Brett McMurphy’s College Football Bowl Projections: Nov. 10

    What's new this week?

    Notre Dame’s upset of then-No. 1 Clemson shook up the AP rankings and delivered NBC’s best ratings for the Fighting Irish in 15 years. Not quite “Seinfeld”-like ratings, but still pretty, pretty, pretty good, as “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David would say.

    The impact on my bowl projections? Yada, yada, yada. There’s not much change as far as my playoff rankings go. I still have the same four: Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Clemson. I’m projecting Clemson to win the rematch over Notre Dame in the ACC title game.

    However, I now have moved independent BYU into my New Year’s 6 bowl lineup. I’m projecting the Cougars to earn an at-large bid as one of the highest ranked non-conference champions. Cincinnati remains my pick as the Group of Five’s highest ranked conference champion.

    As far as the overall bowl lineup, there’s no real shrinkage since last week — serenity now! There has been no official announcement about the status of the Las Vegas Bowl, but sources told Stadium the game won’t be played this year. That would leave 36 bowls and 72 bowl bids.

    College Football Playoff

    ChampionshipJan. 10 (CFP semifinal winners)
    Projection: Alabama vs. Ohio State

    Semifinals
    Sugar BowlJan. 1 (CFP semifinal)
    Projection: Alabama (CFP No. 1) vs. Clemson (CFP No. 4)

    Rose BowlJan. 1 (CFP semifinal)
    Projection: Ohio State (CFP No. 2) vs. Oregon (CFP No. 3)

    New Year’s 6 Bowls

    Orange BowlJan. 2 (ACC vs. SEC/Big Ten)
    Projection: Notre Dame vs. Florida

    Fiesta BowlJan. 2 (at-large vs. at-large)
    Projection: USC vs. Wisconsin

    Peach BowlJan. 1 (at-large vs. at-large)
    Projection: BYU vs. Cincinnati*

    Cotton Bowl – Dec. 30 (at-large vs. at-large)
    Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

    Other Bowls

    Alamo Bowl (Big 12 vs. Pac-12)
    Projection: Iowa State vs. Arizona State

    Arizona Bowl (MAC vs. Mountain West)
    Projection: Toledo vs. Fresno State

    Armed Forces Bowl (AAC vs. Big 12)
    Projection: Houston vs. TCU

    Birmingham Bowl (AAC vs. SEC)
    Projection: UCF vs. Missouri

    Boca Raton Bowl (AAC vs. C-USA/BYU/Liberty/MAC)
    Projection: Memphis vs. FAU

    Camellia Bowl (MAC vs. Sun Belt)
    Projection: Buffalo vs. Appalachian State

    Cheez-It Bowl (ACC vs. Big 12)
    Projection: Miami vs. Oklahoma

    Citrus Bowl (Big Ten vs. SEC)
    Projection: Indiana vs. Georgia

    Cure Bowl (C-USA vs. Sun Belt)
    Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. South Alabama

    Duke’s Mayo Bowl (ACC vs. Big Ten)
    Projection: NC State vs. Iowa

    First Responder Bowl (ACC vs. AAC)
    Projection: Pitt vs. Tulsa

    Frisco Bowl (AAC vs. C-USA)
    Projection: SMU vs. UTSA

    Gasparilla Bowl (ACC vs. SEC)
    Projection: Virginia vs. Ole Miss

    Gator Bowl (ACC vs. SEC)
    Projection: North Carolina vs. Auburn

    Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Big Ten vs. Big 12)
    Projection: Michigan vs. West Virginia

    Idaho Potato Bowl (Mountain West vs. BYU/Liberty/MAC)
    Projection: Nevada vs. Miami (Ohio)

    Independence Bowl (Army vs. Pac-12)
    Projection: Army vs. Washington

    LendingTree Bowl (MAC/C-USA vs. Sun Belt)
    Projection: Central Michigan vs. Georgia Southern

    Liberty Bowl (Big 12 vs. SEC)
    Projection: Texas vs. Arkansas

    Los Angeles Bowl (Pac-12 vs. Mountain West)
    Projection: Cal vs. Boise State

    Military Bowl (ACC vs. AAC)
    Projection: Wake Forest vs. Navy

    **Montgomery Bowl (Group of Five, Liberty or BYU)
    Projection: Liberty vs. UAB

    Music City Bowl (Big Ten vs. SEC)
    Projection: Purdue vs. Tennessee

    Myrtle Beach Bowl (C-USA vs. Sun Belt)
    Projection: Marshall vs. Coastal Carolina

    New Mexico Bowl (Mountain West vs. C-USA/BYU/Liberty/MAC)
    Projection: San Jose State vs. Western Michigan

    New Orleans Bowl (C-USA vs. Sun Belt)
    Projection: Charlotte vs. Louisiana

    Outback Bowl (Big Ten vs. SEC)
    Projection: Northwestern vs. Kentucky

    Pinstripe Bowl (ACC vs. Big Ten)
    Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Maryland

    Sun Bowl (ACC vs. Pac-12)
    Projection: Boston College vs. Utah

    Texas Bowl (Big 12 vs. SEC)
    Projection: Kansas State vs. LSU

    Bowls that have been canceled this year:
    •Bahamas Bowl
    •Fenway Bowl
    •Hawaii Bowl
    •Holiday Bowl
    •Las Vegas Bowl (not official, but Stadium is reporting it won’t be played)
    •Redbox Bowl
    •Quick Lane Bowl


    Teams in bold have already officially accepted bid.

    *The highest rated champion from the Group of Five conferences (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt) will be selected to play in either the Cotton, Fiesta or Peach Bowl.

    **Replacing Fenway Bowl for this season only.

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