A Mostly Normal Week
For the most part Week Six of the college football season went mostly according to plan. However one of our playoff teams got a huge scare and we now have a new team in the selection committee games. Who’s in and who’s out? Let’s take a look at our 2022 Week Six Bowl Projections. As always if you want to see how things changed from last week click here. A * next to a team means a replacement for a league that doesn’t have enough bowl-eligible teams.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- December 31st- (1) Georgia vs. (4) Clemson- It took a while but Kirby Smart’s team finally put away Auburn 42-13. As a result they remain in the top spot.
Clemson used a terrific defensive effort in a 31-3 win over Boston College. At this point, it seems like a given that Dabo Swinney’s club will win the ACC and hold onto a playoff berth.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl- December 31st- (2) Ohio State vs. (3) Alabama- Without Bryce Young the Crimson Tide needed a fourth-quarter goal line stand to beat Texas A&M. They travel to Tennessee in what’s probably the biggest game of the weekend.
Behind Heisman Trophy Candidate C.J. Stroud who threw six touchdowns the Buckeyes blitzed Michigan State 49-20. The gap between numbers 1 and 2 is razor thin right now and another so-so performance by Georgia and we will pull the trigger.
College Football Playoff- January 9th- (1)- Georgia vs. (2) Ohio State- If this match-up holds true this is only the second meeting of all time between the two schools. Georgia won the 1993 Citrus Bowl 21-14.
Selection Committee Games
Orange Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. SEC/Big 10/Notre Dame
North Carolina State vs. Penn State- Down 17-3 and without injured quarterback Devin Leary the Wolfpack outscored Florida State 16-0 to pull out a 19-17 win. The Nittany Lions had the week off before heading to Michigan Saturday.
Sugar Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big 12
Tennessee vs. Oklahoma State- Other than Ohio State no one is playing better than the Volunteers right now. Hendon Hooker and company ran LSU out of “Death Valley” on Saturday 40-13.
The Cowboys followed up their win over Baylor with a 41-31 win over Texas Tech. They are undoubtedly the favorite to head to New Orleans as the Big 12 representative.
Cotton Bowl- January 2nd- At Large vs. At Large
Cincinnati vs. Oregon– Once again we went back and forth between Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati. However, we’ve stuck with the Bearcats since the beginning and they’re making us look good.
The Ducks replace Utah and get the nod over UCLA. Those two meet in Eugene on October 22nd and the winner has the inside track to playing at “Jerry World.”
Rose Bowl- January 2nd-Big 10 vs. Pac 12
Michigan vs. USC- Jim Harbaugh’s club outscored Indiana 21-0 in the second half for a 31-10 win. The Trojans looked very impressive beating Washington State 30-14. This is the first meeting between the two schools since the 2007 Rose Bowl.
Continuing our 2022 Week Six bowl projections we head to the games usually played on New Year’s Day. As we like to point out every week these games have been moved so they don’t compete with the NFL. Also of note, the Outback Bowl is no more, it is now the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Games Around The New Year
Citrus Bowl- January 2nd-Big 10 vs. SEC- Illinois vs. Ole Miss- The Fighting Illini beat Iowa in one of the ugliest games you’ll ever see. As a result of them leading the Big 10 West we have them heading to Orlando. Lane Kiffin’s squad found themselves down 10 to Vanderbilt before outscoring them 35-8 on the way to a 52-28 win.
ReliaQuest Bowl- January 2nd- Big 10/ACC vs. SEC- Kentucky vs. Minnesota- After Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State you could take the remaining Big 10 teams and pull them out of a hat. For this week we’re sending the Golden Gophers to Tampa.
Even after their really bad loss to South Carolina we’re keeping the Wildcats in Tampa. The two schools have never met on the gridiron.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. Big 10- Duke vs. Purdue
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. Pac 12- Florida State vs. Oregon State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 30th-Big 10 vs. SEC- Florida vs. Notre Dame
Arizona Bowl- December 30th- Mountain West vs. Mid-American- Boise State vs. Toledo
Music City Bowl- December 31st- Big 10 vs. SEC- Arkansas vs. Maryland
Post Christmas Day Games
Quick Lane Bowl- December 26th–Big 10 vs. Mid-American- Central Michigan vs. Michigan State
Birmingham Bowl- December 27th- Pool vs. ACC/SEC- Iowa State vs. South Carolina
Camellia Bowl- December 27th– Pool vs. Pool- Liberty vs. Troy
First Responder Bowl- December 27th- Big 10 vs. Pool- Oklahoma vs. Iowa- A few weeks ago we had the Sooners knocking on the door of the playoff. Now as a result of three straight losses they’ve dropped considerably.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. Big 10- Indiana vs. Texas Tech
Military Bowl- December 28th-ACC vs. American- Central Florida vs. Miami (Florida)
Liberty Bowl- December 28th-Big 12 vs. SEC- LSU vs. TCU
Holiday Bowl- December 28th- ACC vs. Pac 12- Utah vs. Wake Forest- The Demon Deacons had an easy time with Army. Following their loss to UCLA we’re moving the Utes to the game in San Diego.
Texas Bowl- December 28th- SEC vs. Big 12- Kansas vs. Texas A&M
Pinstripe Bowl- December 29th- ACC vs. Big 10- North Carolina vs. Wisconsin
Cheez-It Bowl- December 29th- ACC vs. Big 12- Baylor vs. Pittsburgh
Alamo Bowl- December 29th- Big 12 vs. Pac 12- Texas vs. UCLA- As we mentioned earlier we looked at putting the undefeated Bruins in the Cotton Bowl. However for now they’re headed to San Antonio.
As we go through the final sets of games in our 2022 Week Six Bowl Projections you’ll find Coastal Carolina. They’re definitely a team to watch going forward the rest of the season.
Games Around Christmas
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Pool vs. Pool- Coastal Carolina vs. Western Kentucky
Idaho Potato Bowl- December 20th-Mid-American vs. Mountain West-
Ball State vs. Wyoming
Boca Raton Bowl- December 20th- Pool vs. Pool- Miami (Ohio) vs. Rice
New Orleans Bowl- December 21st- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt
Louisiana vs. UAB
Armed Forces Bowl- December 22nd-American vs. Pool- BYU vs. Houston
Independence Bowl- December 23rd- American vs. Army- Army vs. Tulane- At this point it’s difficult to see Army winning six games. However with their APR if they get five they’ll still head to Shreveport.
Gasparilla Bowl- December 23rd- ACC/SEC vs. Pool
South Alabama vs. Rutgers*- With no ACC or SEC team available we’re sending the Scarlet Knights to Tampa.
Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th-Mountain West vs. Conference USA
San Jose State vs. Texas-San Antonio
Time to wrap our 2022 Week Six Bowl Projections will the enormous slate of early season games. Of course that includes a whopping seven games on December 17th alone.
First Weekend Games
Bahamas Bowl- December 16th- Conference USA vs. Mid-American- UTEP vs. Western Michigan
Cure Bowl- December 16th- Pool vs. Pool- Marshall vs. Middle Tennessee
Fenway Bowl- December 17th- ACC vs. American- Memphis vs. Syracuse
Frisco Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Pool- Nevada vs. Tulsa
Celebration Bowl- December 17th- MEAC vs. SWAC- Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central
New Mexico Bowl- December 17th- Conference USA vs. Mountain West- Air Force vs. North Texas
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl– December 17th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- Fresno State vs. Washington State
Lending Tree Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Sun Belt- Appalachian State vs. Kent State
Las Vegas Bowl- December 17th- SEC vs. Pac-12- Mississippi State vs. Washington
Last Word On Sports Bowl- Date TBA- James Madison vs. UNLV- If the San Francisco Bowl can’t be played this year ESPN has the rights to create a new game to replace it. Since it doesn’t have a sponsor may we suggest Last Word On Sports?
Thanks for checking out our 2022 Week Six Bowl Projections here at Last Word On College Football. We’ll be here next week and every week until the entire schedule is announced in December.
