More Changes Heading Into Championship Weekend
One of my favorite songs from the late David Bowie was called “Changes.” That’s certainly been the case with bowl projections since we last talked. If you haven’t been following along here’s a brief overview. Appalachian State and Army both had their bowl waivers denied by the NCAA so they are out. However, New Mexico State’s was approved so they are in at 5-6. Buffalo can clinch the last bowl bid later today by beating 2-9 Akron. Rice is in at 5-7 because they have the highest APR score. If Buffalo loses then UNLV gets the last slot. Oh yeah did we mention there’s a good chance Ohio State doesn’t play in the Rose Bowl? Let’s break it down with our 2022 Championship Week Bowl Projections.
College Football Playoff
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- December 31st- (1) Georgia vs. (4) USC- Kirby Smart’s club faces LSU on Saturday in the SEC title game. They are likely in no matter what happens.
The Trojans and Heisman favorite Caleb Williams host Utah in the Pac-12 game on Friday night.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl- December 31st- (2) Michigan vs. (3) TCU- J.J. McCarthy and the Wolverines face Purdue for the Big 10 title. Much like Georgia, they are likely in no matter what happens on Saturday.
Led by Max Duggan the Horned Frogs host Kansas State for the Big 12 Championship. As a result of these games being played on Friday and early Saturday, we’ll likely know the playoff teams by about 4:00 pm Saturday afternoon.
College Football National Championship- January 9th- (1)- Georgia vs. (2) Michigan- The match-up in last year’s semi-final now happens in the championship game this time around.
Selection Committee Games
Folks here’s where it gets interesting. Ohio State beat Utah in the Rose Bowl last season. As much as it can be helped bowls don’t want the same team in consecutive years. Especially if Utah upsets USC. Because of this, we’re shifting the Buckeyes and Penn State. The result is wholesale changes in the selection committee games that trickle down to our next set of games.
Orange Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. SEC/Big 10/Notre Dame
Clemson vs. Ohio State- The Tigers play North Carolina in the ACC title game on Saturday. Their loss to South Carolina ended their playoff hopes. OSU last played in Miami back in 2014 when they lost to Clemson 40-35.
Sugar Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big 12
Alabama vs. Kansas State- The only game that didn’t change from last week. Normally the SEC title game runner-up heads to New Orleans unless there’s someone ranked higher. That’s the case this year as both the Crimson Tide and Tennessee are above LSU. As mentioned earlier the Wildcats face TCU in the Big 12 title game.
Cotton Bowl- January 2nd- At Large vs. At Large
Tennessee vs. Tulane- The Green Wave host Central Florida for the AAC Championship with the winner going to the Cotton Bowl. Tennessee shifts from Orange to Cotton.
Rose Bowl- January 2nd-Big 10 vs. Pac 12
Penn State vs. Washington- The Nittany Lions last played in Pasadena in 2017, losing an epic contest to USC 52-49. Penn State most likely will travel better than an OSU fan base who’s disappointed they didn’t make the playoff. With the prediction of USC winning the Pac-12 the Huskies head to Pasadena.
Continuing on with our 2022 Championship Week Bowl Projections we have a few changes to the next set of games. Two other notes an # means a replacement team for a league that doesn’t have enough teams to qualify. An * means the team has accepted a bid to that bowl.
Games Around The New Year
Citrus Bowl- January 2nd-Big 10 vs. SEC- LSU vs. Purdue– The Tigers’ loss to Texas A&M took them out of the selection committee games. On the other side of the ball, the Boilermakers head to Orlando as the Big 10 West Champ.
ReliaQuest Bowl- January 2nd- Big 10/ACC vs. SEC- Notre Dame vs. South Carolina– We are invoking the little-known (and seldom used) rule involving this game. If a Big 10 team plays in the Orange Bowl then an ACC school takes the spot in Tampa. In fact, the last time this game didn’t feature a Big 10/SEC matchup was 1995 when Wisconsin beat Duke. Based on their recent success we’re bumping the Gamecocks up a game from last week.
Music City Bowl- December 31st- Big 10 vs. SEC- Kentucky vs. Illinois- While there is some talk of the Wildcats playing in Memphis we are sticking with the Music City Bowl. Kentucky and Illinois last played in 1913.
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl- December 30th- Mountain West vs. Mid-American- Fresno State vs. Toledo
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. Big 10- Iowa vs. North Carolina State
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. Pac 12- Duke vs. Oregon State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. SEC- Mississippi State vs. North Carolina- A totally different game than what we had in recent weeks.
Post-Christmas Day Games
Quick Lane Bowl- December 26th–Big 10 vs. Mid-American- Maryland vs. Ohio- With an ACC team in the ReliaQuest Bowl we now have a Big 10 team available for Detroit.
Birmingham Bowl- December 27th- Pool vs. AAC/ACC/SEC- Memphis vs. Missouri
Camellia Bowl- December 27th– MAC vs. Sun Belt/Conference USA/Pool– Buffalo vs. New Mexico State- We’re slotting the Aggies for this game after getting their waiver approved.
First Responder Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. Pool- Kansas vs. San Jose State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. Big 10- Minnesota vs. Texas Tech
Holiday Bowl- December 28th- ACC vs. Pac 12- Pittsburgh vs. Utah
Liberty Bowl- December 28th-Big 12 vs. SEC- Baylor vs. Florida
Military Bowl- December 28th-ACC vs. American- Cincinnati vs. Wake Forest
Texas Bowl- December 28th- SEC vs. Big 12- Arkansas vs. Oklahoma
Alamo Bowl- December 29th- Big 12 vs. Pac 12- Oregon vs. Texas
Cheez-It Bowl- December 29th- ACC vs. Big 12- Florida State vs. Oklahoma State
Pinstripe Bowl- December 29th- ACC vs. Big 10- Syracuse vs. Wisconsin
As we go through the final sets of games in our 2022 Championship Week Bowl Projections there are a couple of changes from last week.
Games Around Christmas
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Pool vs. Pool- Rice vs. Southern Mississippi
Boca Raton Bowl- December 20th- Pool vs. Pool- South Alabama vs. Western Kentucky
Idaho Potato Bowl- December 20th-Mid-American vs. Mountain West-
Bowling Green vs. Wyoming
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. BYU
Gasparilla Bowl- December 23rd- ACC/SEC vs. Pool
Houston vs. #Connecticut- With no ACC or SEC team available we’re sending the Huskies to Florida for Christmas.
Independence Bowl- December 23rd- American vs. Army- Central Florida vs. Louisiana
Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th- Mountain West vs. Conference USA
*Middle Tennessee vs. *San Diego State- Both teams have accepted a bid to Hawaii.
Time to wrap up our 2022 Championship Week 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- *Miami (Ohio) vs. *UAB- This is the other game where both teams have accepted a bid.
Cure Bowl- December 16th- Pool vs. Pool- vs. Marshall vs. New Mexico State- As we mentioned earlier the Aggies got their bowl waiver approved and we are sending them to Orlando.
Celebration Bowl- December 17th- MEAC vs. SWAC- Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central- Will this be the last game with the Tigers for Deion Sanders before he heads to an FBS school?
Fenway Bowl- December 17th- ACC vs. American- East Carolina vs. Louisville
Frisco Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Pool- Georgia Southern vs. SMU
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl– December 17th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- Boise State vs. Washington State
Las Vegas Bowl- December 17th- SEC vs. Pac-12- Ole Miss vs. UCLA- A different matchup than what we’ve had previously.
Lending Tree Bowl- December 17th- Pool vs. Sun Belt- Eastern Michigan vs. Troy
New Mexico Bowl- December 17th- Conference USA vs. Mountain West- North Texas vs. Utah State
Thanks for checking out our 2022 Championship Week Bowl Projections here at Last Word On College Football. We’ll be back early Sunday with our final picks before all the selections are announced.
