The Athletic has live coverage of the College Football Playoff rankings release show.
In taking our first stab of the season at The Athletic’s bowl projections, we found ourselves dealing with quite a pickle. Our forecasted end-of-season top 5 looked like this:
Some extremely deserving team gets left out of the College Football Playoff. We gave the Sooners the shaft for now, because their only Top 25 wins might end up being against Texas (twice), whereas Washington and Florida State could have three or four. We also see three Big Ten teams (Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State) making New Year’s Six bowls, Alabama finishing 11-2 and making the Peach Bowl, and Air Force, currently 6-0, becoming the annual Group of 5 New Year’s Six bowl participant.
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Finally, we came up one short on projected 6-6 teams. Fill-in teams are chosen based on order of APR scores, so here’s a nugget to file away for later: Minnesota and Wake Forest would be up first.
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Requisite reminder: Most bowls do not have to choose in order of conference standings. When you see Arizona listed as “Pac-12 No. 3,” it does not mean that we think the 4-3 Wildcats will finish third in the conference, but rather the Las Vegas Bowl uses its No. 3 pick to select the Wildcats.
All times Eastern.
New Year's Six
| BOWL | DATE | TEAM | LOCATION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cotton | Dec. 29 | Oregon (at-large) vs. Oklahoma (Big 12) | Arlington, Tex. | 8 p.m. |
Peach | Dec. 30 | Alabama (at-large) vs. Penn State (at-large) | Atlanta | Noon |
Orange | Dec. 30 | North Carolina (ACC) vs. Ohio State (SEC/B1G/ND) | Miami | 4 p.m. |
Fiesta | Jan. 1 | Texas (at-large) vs. Air Force (Group of 5) | Glendale, Ariz. | 1 p.m. |
Rose | Jan. 1 | No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Florida State | Pasadena, Calif. | 5 p.m. |
Sugar | Jan. 1 | No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Washington | New Orleans | 8:45 p.m. |
Remaining Bowls
| BOWL | DATE | TEAM | TEAM | LOCATION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independence | Dec. 16 | Oklahoma State (Big 12 No. 7) | Washington State (Pac-12 No. 7) | Shreveport, La. | 9:15 p.m. |
LA Bowl | Dec. 16 | UCLA (Pac-12 No. 6) | Fresno State (MWC No. 1) | Inglewood, Calif. | 7:30 p.m. |
New Mexico | Dec. 16 | Wyoming (MWC) | Louisiana (ESPN) | Albuquerque, N.M. | 5:45 p.m. |
Cure | Dec. 16 | Marshall (ESPN) | USF (ESPN) | Orlando, Fla. | 3:30 p.m. |
New Orleans | Dec. 16 | Troy (Sun Belt) | Liberty (C-USA) | New Orleans | 2:15 p.m. |
Bahamas | Dec. 16 | Eastern Michigan (MAC) | Western Kentucky (C-USA) | Nassau, Bahamas | 11 a.m. |
Myrtle Beach | Dec. 18 | Georgia State (ESPN) | FAU (ESPN) | Myrtle Beach, S.C. | 2:30 p.m. |
Frisco | Dec. 19 | Texas State (ESPN) | Colorado State (ESPN) | Frisco, Tex. | 9 p.m. |
Boca Raton | Dec. 21 | Bowling Green (ESPN) | Coastal Carolina (ESPN) | Boca Raton, Fla. | 8 p.m. |
Gasparilla | Dec. 22 | Georgia Southern (ESPN) | Toledo (ESPN) | Tampa, Fla. | 6:30 p.m. |
Hawaii | Dec. 23 | Utah State (MWC) | Tulsa (AAC) | Honolulu | 10:30 p.m. |
Vegas | Dec. 23 | Arizona (Pac-12 No. 3) | Wisconsin (Big Ten No. 3) | Las Vegas | 7:30 p.m. |
68 Ventures | Dec. 23 | Appalachian State (Sun Belt) | New Mexico State (C-USA) | Mobile, Ala. | 7 p.m. |
Idaho Potato | Dec. 23 | Boise State (MWC) | Central Michigan (MAC) | Boise, Idaho | 3:30 p.m. |
Armed Forces | Dec. 23 | SMU (ESPN) | Minnesota** (ESPN) | Fort Worth, Tex. | 3:30 p.m. |
Birmingham | Dec. 23 | Tulane (AAC) | Auburn (SEC No. 9) | Birmingham, Ala. | Noon |
Camellia | Dec. 23 | South Alabama (ESPN) | NIU (ESPN) | Montgomery, Ala. | Noon |
Guaranteed Rate | Dec. 26 | Maryland (Big Ten No. 6) | Kansas (Big 12 No. 6) | Phoenix, Ariz. | 9 p.m. |
First Responder | Dec. 26 | TCU (Big 12 No. 8) | UTSA (ESPN) | University Park, Tex. | 5:30 p.m. |
Quick Lane | Dec. 26 | Illinois (Big Ten No. 7) | Ohio (MAC) | Detroit | 2 p.m. |
Texas | Dec. 27 | Iowa State (Big 12 No. 4) | Texas A&M (SEC Nos. 3-8) | Houston | 9 p.m. |
Holiday | Dec. 27 | Miami (ACC Nos. 4-6) | Oregon State (Pac-12 No. 4) | San Diego, Calif. | 8 p.m. |
Duke's Mayo | Dec. 27 | LSU (SEC Nos. 3-8) | Duke (ACC Nos. Nos. 4-6) | Charlotte, N.C. | 5:30 p.m. |
Military | Dec. 27 | Navy (AAC) | Syracuse (ACC No. 9) | Annapolis, Md. | 2 p.m. |
Alamo | Dec. 28 | Kansas State (Big 12 No. 2) | USC (Pac-12 No. 2) | San Antonio | 9:15 p.m. |
Pop Tarts | Dec. 28 | West Virginia (Big 12 No. 3) | Louisville (ACC No. 3) | Orlando, Fla. | 5:45 p.m. |
Pinstripe | Dec. 28 | Rutgers (Big Ten No. 5) | Georgia Tech (ACC No. 7) | Bronx, N.Y. | 2:15 p.m. |
Fenway | Dec. 28 | NC State (ACC No. 10) | Memphis (AAC) | Boston | 11 a.m. |
Liberty | Dec. 29 | BYU (Big 12 No. 5) | Kentucky (SEC Nos. 3-8) | Memphis, Tenn. | 3:30 p.m. |
Sun | Dec. 29 | Virginia Tech (ACC No. 8) | Utah (Pac-12 No. 5) | El Paso, Tex. | 2 p.m. |
Gator | Dec. 29 | Clemson (ACC Nos. 4-6) | Florida (SEC Nos. 3-8) | Jacksonville, Fla. | Noon |
Arizona | Dec. 30 | UNLV (MWC) | Miami of Ohio (MAC) | Tucson, Ariz. | 4:30 p.m. |
Music City | Dec. 30 | Nebraska (Big Ten No. 4) | Missouri (SEC Nos. 3-8) | Nashville, Tenn. | 2 p.m. |
Citrus | Jan. 1 | Iowa (Big Ten No. 2) | Tennessee (SEC No. 2) | Orlando, Fla. | 1 p.m. |
ReliaQuest | Jan. 1 | Notre Dame (ACC No. 2) | Ole Miss (SEC Nos. 3-8) | Tampa, Fla. | Noon |
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(Photo: Michael Wade / Icon Sportswire via Getty)
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