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topicnews · August 27, 2024

College football preseason bowl predictions: Playoff picks, bowl games and Pac-12 implications

College football preseason bowl predictions: Playoff picks, bowl games and Pac-12 implications

Get ready for a new era in college football that will be more exciting than ever throughout the season. There will be as much debate in December as there was in 1966, 1997 and 2016.

In our first attempt at selecting a 12-team field for the College Football Playoff, it’s obvious that teams will be competing against each other — even if they’re in the same division. Michigan, Penn State and Iowa are projected to finish the season at 9-3, but none of them play the other team. How do their seasons compare to each other? How do they stack up against Kansas State (10-2), Virginia Tech (10-2) or LSU (9-3), and who will secure the final CFP spot? First off, a projected Kansas State loss in the Big 12 title game puts the Wildcats at 10-3, allowing the Wolverines to advance.

We also predicted the other 34 bowls whose projections have been made unclear by the dissolution of the Pac-12. Check out our preseason CFP and bowl matchups, which were partially determined by Stewart Mandel’s ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC previews.

GO DEEPER

Our experts’ predictions for the College Football Playoffs, the Heisman Championship and the national title

CFP information

As before, a committee will select the CFP participants. Starting on November 5 (yes, election night), the committee will release its rankings each week. The committee will unveil the CFP field and final top 25 on Sunday, December 8.

The CFP field consists of the five top-seeded conference champions and seven at-large teams. The top four conference champions receive a first-round bye. The lowest-seeded conference champion and the seven at-large teams will face off on campus on Dec. 20 and 21. Seeds 5-8 will host seeds 9-12.

We project Notre Dame to finish 11-1, a better record than ACC champion Miami or Big 12 champion Utah. However, with the Irish unable to win a conference championship, the fourth-seeded ‘Canes will receive a bye, but the fifth-seeded Irish will not.

The teams that earn a bye will be ranked by the committee in bowl order, with historical conference affiliation being the priority. Our predictions are that the Sugar Bowl will host SEC champion Georgia, as before. The same goes for Big Ten champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

The CFP semifinals will take place on January 9 and 10 at the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl.

College Football Playoff

Bowl/Playoff Date Location team team Time (ET) network

Play out

20 December

Austin, Texas

7. Texas (general)

10. Tennessee (general)

8pm

ABC/ESPN

Play out

21 December

South Bend, Indiana.

5. Notre Dame (general)

12. Memphis (G5)

Midday

TNT

Play out

21 December

Eugene, Ore.

8. Oregon (general)

9. Ole Miss (voluntary)

4 p.m.

TNT

Play out

21 December

Alabama, United States.

6. Alabama (general)

11. Michigan (general)

8pm

ABC/ESPN

Festivals

31 December

Glendale, Arizona.

3. Utah (Big 12)

Winner Alabama-Michigan

19:30

ESPN

peach

January 1

Atlanta

4. Miami (ACC)

ND-Memphis winner

Midday

ESPN

rose

January 1

Pasadena, California.

1. Ohio State (Big Ten)

Winner Oregon-Ole Miss

5pm

ESPN

Sugar

January 1

New Orleans

2. Georgia (SEC)

Winner Texas-Tennessee

20:45

ESPN

Orange

9 January

Miami, Florida.

Quarterfinal winner

Quarterfinal winner

19:30

ESPN

Cotton

10 January

Arlington, Texas

Quarterfinal winner

Quarterfinal winner

19:30

ESPN

championship

20 January

Atlanta

Winner of the semi-final

Winner of the semi-final

19:30

ESPN

Other bowls

For non-CFP bowl games, the slotting process became more complicated due to realignment. The power conferences have contracts with non-CFP bowls that expire after the 2025 season.

For the next two years, the Pac-12’s current bowls will select current (Oregon State and Washington State) and former members of the league. These bowls include the Alamo, Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA Bowl and Independence. Although USC now plays in the Big Ten, we have it projected to finish 7-5 in the Pac-12-affiliated Sun Bowl.

Again, Academic Progress Rate (APR) data will determine which 5-7 teams qualify for a bowl game. In our lineup, that’s Minnesota and Stanford.

Remaining shells

Bowl Date Location team team Time (ET) network

Bahamas

January 4

Nassau, Bahamas

NIU (MAC)

Jacksonville State (CUSA)

11am

ESPN2

Dukes Mayo

January 3

Charlotte, North Carolina (State)

Penn State (Big Ten 4)

NC State (ACC 5-7)

19:30

ESPN

First Aiders

January 3

University Park, Texas

Texas Tech (ESPN)

UTSA (ESPN)

4 p.m.

ESPN

alligator

January 2

Jacksonville, Florida.

Virginia Tech (ACC 2-4)

LSU (SEC 3-8)

19:30

ESPN

Texas

31 December

Houston

Iowa State (Big 12 4)

Oklahoma (SEC 3-8)

3:30 p.m.

ESPN

Citrus fruits

31 December

Orlando, Florida.

Nebraska (Big Ten 2)

Texas A&M (SEC 2)

3 p.m

ABC

Sun

31 December

Houston, TX

North Carolina (ACC 5-7)

UT (Pac-12 5)

14 o’clock

CBS

ReliaQuest

31 December

Tampa, Florida.

Iowa (Big Ten 3)

Auburn (SEC 3-8)

Midday

ESPN

Music City

30 December

Nashville, Tennessee.

Wisconsin (Big Ten 5)

Missouri (SEC 3-8)

2:30 p.m.

ABC

independence

28 December

Shreveport, Louisiana.

army

Arkansas State* (Pac-12 7)

21:15

ESPN

Alamo

28 December

San Antonio, Texas

Kansas State (Big 12 2)

Washington St. (Pac-12 2)

21:15

ABC

Military

28 December

Maryland.

East Carolina (AAC)

Louisville (ACC 8)

17:45

ESPN

Arizona

30 December

Tucson, Arizona.

UNLV (MWC)

Miami–Ohio (MAC)

16:30

CW

Pop Tarts

28 December

Orlando, Florida.

Kansas (Big 12 3)

Florida State (ACC 2-4)

3:30 p.m.

ABC

New Mexico

28 December

Albuquerque, NM

Wyoming (WWW)

Rice** (ESPN)

2:15 p.m.

ESPN

Pinstripes

28 December

Bronx, New York: The Secret World

Northwest (Big Ten 6)

Georgia Tech (ACC 5-7)

Midday

ABC

Fenway

28 December

Boston

Syracuse (ACC 9)

Tulane (AAC)

11am

ESPN

Vegas

27 December

Las Vegas

Arizona (Pac-12 3)

Kentucky (SEC 3-8)

10:30 p.m.

ESPN

Freedom

27 December

Memphis, Tennessee.

Oklahoma State (Big 12 5)

Florida (SEC 3-8)

7pm

ESPN

Birmingham

27 December

Birmingham, Alabama.

SMU (ESPN)

UCF (ESPN)

12/3:30 p.m.

ESPN

Armed Forces

27 December

Fort Worth, Texas

West Virginia (Big 12 7)

Air Force (ESPN)

12/3:30 p.m.

ESPN

68 Activities

26 December

Mobile, Alabama.

State of Texas (Sun Belt)

Freedom (CUSA)

9pm

ESPN

Guaranteed price

26 December

Phoenix

Rutgers (Big Ten 7)

TCU (Big 12 6)

17:45

ESPN

Detroit

26 December

Detroit

Minnesota** (Big Ten 8)

Central Michigan (MAC)

14 o’clock

ESPN

Hawaii

24 December

Honolulu

State of Colorado (MWC)

FIU (USA)

8pm

ESPN

Idaho potato

23 December

Boise, Idaho

Fresno State (MWC)

Toledo (MAC)

2:30 p.m.

ESPN

Myrtle Beach

23 December

Myrtle Beach, SC

UT (ESPN)

West Michigan (ESPN)

11am

ESPN

Gasparilla

20 December

Tampa, Florida.

Wake Forest (ACC)

Carolina Coast (ESPN)

3:30 p.m.

ESPN

cure

20 December

Orlando, Florida.

James Madison (ESPN)

Ohio (ESPN)

Midday

ESPN

New Orleans

19 December

New Orleans

Appalachian State (Sun Belt)

Western Kentucky (C-USA)

7pm

ESPN2

LA Bowl

18 December

Inglewood, California.

Stanford** (Pac-12 6)

Boise State (MWC 1)

9pm

ABC

Frisco

17 December

Frisco, Texas

Louisiana (ESPN)

Sam Houston (ESPN)

9pm

ESPN

Boca Raton

17 December

Boca Raton, Florida.

: Marshall (ESPN)

FAU (ESPN)

5:30 p.m.

ESPN

camellia

14 December

Montgomery, Alabama.

Georgia South (ESPN)

Bowling Green (ESPN)

9pm

ESPN

Vacation

To be announced

San Diego

Clemson (ACC 2-4)

Oregon State (Pac-12 4)

To be announced

FOX

* = Reserve team
** = Projected 5-7 team

(Photo: David Rosenblum / Icon Sportswire via Getty)

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