A Couple of Changes From Our Original Picks
Hello everyone and welcome to our 2023 Week One Bowl Projections. A few things have happened since we last chatted nearly three months ago. Most notably the Pac-12 appears to be closing up shop as even more teams left. Oregon and Washington joined UCLA and USC in the Big 10. Not to be outdone the ACC got in on action adding Cal and Stanford. In addition, it also added SMU from the American Conference. However, the conference doesn’t look like it’s going quietly into the night.
On the field, it was a great weekend unfortunately marred by the ongoing dispute between Spectrum Cable and Disney leaving millions without the ability to watch. Furthermore, one club made a huge splash over the weekend and into our picks. In addition, the result of the Clemson-Duke game created a ripple effect with our ACC teams. As we start our selections remember it’s Week One, things are going to vary greatly over the year.
College Football Playoff
Of course, this is the final season of the current format before the new 12-team playoff starts in 2024. The Rose and Sugar Bowls are hosting the semi-finals with the championship game being held in Houston.
Rose Bowl- January 1st- (2)- Ohio State vs. (3)- Washington- In this scenario, the folks in Pasadena still get their Big 10- Pac-12 matchup. The Buckeyes were less than impressive but still beat Indiana for a 28th straight time. On the other side of the ball, Michael Penix Jr. threw for 450 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-19 blowout of Boise State.
Sugar Bowl- January 1st- (1)- Georgia vs. (4)- Michigan- The Bulldogs only led Tennessee-Martin 17-0 at the half before eventually winning 48-7. Jim Harbaugh began his suspension as the Wolverines topped East Carolina 30-3.
College Football National Championship- January 8th- (1)- Georgia vs. (2)- Ohio State- For now we’re leaving the rematch from last year’s epic semi-final in the title game.
Selection Committee Games
Goodyear Cotton Bowl- December 29th- Notre Dame vs. Penn State- With Clemson’s loss we’re bumping the Irish up to the Cotton Bowl. The Nittany Lions had the most impressive win of the three Big 10 East contenders beating West Virginia 38-15.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl- December 30th- LSU vs. Tulane– Show of hands, who wouldn’t want to see this game? The Green Wave have a statement game on Saturday when they host Ole Miss. Despite falling apart in the second half against Florida State we’re still picking Brian Kelly‘s club to win the SEC West. However, since the Sugar Bowl isn’t a possibility we’re sending them to Atlanta.
Capital One Orange Bowl- December 30th- Florida State vs. Alabama– Mike Norvell’s club had the best win of the weekend beating LSU 45-21. Jalen Milroe became the first quarterback in Alabama history to throw for three touchdowns and ran for two more in Saturday’s win.
VRBO Fiesta Bowl- January 1st- Texas vs. USC- Heisman winner Caleb Williams has been spectacular in his first two games. However, there are still questions on defense. Quinn Ewers threw for three touchdowns in a 37-10 win over Rice.
Continuing with our 2023 Week One Bowl Projections let’s roll through the games by date. One thing to note there are no games on December 24th or 31st so as to not go up against the NFL schedule.
Games Around the New Year
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- January 1st-Big 10 vs. SEC- Tennessee vs. Wisconsin- The Vols easily beat Virginia 49-13 while the Badgers head to Orlando for the first time since 2014.
ReliaQuest Bowl- January 1st- SEC vs. Big 10- Kentucky vs. Minnesota- Mark Stoops’ Wildcats got a nice 30-point win over Ball State. This is the game we projected for the BBN in last year’s Music City Bowl, instead of an Iowa rematch that no one wanted.
TransPerfect Music City Bowl December 30th- SEC vs. Big 10- Maryland vs. South Carolina
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl December 30th- MAC vs. MWC– Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl December 29th- SEC vs. Big 10 or ACC/Notre Dame- North Carolina vs. Ole Miss- The Tar Heels were another ACC club with a big win this weekend. They looked very impressive in a 31-17 win over South Carolina.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 29th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- Louisville vs. Oregon State- The Cardinals pulled off a big comeback to beat Georgia Tech in Jeff Brohm’s first game.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl December 29th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Missouri vs. Texas Tech
Post Christmas Games
Quick Lane Bowl December 26th- Big 10 vs. MAC- Rutgers vs. Western Michigan
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl December 26th- American/ACC/Big 12/ SEC- Baylor vs. Florida
Guaranteed Rate Bowl-December 26th- Big 12 vs. Big 10- Kansas State vs. Michigan State
Holiday Bowl- ACC vs. Pac-12- Clemson vs. Utah- We try not to overreact to what happens early in the year. However, the Tigers’ huge loss caused us to move around several ACC squads.
Military Bowl-December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Navy vs. Wake Forest
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Arkansas vs. Pittsburgh- It’s the SEC’s year to tie into this bowl so we are sending the Razorbacks to Charlotte.
TaxAct Texas Bowl December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- TCU vs. Texas A&M
Wasabi Fenway Bowl-December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- North Carolina State vs. East Carolina
Bad Boy Motors Pinstripe Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 10- Miami (Florida) vs. Iowa- On Saturday the Hawkeyes had their first opening drive touchdown pass for the first time since 1991.
Pop Tarts Bowl- December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Duke vs. Oklahoma State– David Cutcliffe’s Blue Devils look like the real deal after their huge win at Clemson.
Valero Alamo Bowl- December 28th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Oklahoma vs. Oregon
As we roll on with our 2023 Week One Bowl Projections let’s move to the set of games just before Christmas. That includes a whopping seven games on December 23rd.
Games Right Before Christmas
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl December 23rd- American vs. SEC- Auburn vs. Memphis
Camellia Bowl- December 23rd- MAC vs. Sun Belt- Eastern Michigan vs. Coastal Carolina
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- December 23rd- American vs. C-USA- Kansas vs. Texas San-Antonio
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- December 23rd- MAC vs. MWC- Miami (Ohio) vs. San Jose State
68 Ventures Bowl- December 23rd- MAC vs. Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. Toledo- The former Lending Tree Bowl played in lovely Mobile, Alabama has a new sponsor.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl- December 23rd- Big 10 vs. Pac-12- Illinois vs. Washington State– The SEC and Big 10 alternate years facing a Pac-12 team with the other playing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. This year the Big 10 goes to Vegas and the SEC goes to Charlotte.
Easy Post Hawai’i Bowl-December 23rd- Conference USA/MWC/American- UAB vs. Wyoming
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- December 22nd- American/ACC/Notre Dame/SEC- Mississippi State vs. Connecticut
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl- December 21st- Group Of Five vs. Group Of Five- Appalachian State vs. North Texas
Frisco Bowl- December 19th-Group Of Five vs. Group Of Five- Cincinnati vs. SMU
First Weekend Games
HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl-December 16th- Conference USA vs. MAC- Ball State vs. Marshall
Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 16th- MEAC vs. SWAC- Florida A&M vs. North Carolina Central
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl- December 16th- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt- Liberty vs. South Alabama
Duluth Trading Cure Bowl- December 16th- Group Of Five vs. Group Of Five- Army vs. Old Dominion
New Mexico Bowl- December 16th- C-USA vs. MWC- Air Force vs. Western Kentucky
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl- December 16th- Pac-12 vs. Mountain West- Boise State vs. UCLA
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl- December 16th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- BYU vs. Colorado– One of the biggest surprises of the week was Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes beating last year’s runner-up TCU. As a result, they jump into our projections.
Myrtle Beach Bowl-American/MAC/Sun Belt- December 18th- Central Florida vs. Troy
Again we try not to overreact to what happens early in the year. Don’t worry if you don’t see your favorite team as at this point pretty much everyone but Arizona State are bowl eligible. If you haven’t heard the Sun Devils self-imposed a bowl ban for this year. Thanks for checking out our Week One 2023 Bowl Projections here at Last Word On College Football.
