College Football Bowl Game Projections Heading Into Conference Championships

It's conference championship week, which means it bowl game projections season.

In bittersweet fashion, like always, conference championship weekend has arrived bringing us one week closer to the end of the 2023-24 college football season but it also means that we are just days away from finding out who is in the College Football Playoff and who is out.

It also means that bowl season has arrived.

When you add the coveted New Year's Six Bowl Games with the rest of the field you get 41 total bowl games which means we need 82 teams to fill out those spots and all 82 spots have been filled.

To be bowl eligible you have to win six games, with some technicalities along the way. For instance, despite the NCAA prohibiting them from postseason play due to their FCS to FBS transition both James Madison and Jacksonville State qualified for a bowl due to the lack of six-win teams. As well as Minnesota, who is 5-7, but is the lone sub .500 team to fill out. Of those 82 teams, the Sun Belt Conference has the most teams that are bowl eligible with 12, and is followed by the ACC with 11. The Big 12, Big Ten, and the SEC each have nine teams while the Pac-12 (8), Mountain West (7), MAC (6), American (6), and Conference USA (4) round out the 81 teams that are within in a conference as Notre Dame finalizes the total list.

There are just 10 conference title games that separate us from bowl season and knowing who is playing who but for now, check out our updated bowl projections heading into conference championship weekend.

The New Year's Six

Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29) - Washington Huskies vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Common sense here says that I have the Washington Huskies and the Alabama Crimson Tide both losing their conference title game. For Alabama it is frustrating but it's heartbreaking for Washington, as that would be their first loss of the season. While both of these teams have playoff aspirations, this matchup would be the next best thing and could, and should, be a high-scoring affair as both quarterbacks have a lot of say in how good their team is going to play.

Orange Bowl (Dec. 3o) - Louisville Cardinals vs. Missouri Tigers

I think the Louisville Cardinals will win the ACC with Jordan Travis out for Florida State for the rest of the season which would put the Cardinals in the Orange Bowl to take on the third-best team in the SEC the Missouri Tigers. Both the Tigers and Cardinals are two of the most improved teams from a year ago and are going look to cap off their stellar seasons with a Power Five win in a New Year's Six Bowl Game.

Peach Bowl (Dec. 3o) - SMU Mustangs vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

As you can see there is a trend here and that is me giving you my conference title predictions, and I think the SMU Mustangs will knock off Tulane in the American Championship Game and earn the at-large bid for the best Group of Five team. However, the reward will most likely bring them a matchup with one of the best defenses in the country in the Penn State Nittany Lions, whose offense is finally starting to show some life following the firing of their offensive coordinator.

Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1) - Florida State Seminoles vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

A couple of weeks ago, both the Florida State Seminoles and the Ohio State Buckeyes seemed to be locks for the College Football Playoff, like they had been for most of the season. While the Seminoles are still alive, the Buckeyes will need a lot of help to have a slim chance of making the cut. This game would be one from the 1990s where each team will bring in a stingy defense, a solid run game, and questionable quarterback play.

Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal) (Jan. 1) - Georgia Bulldogs vs. Texas Longhorns

Unless they get blown out, the Georgia Bulldogs are a 99 percent lock to make the playoffs whether they win or lose in the SEC title game. For the Longhorns, they will need to win and need either Florida State and/or Washington to lose to get in. The Bulldogs have been playing their best football in the backend of the season while the Longhorns are starting to play complete games despite losing their star running back, and potentially their star wide receiver.

Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal) (Jan. 1) - Michigan Wolverines vs. Oregon Ducks

The Michigan Wolverines win over Ohio State pretty much clinched their spot in the playoffs while the Oregon Ducks need a revenge win over Washington in the Pac-12 title game to get in. This matchup would see one of the nation's best defenses take on one of the nation's best offenses. But the deciding factor will be the performance of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the ability of the Oregon defense to slow down the Wolverine run game.

The Rest of the Bowl Game Projections

DATE	BOWL	PROJECTION		TRADITIONAL MATCHUP	LOCATION
Dec-16	New Orleans	Jacksonville State	Arkansas State	C-USA vs. Sun Belt	New Orleans, La.
Dec-16	New Mexico	New Mexico St	Texas State	C-USA vs. MWC	Albuquerque, N.M.
Dec-16	Los Angeles	San Jose St	UCLA	MWC vs. Pac-12	Los Angeles, Calif.
Dec-16	Independence	Texas Tech	Cal	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	Shreveport, La.
Dec-16	Cure	Georgia State	Eastern Michigan	Pool vs. Pool	Orlando, Fla.
Dec-18	Famous Toastery	Georgia Southern	Bowling Green	C-USA vs. MAC	Charlotte, N.C.
Dec-18	Myrtle Beach	Troy	Western Kentucky	Pool vs. Pool	Myrtle Beach, SC
Dec-19	Frisco	Boise State	Old Dominion	Pool vs. Pool	Frisco, Tex.
Dec-21	Boca Raton	Coastal Carolina	Northern Illinois	Pool vs. Pool	Boca Raton, Fla.
Dec-22	Gasparilla	UCF	Liberty	ACC/SEC vs. Pool	Tampa, Fla.
Dec-23	Armed Forces	West Virginia	South Alabama	Big 12 vs Pool	Fort Worth, Tex.
Dec-23	Camellia	Utah State	App State	Pool vs. Pool	Montgomery, Ala.
Dec-23	Birmingham	Marshall	Syracuse	Pool vs. ACC/SEC	Birmingham, Ala.
Dec-23	Hawaii	Wyoming	Rice	MWC vs. AAC	Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec-23	Las Vegas	Northwestern	USC	Big Ten vs. Pac-12	Las Vegas, Nev.
Dec-23	68 Ventures	UTSA	James Madison	Pool vs. Sun Belt	Mobile, Ala.
Dec-23	Idaho Potato	Toledo	UNLV	MAC vs. MWC	Boise, Idaho
Dec-26	Guaranteed Rate	Kansas	Maryland	Big 12 vs. Big Ten	Phoenix, Ariz.
Dec-26	First Responder	Air Force	Louisiana	AAC vs. Pool	Dallas, Tex.
Dec-26	Quick Lane	Minnesota	Ohio	Big Ten vs. MAC	Detroit, Mich.
Dec-27	Texas	Oklahoma State	Auburn	Big 12 vs. SEC	Houston, Tex.
Dec-27	Holiday	Clemson	Oregon State	ACC vs. Pac-12	San Diego, Calif.
Dec-27	Duke's Mayo	Duke	Kentucky	ACC vs. SEC	Charlotte, N.C.
Dec-27	Military	Georgia Tech	Tulane	ACC vs. AAC	Annapolis, Md.
Dec-28	Pinstripe	NC State	Rutgers	ACC vs. Big Ten	New York, N.Y.
Dec-28	Fenway	Boston College	South Florida	ACC vs. AAC	Boston, Mass.
Dec-28	Pop-Tarts	Virginia Tech	Kansas State	ACC vs. Big 12	Orlando, Fla.
Dec-28	Alamo	Oklahoma	Arizona	Big 12 vs. Pac-12	San Antonio, Tex.
Dec-29	Liberty	Iowa State	Memphis	Big 12 vs. SEC	Memphis, Tenn.
Dec-29	Sun	Miami (FL)	Utah	ACC vs. Pac-12	El Paso, Tex.
Dec-29	Gator	North Carolina	Tennessee	Big Ten vs. SEC	Jacksonville, Fla.
Dec-30	Arizona	Fresno State	Miami (OH)	MWC vs. MAC	Tucson, Ariz.
Dec-30	Music City	Wisconsin	Texas A&M	Big Ten vs. SEC	Nashville, Tenn.
Jan-1	ReliaQuest	Notre Dame	LSU	Big Ten/ACC vs. SEC	Tampa, Fla.
Jan-1	Citrus	Iowa	Ole Miss	Big Ten vs. SEC	Orlando, Fla.

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