Another Crazy Week Of College Football
Hello everyone and welcome to our 2024 Week Six Bowl Projections. On paper, the past weekend’s slate of games didn’t look that appealing. However, that’s why you play the games on the field. A week ago three of the top ten teams lost causing some big changes in our projections.
This week was even crazier as five of the top 11 teams went down. The biggest one came when Vanderbilt knocked off number one Alabama. That loss along with several other caused some shakeup in our SEC picks. These days the only thing that’s for sure about college football is nothing’s for sure. Let’s get to our week six projections and as always if you’d like to see how things changed from last week then click here.
College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 20th- (12) Boise State at (5) Oregon- Ashton Jeanty continues to put up incredible numbers week after week and is a legit Heisman candidate. They remain our Group Of Five Team. With losses by Alabama and Tennessee, the Ducks move up to the fifth spot.
Saturday, December 21st- (9) Iowa State at (8) Alabama- The Cyclones were very impressive in beating Baylor. However, they have a tough one on Saturday against West Virginia. Despite their shocking loss to Vanderbilt the Crimson Tide only dropped a couple of spots.
Saturday, December 21st- (11) Texas A&M at (6) Penn State- Following their huge win over Missouri the Aggies make their first appearance. Much like their Big Ten counterparts, the Nittany Lions move up due to other schools losing.
Saturday, December 21st- (10) Clemson vs. (7) Georgia– Dabo’s Tigers won an ugly one against Florida State while the Bulldogs had no trouble against Auburn.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Tuesday, December 31st- (5) Oregon at (4) BYU- The Cougars remain our Big 12 Champion. They host Arizona in a big one on Saturday.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (6) Penn State vs. (3) Miami (Florida)- Cam Ward and the Hurricanes rallied from a 25-point deficit to beat California on the road. How much longer can their luck hold up?
Rose Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (7) Alabama vs. (2) Ohio State- The Buckeyes broke open a close game in a 28-point win over Iowa.
Allstate Sugar Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (8) Georgia vs. (1) Texas- This could be the third meeting between the two schools. They play in Austin next week and could meet in the SEC title game.
College Football Semi-Finals And Final
Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 9th- (5) Oregon vs (1) Texas- The Longhorns lead the all-time series 4-2. However, the Ducks have won the last two.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Friday, January 10th- (3) Miami vs. (2) Ohio State- The schools have met four times with each winning twice.
College Football National Championship- Atlanta, Georgia- Monday, January 20th- (2) Ohio State vs. (1) Texas- The Longhorns hold a 2-1 lead all-time. However, they haven’t met since 2009.
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 Five 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 Six Bowl Projections.
Games Around The New Year
TransPerfect Music City Bowl- December 30th Big Ten vs. SEC- Illinois vs. LSU
Reliaquest Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Ole Miss vs. Michigan- The Wolverines lost the national title rematch to Washington on Saturday night. As a result that just about ends their playoff hopes. Ole Miss recovered from their loss to Kentucky with an easy win on the road at South Carolina.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- Boston College vs. California- This is an interesting one with Cal representing its old conference against its new one. However, these two don’t play during the season so why not?
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Tennessee vs. Indiana- The Hoosiers were the first team reaching bowl eligibility this season. It’s their first since the 2021 Outback Bowl.
Texas Bowl- December 31st- Big 12 vs. SEC- Oklahoma vs. Colorado- A meeting of former Big 8 rivals in Houston, that would be a tough ticket for sure.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- January 2nd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Missouri vs. Syracuse
ServPro First Responder Bowl- January 3rd- American/ACC/Big 12- Cincinnati vs. Sam Houston State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- January 3rd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- Pittsburgh vs. Nebraska- 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- Florida International 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 with our 2024 Week Six Bowl Projections let’s move to the contests held just after Christmas.
After Christmas Bowl Games
Detroit Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. MAC- Wisconsin vs. Toledo
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 26th- Big 12 vs. Big Ten- West Virginia vs. Rutgers
68 Ventures Bowl- December 26th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Ohio vs. Texas State
76 Birmingham Bowl- December 27th- ACC/SEC vs. Pool- Charlotte vs. Arkansas- As a result of their big win over Tennessee Sam Pittman’s squad makes their way into our projections for the first time.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. Pool- Arizona vs. Oklahoma State
AutoZone Liberty Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Vanderbilt vs. Texas Tech- The image of Commodore fans marching the goalpost down Broadway and into the Cumberland River is one that won’t soon be forgotten. Wonder what the over/under is on how many bachelorette parties were interrupted on Saturday. On the other side of the ball, the Red Raiders are one of the big success stories of 2024. Currently, they sit 3-0 in the Big 12 after their win over Arizona.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl- December 27th- SEC vs. Pac-12- Kentucky vs. Washington- With the Big Ten playing in the Mayo Bowl it’s the SEC’s turn to head to Las Vegas. After Vandy’s big victory suddenly Saturday night’s meeting between the Wildcats and Vandy has some big bowl implications.
DirecTV Holiday Bowl- December 27th- ACC vs. Pac-12- SMU vs. Washington State
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 Six Bowl Projections.
A Huge Day Of Games
Wasabi Fenway Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Virginia Tech vs. South Florida
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- Duke vs. Iowa
Isleta New Mexico Bowl- December 28th- Mountain West vs. American/Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Louisiana-Monroe vs. San Jose State
Pop-Tarts Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Kansas State vs. Notre Dame- We hate to send the Wildcats to Orlando for a second straight season. However, it’s a definite possibility.
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl- December 28th- MAC vs. Mountain West- Utah State vs. Central Michigan
Go Bowling Military Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Georgia Tech vs. Navy
Valero Alamo Bowl- December 28th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Utah vs. USC
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl- December 28th- Army/ American vs. Pac-12- Army vs. Arizona State
Army and Navy are now both 5-0. Is it too early to imagine a scenario where the schools play in back-to-back weeks? First to decide the AAC title and then their regularly scheduled game the next week.
Let’s finish up our 2024 Week Six 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- Louisiana vs. Texas San-Antonio
Boca Raton Bowl- December 17th- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. Western Kentucky
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Pool- Maryland vs. Central Florida
LA Bowl Presented By Gronk- December 18th- Pac-12 vs. Mountain West- UNLV vs. Oregon State- The Rebels’ loss to Syracuse didn’t totally wreck their chances as the Group Of Five team.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl- December 19th- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt- Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty
Staff DNA Cure Bowl- December 20th American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- James Madison vs. North Texas- The Dukes loss to Louisiana-Monroe likely ended their Group Of Five bid.
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- December 20th- American vs. ACC/SEC– Memphis vs. Virginia
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 23rd- American/MAC/Sun Belt- Appalachian State vs. Northern Illinois
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- December 23rd- MAC vs. Mountain West- Colorado State vs. Buffalo
Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th- Conference USA vs. Mountain West- Fresno State vs. Tulane
*Denotes a replacement team for a conference without enough bowl-eligible teams.
Games We Are Watching This Weekend
There are several big contests coming up in week six. The headliner features Ohio State traveling to Eugene for a battle against Dillon Gabriel and Oregon. In addition, Penn State travels to USC, and LSU hosts Ole Miss. Finally, Texas and Oklahoma meet in the “Red River Rivalry” for the first time as members of the SEC.
Thanks for checking out our Week Six Bowl Projections here at Last Word On College Football. We’ll be back same time next week with updated picks.
