Though bowl season is still a few weeks away, we do already know the 82 teams that will be participating in the postseason. That number includes six currently undefeated teams, two FBS transitioning teams, and one team that failed to reach six wins, the minimum to secure bowl eligibility.
Unlike years in the past, many of the bowl game matchups are decided by ESPN (who organizes many of the bowl games) based on geography and competitiveness instead of by conference hierarchy. Also, the New Years Six games are decided by my own predictions for the conference championship games this weekend.
(Note: These are all projected matchups)
College Football Playoff
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Florida State
Rose Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Oregon
While Michigan is currently my number one team, if Georgia were to defeat Alabama in the SEC Championship, I believe the Bulldogs would move right back to the top. Both teams are undefeated with Michigan having the best win at the moment. As for Oregon, they are my pick to win the Pac-12 Championship game over Washington. The Ducks beat out the other top one-loss teams in Texas and Ohio State for a semifinal spot. Florida State survived the regular season and should take the ACC crown over Louisville. While Florida State has been ranked higher than Oregon all season, the Ducksʻ win over Washington should be good enough to get them up the number three.
New Yearʻs Six
Cotton Bowl: Missouri vs. Texas
Fiesta Bowl: Tulane vs. Washington
Orange Bowl: Penn State vs. Louisville
Peach Bowl: Ohio State vs. Alabama
Texas and Ohio State are the two teams that just miss the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns get old Big 12 and future SEC rival Missouri in the Cotton Bowl while the Buckeyes square off with Alabama in the Peach Bowl. Ohio State and Alabama have met five times in history, four of which were bowl games including the 2021 National Championship.
Penn State gets the Big Ten into a third New Yearʻs Six Bowl game, equaling the SEC. The Nittany Lions boast a 10-2 record with the losses coming to Ohio State and Michigan.
Tulane gets the Group of 5 spot for another year with a predicted win over SMU, although it may not be that easy to stop the Mustangs. I predict the Green Wave draw the regular season champs of the Pac-12, Washington, in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Rest
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Georgia Southern
New Orleans Bowl: Liberty vs. Troy
Currently unbeaten Liberty against ten-win Troy should be the highlight of the bowl season for the Group of 5.
Cure Bowl: Old Dominion vs. Jacksonville State
In their first season of FBS play, Jacksonville State reached eight wins and a special invitation to bowl season after not enough six win teams qualified for the 82 spots.
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State vs. Arkansas State
Jerry Kill got New Mexico State to ten wins in his second season with the Aggies. NMSU is also going bowling in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1959-60.
LA Bowl: UNLV vs. USC
A team many thought could reach the College Football Playoff in 2023, USC will not be making a major bowl this year.
Independence Bowl: Kansas State vs. Oregon State
Famous Toastery Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Marshall
Frisco Bowl: Wyoming vs. Texas State
The Texas State Bobcats will be making their first ever bowl appearance this season. Since joining the FBS in 2011, Texas State has been bowl eligible twice, but was never selected.
Boca Raton Bowl: South Alabama vs. South Florida
Gasparilla Bowl: SMU vs. James Madison
Birmingham Bowl: Memphis vs. Georgia Tech
Camellia Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. Ohio
Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. Texas Tech
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Toledo vs. Boise State
68 Ventures Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Miami (OH)
Las Vegas Bowl: California vs. Texas A&M
California was the last team to win bowl eligibility, cruising to a 33-7 road win over UCLA.
Hawaii Bowl: Rice vs. Utah State
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Eastern Michigan
Even at 5-7, Minnesota gets into a bowl game by having the highest Academic Progress Rate (APR) of the remaining five-win FBS teams.
First Responder Bowl: Louisiana vs. San Jose State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: UCF vs. Wisconsin
UCF was the only one of four new Big 12 teams to become bowl eligible.
Military Bowl: Duke vs. UTSA
Mayo Bowl: Northwestern vs. North Carolina
Holiday Bowl: Miami vs. Utah
Texas Bowl: Auburn vs. Kansas
Fenway Bowl: Georgia State vs. Virginia Tech
Pinstripe Bowl: Notre Dame vs. West Virginia
Notre Dame last played in Yankee Stadium in 2018.
Pop-Tarts Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Alamo Bowl: Arizona vs. Oklahoma State
Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. NC State
Kentucky QB Devin Leary faces his old team in Jacksonville.
Sun Bowl: UCLA vs. Syracuse
Liberty Bowl: Tennessee vs. Iowa State
Music City Bowl: Maryland vs. LSU
Arizona Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
ReliaQuest Bowl: Boston College vs. Rutgers
Citrus Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Iowa
Best Matchups
Kansas State vs. Oregon State: Both teams were so close to conference championship births this season. Oregon State will be without head coach Jonathan Smith, who took the Michigan State job last week.
SMU vs. James Madison: SMUʻs electric offense against the stout defense of James Madison would be quite the clash.
Oklahoma vs. Clemson: Brent Venables coaching against Clemson would make for an interesting storyline.
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