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LSU and Brian Kelly vs. Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman in Tampa. USC vs. Clemson in San Diego. The Dennis Erickson Bowl in El Paso. Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss offense against the Iowa defense in Orlando.
These matchups are dwarfed by the New Year’s Six, but for college football fans, they are the matchups that make bowl season the most wonderful time of the year.
All 82 spots are filled for the upcoming bowls, which will be unveiled Sunday. After Hawaii’s upset of Colorado State, 79 teams became bowl eligible. James Madison and Jacksonville State were next in line as second-year transition teams. Minnesota rounded out the list as a 5-7 team with the best Academic Progress Report (APR).
GO DEEPER
All 16 possible College Football Playoff scenarios
A few key points:
• Our College Football Playoff forecast remains unchanged: No. 1 Georgia will play No. 4 Florida State in the Sugar Bowl and No. 2 Michigan will face No. 3 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
• The Orange Bowl automatically hosts either the ACC champion or the highest-ranked ACC team available, which in either case can be Louisville. The opponent is the highest-ranked non-champion in the Big Ten or SEC, which appears to be Ohio State. If the Big Ten appears in the Orange Bowl, they will lose their ReliaQuest spot to the ACC/Notre Dame.
• As for the remaining New Year’s Six bowls, we reinstated Tulane as the top Group of 5 champion to face Penn State, the last team to play, in the Peach Bowl. The Cotton Bowl features a former Big 12 and future SEC matchup between Texas and Missouri. As far as the Fiesta Bowl goes, Alabama and Washington may have the biggest appeal beyond the CFP.
• A few surprises could radically change these forecasts. If Oklahoma State and Louisville beat Texas and Florida State, respectively, Ohio State could enter the CFP as the No. 4 team and send Alabama to the Orange Bowl, which could push Penn State to the Citrus Bowl and open the ReliaQuest Bowl for Iowa.
Friendly reminder: Bowls rarely select teams in order of conference placement. When you see USC listed as the “Pac-12 No. 4,” that doesn’t mean the Trojans are the fourth-ranked team in the Pac-12, but rather that the Holiday Bowl is using their No. 4 pick to select them .
Another note: If ESPN is listed by a team, that means ESPN Events has the picks for that bowl game. ESPN Events owns and operates 18 bowls and picks from a pool primarily comprised of brackets of 5 teams. All times ET.
The fine print:
* Substitute for a conference without enough eligible teams
** Projected 5-7 team
New Year’s Eve six
| Bowl | Date | teams | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cotton | Dec 29 | Texas (Big 12) vs. Missouri (overall) | Arlington, Texas | 8pm ET |
peach | Dec 30 | Penn State (generally) vs. Tulane (generally) | Atlanta | Noon ET |
Orange | Dec 30 | Louisville (ACC) vs. Ohio State (SEC/Big Ten/ND) | Miami | 4 p.m. ET |
Fiesta | January 1st | Washington (overall) vs. Alabama (overall) | Glendale, Arizona. | 1 p.m. ET |
rose | January 1st | No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Oregon | Pasadena, California. | 5:00 p.m. ET |
Sugar | January 1st | No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Florida State | New Orleans | 8:45 p.m. ET |
Remaining bowls
| BOWL | DATE | TEAM | TEAM | LOCATION | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
independence | Dec 16 | Kansas State (Big 12 No. 7) | Cal (Pac-12 7) | Shreveport, La. | 9:15 p.m |
LA Bowl | Dec 16 | UCLA (Pac-12 6) | UNLV (MWC 1) | Inglewood, California. | 19:30 o’clock |
New Mexico | Dec 16 | Wyoming (MWC) | New Mexico State (ESPN) | Albuquerque, NM | 5:45 p.m |
cure | Dec 16 | USF (ESPN) | Carolina Coast (ESPN) | Orlando, Florida. | 3:30 in the afternoon |
New Orleans | Dec 16 | Louisiana (Sunbelt) | Jacksonville St. (C-USA) | New Orleans | 2:15 p.m |
Myrtle Beach | Dec 16 | Georgia Southern (ESPN) | Ohio (ESPN) | Conway, SC | 11 clock |
Famous Toastery | Dec 18 | Arkansas State (ESPN) | Western Kentucky (ESPN) | Charlotte, NC | 2.30 |
Frisco | Dec 19 | Appalachian State (ESPN) | Fresno State (ESPN) | Frisco, Texas | 21 clock |
Boca Raton | 21st December | James Madison (ESPN) | Toledo (ESPN) | Boca Raton, Florida | 8 p.m |
Gasparilla | Dec 22nd | UCF (ESPN) | Georgia Tech (ACC/SEC) | Tampa, Florida. | 6:30 in the evening |
Hawaii | 23rd of December | San Jose State (MWC) | Marshall* (AAC) | Honolulu | 10:30 p.m |
Vegas | 23rd of December | Utah (Pac-12 3) | Northwest (Big Ten 3) | Las Vegas | 19:30 o’clock |
68 ventures | 23rd of December | South Alabama (Sunbelt) | Eastern Michigan (MAC) | Mobile, Ala. | 19 o’clock |
Idaho potato | 23rd of December | Utah State | Georgia State (ESPN) | Boise, Idaho | 3:30 in the afternoon |
Armed forces | 23rd of December | Texas Tech (Big 12 No. 8) | Air Force (ESPN) | Fort Worth, Texas | 3:30 in the afternoon |
Birmingham | 23rd of December | Troy (ESPN) | Freedom* (SEK 9) | Birmingham, Ala. | Midday |
camellia | 23rd of December | Bowling Green (ESPN) | Old Dominion (ESPN) | Montgomery, Ala. | Midday |
Guaranteed price | Dec 26 | Maryland (Big Ten 6) | Kansas (Big 12 6) | Phoenix, Arizona. | 21 clock |
First responder | Dec 26 | Rice (ESPN) | State of Texas (ESPN) | University Park, Texas | 17:30 |
Fast track | Dec 26 | Minnesota** (Big Ten 7) | NIU (MAC) | Detroit | 14 o’clock |
Texas | Dec 27 | Oklahoma State (Big 12 4) | Texas A&M (SEC 3-8) | Houston | 21 clock |
Vacation | Dec 27 | Clemson (ACC 3-5) | USC (Pac-12 4) | San Diego, California. | 8 p.m |
Duke’s mayo | Dec 27 | Kentucky (SEC 3-8) | Virginia Tech (ACC 6-8) | Charlotte, NC | 17:30 |
Military | Dec 27 | UTSA (AAC) | Boston College (ACC 9) | Annapolis, Maryland | 14 o’clock |
Alamo | Dec 28 | Oklahoma (Big 12 2) | Arizona (Pac-12 2) | San Antonio | 9:15 p.m |
Pop Tarts | Dec 28 | West Virginia (Big 12 3) | NC State (ACC 3-5) | Orlando, Florida. | 5:45 p.m |
Pinstripes | Dec 28 | Rutgers (Big Ten 5) | Duke (ACC 6-8) | Bronx, NY | 2:15 p.m |
Fenway | Dec 28 | Syracuse (ACC 10) | SMU (AAC) | Boston | 11 clock |
Freedom | Dec 29 | Iowa State (Big 12 6) | Memphis* (SEK 3-8) | Memphis, Tennessee. | 3:30 in the afternoon |
Sun | Dec 29 | Miami (ACC 6-8) | Oregon State (Pac-12 5) | El Paso, Texas | 14 o’clock |
alligator | Dec 29 | North Carolina (ACC 3-5) | Tennessee (SEC 3-8) | Jacksonville, Fla. | Midday |
Arizona | Dec 30 | Boise State (MWC) | Miami of Ohio (MAC) | Tucson, Arizona. | 4:30 p.m |
Music City | Dec 30 | Wisconsin (Big Ten 4) | Auburn (Sec. 3-8) | Nashville, Tennessee. | 14 o’clock |
Citrus fruits | January 1st | Iowa (Big Ten No. 2) | Ole Miss (SEK No. 2) | Orlando, Florida. | 13 o’clock |
ReliaQuest | January 1st | Notre Dame (ACC No. 2) | LSU (SEK 3-8) | Tampa, Florida. | Midday |
(Photo by Brian Kelly: Butch Dill / USA Today)