First Week Is In The Books
Welcome back to our first in-season bowl projections. While it’s titled 2024 Week One Bowl Projections it could also be “the overreaction edition.” The first full week of the regular season saw the SEC struggle as they went 1-3 in marquee matchups. In addition, the Pac-12 was the only league to go undefeated. Of course, there are only two of them. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the ACC who had a couple of top teams struggle. Overall there might be a whole lot of change from our preseason picks. However, there is some movement within our playoff squads.
How This Works
The playoff is expanding to 12 teams this year. If we are being honest with the way 2023 ended it’s probably overdue. However, there are still going to be teams that feel left out.
The process goes as follows; the winners of the four major conferences will be seeded 1-4 by the committee. The top Group Of Five squad gets a berth, leaving seven teams fighting for the other spots. Champions of the Power Four get a first-round bye while the other eight meet in matchups at the higher seed. In addition, many of the New Year’s Six games are now playoff games.
With all the backstory out of the way let’s get to our picks.
College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 20th- (12) Boise State at (5) Texas- The Longhorns’ first game as an SEC member was a 52-0 win over Colorado State. Led by a career performance from Ashton Jeanty the Broncos won arguably the best game of the weekend 56-45 over Georgia Southern. They remain our Group Of Five Team.
Saturday, December 21st- (9)Penn State at (8) Ole Miss- The Nittany Lions had one of the best wins of the weekend winning at West Virginia. Jaxson Dart and the Rebels rang up 76 on Furman.
Saturday, December 21st- (11) Michigan at (6) Notre Dame- It’s hard to say the Fighting Irish may have clinched a playoff berth after one game. However, we’re saying it. A big fourth quarter from the Wolverines finally put away Fresno State.
Saturday, December 21st- (10) Oregon vs. (7) Alabama– The Ducks got all they could handle from Idaho before winning by 10. That wasn’t the case in Kalen DeBoer’s debut in Tuscaloosa beating Western Kentucky 63-0.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Tuesday, December 31st- (5) Texas at (4) Utah- There are at least five teams who could win the Big 12. We’re sticking with the Utes until something changes our minds.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (6) Notre Dame vs. (3) Miami (Florida)- So far the Hurricanes look like the class of the ACC. As a result, they get the automatic bid following Florida State’s loss. Lots of history between these two schools.
Rose Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (7) Alabama vs. (2) Ohio State- The Buckeyes pulled away from Akron in the second half winning 52-6. We’re trying to keep some tradition by sending the Big Ten Champ to Pasadena.
Allstate Sugar Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (8) Ole Miss vs. (1) Georgia- Carson Beck and the Bulldogs had no trouble against Clemson. The Rebels get to face the SEC champs and top seed in New Orleans.
College Football Semi-Finals And Final
Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 9th- (5) Texas vs. (1) Georgia– The Longhorns get past Utah setting up a battle versus the Bulldogs.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Friday, January 10th- (3) Miami vs. (2) Ohio State- Both favorites advance setting up an epic battle at Jerry World.
College Football National Championship- Atlanta, Georgia- Monday, January 20th- (2) Ohio State vs. (1) Georgia- The two best teams all year in college football meet in the title game.
Well, that’s a lot to digest but we’ve still got a lot more to come. Let’s move on with the 2024 Week One Bowl Projections.
Filling The Void
A few things to consider as we go through the remainder of the games. With the end of the Pac-12, many of the old teams from the league are eligible to fill those bowl slots. Those are the Alamo, Holiday Independence, LA, Las Vegas, and Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl. While Oregon State and Washington State are of course eligible don’t be surprised to see former Pac-12 schools as well.
In addition, bowls try to avoid teams playing in the same game in back-to-back years. However, with all the conference swapping madness duplicates are a definite possibility. Let’s check out our next set of games with our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections.
Games Around The New Year
TransPerfect Music City Bowl- December 30th Big Ten vs. SEC- Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma– Behind four touchdowns from Jackson Arnold the Sooners also had an easy time in their first SEC game.
Reliaquest Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Tennessee vs. Iowa- The Volunteers just miss the playoff and go to Tampa where they haven’t played since 2016. Iowa discovered offense over the weekend rolling up nearly 500 yards in a win over Illinois State.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- North Carolina vs. California- The Tar Heels got a big win at Minnesota but lost quarterback Max Johnson for the year. This is an interesting one with Cal representing their old conference against their new one. However, they don’t play during the season so why not?
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Missouri vs. Nebraska– The Tigers are a team many think could challenge for the SEC title.
Texas Bowl- December 31st- Big 12 vs. SEC- Kansas State vs. Auburn– Hugh Freeze’s squad rang up 73 points on Alabama A&M on Saturday.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- January 2nd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- LSU vs. Florida State- Pretty hard to believe the Tigers have now lost five straight season openers after the last-second loss to USC. On the other side of the ball have the wheels fallen off for the Seminoles? Following up a loss to Georgia Tech with a home loss to Boston College is not a good look.
ServPro First Responder Bowl- January 3rd- American/ACC/Big 12- Texas Tech vs. Sam Houston State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- January 3rd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- North Carolina State vs. Indiana- The SEC and Big Ten alternate every other year in this contest and in 2024 it’s the Big Ten’s turn.
Bahamas Bowl- January 4th- Conference USA vs. MAC- New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green– The game is back in its normal home this year. In addition, it’s moving from the first weekend to the last non-playoff bowl.
Continuing on with our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections let’s move to the contests held just after Christmas.
After Christmas Bowl Games
Detroit Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. MAC- Illinois vs. Northern Illinois
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 26th- Big 12 vs. Big Ten- Rutgers vs. West Virginia
68 Ventures Bowl- December 26th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Ohio vs. Texas State
76 Birmingham Bowl- December 27th- ACC/SEC/American- Syracuse vs. East Carolina
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- December 27th- American vs. Conference USA- Air Force vs. Iowa State
AutoZone Liberty Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Kentucky vs. Central Florida- Mark Stoops’ club waited through a two-hour delay before shutting out Southern Mississippi. These two schools have never met.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl- December 27th- SEC vs. Pac-12- Texas A&M vs. Arizona- With the Big Ten playing in the Mayo Bowl it’s the SEC’s turn to head to Las Vegas.
DirecTV Holiday Bowl- December 27th- ACC vs. Pac-12- Clemson vs. Washington- Things did not look good for Dabo and the Tigers on Saturday. However, did that have more to do with playing Georgia?
The biggest date as far as the number of games is December 28th with eight bowls total. Let’s go through each of them with our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections.
A Huge Day Of Games
Wasabi Fenway Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Virginia Tech vs. Memphis- The Tigers are another team many think could get the Group Of Five bid.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- Duke vs. Maryland
Isleta New Mexico Bowl- December 28th- Mountain West vs. American/Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State
Pop-Tarts Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Kansas vs. Louisville– The Jayhawks really wanted this game a season ago. However, Kansas State ended up in Orlando. They face a Cardinal who could surprise in the ACC.
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl- December 28th- MAC vs. Mountain West- Utah State vs. Western Michigan- Snoop Dogg is truly everywhere. First, he was a highlight of the recent Olympics. Now he’s sponsoring a bowl game.
Go Bowling Military Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- SMU vs. South Florida- The Mustangs represent their new conference (ACC) vs. their old one (American)
Valero Alamo Bowl- December 28th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Oklahoma State vs. USC
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl- December 28th- Army/ American vs. Pac-12- TCU vs. Washington State
Let’s finish up our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections with a look at the first slate of contests.
Early Season Bowl Games
Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 14th- MEAC vs. SWAC- Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central
Camellia Bowl- December 14th- MAC vs. Sun Belt- South Alabama vs. Texas San-Antonio
Boca Raton Bowl- December 17th- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. Jacksonville State
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl- December 17th- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- Pittsburgh vs. Florida Atlantic
LA Bowl Presented By Gronk- December 18th- Pac-12 vs. Mountain West- UNLV vs. Oregon State
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl- December 19th- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt- Troy vs. Liberty- This game features two teams vying for the Group Of Five bid. For now, we have them meeting in New Orleans.
Staff DNA Cure Bowl- December 20th American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- James Madison vs. Eastern Michigan
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- December 20th- American vs. ACC/SEC– Georgia Tech vs. Tulane- As a result of their 2-0 start and big win over Florida State the Yellow Jackets fly into our projections. The Green Wave are a serious Group Of Five contender in 2024.
Pre-Christmas Games
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 23rd- American/MAC/Sun Belt- Appalachian State vs. Toledo
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- December 23rd- MAC vs. Mountain West- Fresno State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th- Conference USA vs. Mountain West- Colorado State vs. Western Kentucky
One team you don’t see yet is Boston College. Bill O’Brien promised big things. Beating Florida State in Tallahassee certainly qualifies as such. However we’re giving them one more week to see what they do. That does it for our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections here at Last Word On College Football. Don’t see your favorite team? Don’t worry, it’s only Week One. We’ll be back next week with another round of bowl projections.
