“Championship Weekend” is complete and things went mostly according to plan. In just a few hours the College Football Playoff Committee will announce its picks. Following that, the selections for all the bowl games will be set. Let’s take one more look at how things shape up with the Last Word On College Football Week 14 Bowl Projections. As always we start with the playoffs.
Last Word On College Football Week 14 Bowl Projections
College Football Playoffs
Orange Bowl- December 29th- Alabama versus Oklahoma. As a result of the Sooners moving into the fourth slot we have made an adjustment to this game. Instead of the Cotton Bowl which would give Lincoln Riley’s club an advantage, they will now play in Miami.
Much like the National Championship game Alabama had to come from behind to beat Georgia 35-28. However this time in a reversal of fortune it was Jalen Hurts who led the comeback when Tua Tagovailoa injured his ankle.
This will be the sixth time in history the Crimson Tide and Sooners have played and the fourth in a bowl game. Oklahoma won the last meeting 45-31 in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. In addition they have won three straight against Alabama.
Cotton Bowl- December 29th- Clemson versus Notre Dame. The teams stay the same only the location has changed. Dabo Swinney‘s squad knocked off Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship game while the Fighting Irish watched the game from home. This is the fourth time in history these two schools have met on the gridiron. Clemson leads the series 2-1 winning the last meeting at home 24-22 in 2015.
National Championship- January 8th- Alabama versus Clemson. This pick hasn’t changed since we started the bowl projections and no reason to change it now. This will be the third time in four years these two schools have met for the championship. Unless there is a huge upset all signs point to another title for the Crimson Tide.
As we continue with our Last Word On College Football Week 14 bowl projections it’s time for the New Year’s six games. Much like last week there are some changes in the line-up.
New Year’s Six Bowls-
Peach Bowl- December 29th- LSU versus Michigan. With Ohio State winning the Big 10 the Wolverines end as an at-large team playing in Atlanta. In addition to this being a very intriguing match up it’s also the first time the two schools have ever met.
Rose Bowl- January 1st- Ohio State versus Washington. As usual this game features a battle of the Big 10 and Pac 12 winners. The Buckeyes easily handled Northwestern while the Huskies turned back the challenge of Utah in a defensive struggle.
Fiesta Bowl- January 1st- Central Florida versus Florida. The Knights came from a big deficit to win the American Conference title without McKenzie Milton. However playing against one of the hottest teams at the end of the season is going to be quite the challenge. Nonetheless the Battle for the Sunshine State should be a great game.
Sugar Bowl- January 1st- Georgia versus Texas. As a result of Oklahoma making the playoffs the Longhorns go to New Orleans as the Big 12 representative. You could make the case Georgia deserved the last playoff spot however do you put them in over a one loss conference champion? The last time these two traditional powers met was the 1984 Cotton Bowl won by the Bulldogs 10-9. Overall Texas leads the series 3-1.
As we move on to the remaining upper tier of bowl games there isn’t a whole lot of movement in these games from last week. Furthermore you will notice there are 82 bowl eligible teams and only 78 slots.
New Year’s Day and Eve Games
Citrus Bowl- January 1st- Kentucky versus Penn State. The Wildcats finished the season 9-3, their best mark since 1977. Their reward is a trip to Orlando to face the Nittany Lions. Kentucky’s last New Year’s game was 20 years ago to the day against Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Joe Paterno’s club was victorious 26-14 over Tim Couch and the Cats.
Outback Bowl- January 1st- Mississppi State versus Northwestern. In Nick Fitzgerald’s final contest the Bulldogs face the Wildcats in what should be a very entertaining game.
Taxslayer Bowl- December 31st- Michigan State versus Texas A&M. The Aggies are coming off that epic seven overtime win over LSU while the Spartans struggled down the stretch.
Holiday Bowl- December 31st- Iowa versus Utah. Every year the game in San Diego is one of the best bowl games. This match up between the Big 10 and Pac 12 should be no different.
Liberty Bowl- December 31st- Oklahoma State versus Vanderbilt
Redbox Bowl- December 31st- Stanford versus Wisconsin. Seeing Bryce Love and Jonathan Taylor compete is worth the price of admission alone.
Sun Bowl- December 31st- Pittsburgh versus Oregon. Following their loss in the ACC title game the Panthers head to El Paso to face the Ducks.
Military Bowl- December 31st- Georgia Tech versus Temple. In Paul Johnson’s last game as coach of the Yellow Jackets they face the Owls.
We continue the Last Word On College Football week 14 bowl projections with a look at the next tier of games.
Middle Tier Bowl Games
Arizona Bowl- December 29th- Fresno State versus Arkansas State
Belk Bowl- December 29th- South Carolina versus Virginia
Alamo Bowl- December 28th- Washington State versus West Virginia. This one is the definition of “Must See TV.” Will Grier versus Gardner Minshew and the first team to 50 wins.
Camping World Bowl- December 28th- Syracuse versus Iowa State
Music City Bowl- December 28th- Missouri versus NC State
Texas Bowl- December 27th- Auburn versus TCU
Pinstripe Bowl- December 27th- Boston College versus Purdue
Independence Bowl- December 27th- Miami (FL) versus UAB
Cheez-It Bowl- December 26th- Arizona State versus Duke
Quick Lane Bowl- December 26th- Virginia Tech versus Minnesota. The Hokies added a game against Marshall to keep their bowl streak alive. As a result of their win they travel to Detroit to face the Golden Gophers.
First Responder Bowl- December 26th- San Diego State versus BYU
Continuing on with the Last Word On College Football Week 14 bowl projections we turn to the final set of games. You will notice several teams have already accepted bids.
Lower Tier Bowl Games
Hawaii Bowl- December 22nd- Hawaii versus Louisiana Tech. Both teams have already accepted bids to play in this game.
Dollar General Bowl- December 22nd- Northern Illinois versus Troy
Armed Forces Bowl- December 22nd- Army versus Baylor
Birmingham Bowl- December 22nd- Memphis versus Wake Forest
Idaho Potato Bowl- December 21st- Buffalo versus Utah State
Bahamas Bowl- December 21st- Florida International versus Toledo. Both squads already accepted bids to this game.
Gasparilla Bowl- December 20th- Cincinnati versus Middle Tennessee
Frisco Bowl- December 19th- Houston versus Ohio
Boca Raton Bowl- December 18th- Tulane versus Marshall
New Orleans Bowl- December 15th- Appalachian State versus Southern Mississippi.
Cameilla Bowl- December 15th- Georgia Southern versus Western Michigan
Las Vegas Bowl- December 15th- Boise State versus California
Cure Bowl- December 15th- Louisiana-Lafayette versus South Florida
New Mexico Bowl- December 15th- Nevada versus North Texas
There are too many teams and not enough slots for bowl this year. As a result we were unable to find a spot for Eastern Michigan, Louisiana-Monroe, Miami-Ohio and Wyoming. Thanks for checking out the Last Word On College Football Week 14 bowl projections. Don’t forget as bowl season gets underway we will have previews of every game leading up to the championship.
