Changes At The Top Following A Big Weekend
This past weekend we had arguably the biggest game of the year down in Athens. In addition, the Selection Committee announced its first rankings for the 2022 campaign. Throw in several upsets and as a result, we’ve got a few changes in both the playoff and selection committee games. Those changes created a trickle-down effect, especially with the ACC and Big 10. With the preliminaries out of the way let’s get to our 2022 Week 10 Bowl Projections. As always if you’d like to see how things changed from last week you can click here.
College Football Playoff
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- December 31st- (1) Georgia vs. (4) TCU- Kirby Smart’s club answered the challenge of Tennessee 27-13. They remain in the top spot this week. With Clemson’s loss, the Horned Frogs move into the playoff. Max Duggan and company still have to play Texas and Baylor.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl- December 31st- (2) Ohio State vs. (3) Tennessee- The Volunteers took their shot at the king but fell short. However, we still think they’ll finish 11-1 and make the playoff.
The Buckeyes beat Northwestern 21-7 in an ugly game in Evanston. They host Indiana this week before the match-up against Michigan.
College Football National Championship- January 9th- (1)- Georgia vs. (2) Ohio State- This game hasn’t changed in about two months and probably won’t unless something crazy happens.
Selection Committee Games
Orange Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. SEC/Big 10/Notre Dame
Clemson vs. Alabama- That was one ugly game against Notre Dame on Saturday. For now, we’re leaving the Tigers as the ACC champs. Although, their hold is shaky at best.
Sugar Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big 12
LSU vs. Texas- As a result of beating Alabama 32-31 Jayden Daniels and company take over the SEC bid to New Orleans. The Longhorns head to the Sugar Bowl with TCU heading to the playoff.
Cotton Bowl- January 2nd- At Large vs. At Large
Tulane vs. USC– The Green Wave continued their strong season with a win over Tulsa. For a second straight week, The Trojans had a tougher-than-expected battle this time with California before winning 41-35.
Rose Bowl- January 2nd-Big 10 vs. Pac 12
Michigan vs. Oregon- If we carried our picks out to five and six these would be the teams. The Ducks had no problem with Colorado on Saturday and have a real chance at the playoff. For now, we’re keeping them in Pasadena. Jim Harbaugh’s club beat Rutgers handily.
Right now we have 51 teams who have reached bowl eligibility which means we need 31 more teams, or 33 if the Frisco Football Classic is added which we think it will. An * means a replacement team.
Games Around The New Year
Citrus Bowl- January 2nd-Big 10 vs. SEC- Ole Miss vs. Penn State– The Nittany Lions drop from the Orange Bowl but are still playing in Florida. The Rebels host Alabama this week and if they win they’ll switch spots.
ReliaQuest Bowl- January 2nd- Big 10/ACC vs. SEC- Illinois vs. Kentucky– With LSU moving into the selection committee games everyone else in the SEC moves up a spot. Kentucky bounced back from the huge loss at Tennessee with a gritty win over Missouri. On the other side of the ball, the Fighting Illini had a bad loss but are still heading to Tampa.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. Big 10- Iowa vs. Syracuse
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. Pac 12- Louisville vs. Oregon State- A month ago Scott Satterfield was on his way out of town. However, three straight wins have them bowl-eligible and heading to El Paso.
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 30th- Big 10 vs. SEC- Notre Dame vs. South Carolina- It was a tough decision between the Fighting Irish and Wake Forest on who goes to the Holiday Bowl and who goes to Jacksonville. For now, Notre Dame heads here and Wake Forest goes to San Diego as we think Notre Dame will lose to USC.
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl- December 30th- Mountain West vs. Mid-American- San Diego State vs. Toledo
Music City Bowl- December 31st- Big 10 vs. SEC- Florida vs. Wisconsin
Post-Christmas Day Games
Quick Lane Bowl- December 26th–Big 10 vs. Mid-American- Ohio vs. Michigan State- By winning at Illinois the Spartans played their way back into the bowls.
Birmingham Bowl- December 27th- Pool vs. AAC/ACC/SEC- *BYU vs. *Iowa State
Camellia Bowl- December 27th– Pool vs. Pool- Liberty vs. South Alabama
First Responder Bowl- December 27th- Big 10 vs. Pool- *Memphis vs. Texas Tech
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. Big 10- Kansas vs. Purdue- Fun fact for you. With the Jayhawks making their first bowl since 2008 every Power Five school has been to a bowl game since 2017. The one exception is Nebraska.
Military Bowl- December 28th-ACC vs. American- Central Florida vs. Florida State
Liberty Bowl- December 28th-Big 12 vs. SEC- Baylor vs. Missouri- Despite their tough loss to Kentucky we think the Tigers still have a good shot at six wins.
Holiday Bowl- December 28th- ACC vs. Pac 12- Wake Forest vs. Utah- As we mentioned even though they lost to North Carolina State we have the Demon Deacons heading to San Diego over Notre Dame.
Texas Bowl- December 28th- SEC vs. Big 12- Arkansas vs. Oklahoma
Pinstripe Bowl- December 29th- ACC vs. Big 10- Duke vs. Maryland
Cheez-It Bowl- December 29th- ACC vs. Big 12- Kansas State vs. North Carolina
Alamo Bowl- December 29th- Big 12 vs. Pac 12- Oklahoma State vs. UCLA
As we go through the final sets of games in our 2022 Week 10 Bowl Projections you’ll find we’ve made quite a few changes from last week.
Games Around Christmas
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Pool vs. Pool- Arkansas State 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- Buffalo vs. Rice
New Orleans Bowl- December 21st- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt
Coastal Carolina vs. Texas San-Antonio
Armed Forces Bowl- December 22nd-American vs. Pool- Air Force vs. SMU
Independence Bowl- December 23rd- American vs. Army- Army vs. East Carolina
Gasparilla Bowl- December 23rd- ACC/SEC vs. Pool
Connecticut vs. Miami (Florida)- The Huskies’ reward for their first bowl since 2015 is a trip to Tampa.
Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th-Mountain West vs. Conference USA
Georgia Southern vs. San Jose State
Time to wrap our 2022 Week 10 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- Bowling Green vs. UTEP
Cure Bowl- December 16th- Pool vs. Pool- Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee
Fenway Bowl- December 17th- ACC vs. American- Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
Frisco Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Pool- Houston vs. Southern Mississippi
Celebration Bowl- December 17th- MEAC vs. SWAC- Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central
New Mexico Bowl- December 17th- Conference USA vs. Mountain West- North Texas vs. Wyoming
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl– December 17th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- Boise State vs. Washington
Lending Tree Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Sun Belt- Eastern Michigan vs. Troy
Las Vegas Bowl- December 17th- SEC vs. Pac-12- Mississippi State vs. Washington State
Frisco Football Classic- Date TBA- Marshall vs. Fresno State- We’re making the call that this game will be created once again by ESPN.
Thanks for checking out our 2022 Week 10 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.
