Last Word On College Football Week 12 Bowl Projections
For many of the teams at the top of the rankings it was an easy Saturday. However much like last week there is some movement within the New Year’s six games. With that in mind let’s go through the Last Word On College Football Week 12 Bowl Projections.
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl-December 29th- Alabama versus Michigan. The Crimson Tide led The Citadel hang around in the first half as the score was knotted at 10. However they woke up in the second half winning 50-17.
On the other side of the ball the Wolverines had difficult time beating Indiana at home. Both have huge rivalry games next week against Auburn and Ohio State respectively.
Orange Bowl- December 29th- Clemson versus Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish whipped Syracuse 36-3 in the Shamrock Series game played at Yankee Stadium. As a result the Orangemen were knocked out of a New Years Six game.
Dabo Swinney’s squad won easily against Duke and faces South Carolina next Saturday before the ACC Championship game on December 1st.
National Championship-January 8th– Alabama Versus Clemson. At this point there’s no reason to think these two schools meet again to decide the champion. Furthermore there’s no reason to believe Nick Saban won’t win his sixth title with Alabama.
As mentioned earlier upsets led to some big changes in the New Year’s Six Bowls.
New Year’s Six Bowls
Peach Bowl- December 29th- Central Florida versus Florida. You don’t think the committee could resist putting these two schools together? A battle for bragging rights in the Sunshine State makes for one of the most interesting bowl games of the season.
Rose Bowl- January 1st- Ohio State versus Washington State. This contest remains unchanged from last week. The Buckeyes won a game against Maryland they should have lost. On the other side the Cougars picked up an easy win over Arizona. Should Washington State beat Washington easily they have to be given serious consideration for the top four.
Sugar Bowl- January 1st- Georgia versus Oklahoma. This contest again remains unchanged from last week. The Bulldogs had no trouble with Massachusetts while the Sooners pulled away late to defeat Kansas.
Fiesta Bowl- January 1st- LSU versus Texas. With West Virginia losing we moved the Longhorns into the final slot. You could make a case for Penn State in this game as well. However for now we set up another Big 12 versus SEC match up.
Time now to look at the next contests in the Last Word On College Football week 12 bowl projections.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Contests
Citrus Bowl- January 1st- Kentucky versus Northwestern. As winners of the Big 10 West we are moving them into a rematch of the Wildcats. Last season’s Music City Bowl was quite the game and hopefully for Benny Snell there’s no Pac-12 officials this time around.
Outback Bowl- January 1st- Mississippi State versus Penn State. By virtue of Florida moving into the Fiesta Bowl, everyone else in the SEC moves up a game. Joe Moorhead facing his former squad makes this game even more interesting.
Taxslayer Bowl- December 31st- Michigan State versus Auburn. We thought about having Texas A&M but went with the Tigers due to proximity.
Liberty Bowl- December 31st- Missouri versus Oklahoma State. On paper this contest is one of the best of the bunch. First one to 50 points wins the game.
Redbox Bowl- December 31st- Stanford versus Wisconsin. This is a battle of two of the best running backs in the nation in Bryce Love and Jonathan Taylor.
Holiday Bowl- December 31st- Iowa versus Washington. Assuming the Huskies don’t upset Washington State next week they land in San Diego. They face the Haweyes who should finish 8-4 after beating Nebraska next Friday.
Sun Bowl- December 31st- Virginia versus Oregon. A battle of two teams who can score a ton of points makes for what should be a very entertaining contest.
Military Bowl- December 31st- Georgia Tech versus Cincinnati. A battle of opposites featuring the passing attack of the Bearcats and the triple option of the Yellow Jackets.
That takes us through all the bowls around New Year’s Day. As we continue on with the Last Word On College Football Week 12 bowl projections time now for the games from Christmas through December 30th.
One thing to note during these remaining contests three annual bowl participants Florida State, USC and Virginia Tech do not make it this year.
Next Tier Of Games
Belk Bowl- December 29th- Duke versus South Carolina
Arizona Bowl- December 29th- Fresno State versus Arkansas State
Alamo Bowl- December 28th- Iowa State versus Utah
Camping World Bowl- December 28th- West Virginia versus North Carolina State. What a huge drop for the Mountaineers going from the Fiesta Bowl down to this game.
Music City Bowl- December 28th- Vanderbilt versus Boston College. Vandy and Tennessee meet next Saturday to determine who goes to a post season game. With the game in Nashville the nod goes to Derek Mason’s squad.
Texas Bowl- December 27th- Texas Tech versus Texas A&M. Another Big 12 versus SEC battle should make for an interesting contest. However the Red Raiders have to beat Baylor next week to become bowl eligible.
Pinstripe Bowl- December 27th- Syracuse versus Purdue. The Orangemen get a second game at Yankee Stadium. On the other hand the Boilermakers face a must win against Indiana to earn a bowl berth.
Independence Bowl- December 27th- UAB versus Southern Mississippi. The Blazers go to Shreveport as a result of the SEC not having enough teams to fill all their slots.
First Responders Bowl- December 26th- BYU versus North Texas
Quick Lane Bowl- December 26th- Buffalo versus Miami
Cheez-It Bowl- December 26th- Army versus California
Now we are down to the early bowl games as we continue with the Last Word On College Football Week 12 bowl projections. However just because these are the early games doesn’t mean there aren’t some interesting match ups.
Pre-Christmas Bowl Games
Hawaii Bowl- December 22nd- Hawaii versus Marshall
Dollar General Bowl- December 22nd- Northern Illinois versus Georgia Southern
Armed Forces Bowl- December 22nd- Utah State versus Houston
Birmingham Bowl- December 22nd- Memphis versus Appalachian State. Once again as a result of the SEC having four teams in major bowls they don’t have a representative for this game. The Mountaineers step in to fill the void.
Idaho Potato Bowl- December 21st- San Diego State versus Western Michigan
Bahamas Bowl- December 21st- Middle Tennessee versus Toledo
Gasparilla Bowl-December 20th- South Florida versus Florida Atlantic. This is pretty much a home game for the Bulls. However an in-state battle makes for an interesting match up.
Frisco Bowl- December 19th- Temple versus Eastern Michigan
Boca Raton Bowl- December 18th- Tulane versus Ohio
New Orleans Bowl- December 15th- Louisiana Tech versus Louisiana Lafayette
Cameilla Bowl- December 15th- Troy versus Miami-Ohio
Las Vegas Bowl- December 15th- Boise State versus Arizona State
Cure Bowl- December 15th- Louisiana-Monroe versus Florida International
New Mexico Bowl- December 15th- North Texas versus Nevada
Thanks for checking out the Last Word On College Football Week 12 bowl projections. There are a ton of rivalry games next week so as a result the picks are bound to change once again.
