. Meaning, if the season ended today, where would every team be heading to bowl games? That way, readers can know what their team needs to do to move up or down in bowl selection order.

Now, I do have to admit that a small bit of prognosticating is necessary. There are currently only 74 bowl-eligible teams, but there are 39 bowl games. So, only for the purposes of determining who will reach bowl eligibility, I am forced to predict some games. To avoid bias as much as possible in the process, I will assume that the favored team wins each remaining game, and I will use FPI, SP+, Sagarin, and a few others to determine who is “favored.” As of today, these projections say there will be 79 bowl-eligible teams. That number includes Missouri. The Tigers’ appeal has finally been denied by the NCAA, so they will not be appearing in a bowl game.

Also, remember that nowadays, bowl projections are more of an art than a science. Most conferences no longer allow the bowls to select teams in order, but instead provide “pools” of teams for certain tiers of bowls. The Group of 5 conferences often have no selection order preference. The conferences then work with the bowls to determine which team goes where. Anything can be the cause for this–geography, fan interests, matchup quality, whether the conference thinks its team is more likely to win, or any other reason. Therefore, at the end of this article, I will provide a list of which conference pools would be tied to which bowl. That way, you have as much information as possible when figuring out where each team could be headed.

Finally, keep in mind that these are based on what would happen if the season ends today. The season does not end today, though, so things will change between now and Selection Sunday. However, this is where each team stands right now. (As we approach Selection Sunday, we will be able to hear rumors and whispers as to which team is headed where. I do my best to keep track, and my projections the morning of Selection Sunday will be based mostly on those. For now, though, all we know is that BYU has accepted an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl.)

So, without further ado, here are this week’s bowl projections:

College Football Playoff

Peach Bowl	Sat, Dec 28, 8:00 PM	LSU	vs	Clemson
Fiesta Bowl	Sat, Dec 28, 4:00 PM	Ohio State	vs	Georgia

This is simple enough. No. 1 plays No. 4, and No. 2 plays No. 3. The committee will ensure that the No. 1 team is not given a geographic disadvantage, so Ohio State will not be forced to play Georgia in Atlanta.

The times for these matchups are flexible and not yet set, but given that Ohio State vs Georgia will likely be the bigger draw, I expect that to be the game given primetime billing.

Next… NY6 and other Big Ten bowls

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