College Football Bowl Projections – Week 7

    College football bowl projections for Week 7 of the 2016 season. After yet another crazy weekend, here's how the postseason could shake out.


    College football bowl projections for Week 7 of the 2016 season. After yet another wacky weekend, here’s how the postseason could shake out.


    Week 6 of the college football season is almost in the books, and once again we saw games play out that will have a direct influence on the College Football Playoff race as well as other major bowl games.

    We won’t ever know how much consideration Houston would have received from the selection committee for a CFP bid because the Cougars were knocked off by AAC foe Navy. Now, Tom Herman’s team is going to have to fight other Group of Five squads such as Boise State and Western Michigan for a New Year’s Six spot. It will be difficult for the Cougars to even play for their conference title, but I am still projecting Houston to make a NY6 game because there is plenty of football left to be played. But Saturday was certainly a tough blow for the Cougars.

    Notre Dame, meanwhile, is in great danger of not even making a bowl game after its loss to NC State. The Fighting Irish dropped to 2-4 with a loss in Raleigh, and the schedule only gets tougher as the weeks progress.

    Where is your favorite team slated to play this postseason?

    Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the respective league did not have enough teams eligible to fill its bowl slot, thus it went to a team from a different league.

    Bowl Projections

    Cure Bowl

    Date: Dec. 17
    Location: Orlando, Florida
    Tie-ins: AAC/Sun Belt
    Cure Bowl Projection: East Carolina (AAC) vs. Arkansas State (Sun Belt)

    Las Vegas Bowl

    Date: Dec. 17
    Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
    Tie-ins: Mountain West/Pac-12
    Las Vegas Bowl Projection: Boise State (MW) vs. Arizona (Pac-12)

    Camellia Bowl

    Date: Dec. 17
    Location: Montgomery, Alabama
    Tie-ins: MAC/Sun Belt
    Camellia Bowl Projection: Akron (MAC) vs. Appalachian State (Sun Belt)

    New Mexico Bowl

    Date: Dec. 17
    Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
    Tie-ins: Conference USA/Mountain West
    New Mexico Bowl Projection: Western Kentucky (C-USA) vs. UNLV (MW)

    New Orleans Bowl

    Date: Dec. 17
    Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
    Tie-ins: Conference USA/Sun Belt
    New Orleans Bowl Projection: Louisiana Tech (C-USA) vs. Georgia Southern (Sun Belt)

    Miami Beach Bowl

    Date: Dec. 19
    Location: Miami, Florida
    Tie-ins: AAC/MAC
    Miami Beach Bowl Projection: Memphis (AAC) vs. Central Michigan (MAC)

    Boca Raton Bowl

    Date: Dec. 20
    Location: Boca Raton, Florida
    Tie-ins: AAC/Conference USA
    Boca Raton Bowl Projection: Tulsa (AAC) vs. Old Dominion (C-USA)

    Poinsettia Bowl

    Date: Dec. 21
    Location: San Diego, California
    Tie-ins: MAC/Mountain West/BYU (BYU tied to bowl if not in CFP)
    Poinsettia Bowl Projection: BYU vs. San Diego State (MW)

    Idaho Potato Bowl

    Date: Dec. 22
    Location: Boise, Idaho
    Tie-ins: MAC/Mountain West
    Idaho Potato Bowl Projection: Ohio (MAC) vs. Air Force (MW)

    Bahamas Bowl

    Date: Dec. 23
    Location: Nassau, Bahamas
    Tie-ins: AAC/MAC
    Bahamas Bowl Projection: UCF (AAC) vs. Toledo (MAC)

    Armed Forces Bowl

    Date: Dec. 23
    Location: Fort Worth, Texas
    Tie-ins: AAC/Big 12/Navy (automatically takes spot if eligible)
    Armed Forces Bowl Projection: West Virginia (Big 12) vs. Navy

    Dollar General Bowl

    Date: Dec. 23
    Location: Mobile, Alabama
    Tie-ins: MAC/Sun Belt
    Dollar General Bowl Projection: Western Michigan (MAC) vs. Troy (Sun Belt)

    Hawaii Bowl

    Date: Dec. 24
    Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
    Tie-ins: Conference USA/Mountain West
    Hawaii Bowl Projection: Middle Tennessee (C-USA) vs. Utah State (MW)

    Quick Lane Bowl

    Date: Dec. 26
    Location: Detroit, Michigan
    Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten
    Quick Lane Bowl Projection: Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Indiana (Big Ten)

    St. Petersburg Bowl

    Date: Dec. 26
    Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
    Tie-ins: ACC/AAC
    St. Petersburg Bowl Projection: South Alabama* (Sun Belt) vs. Temple (AAC)

    Independence Bowl

    Date: Dec. 26
    Location: Shreveport, Louisiana
    Tie-ins: ACC/SEC
    Independence Bowl Projection: Wake Forest (ACC) vs. Colorado* (Pac-12)

    Military Bowl

    Date: Dec. 27
    Location: Annapolis, Maryland
    Tie-ins: ACC/AAC
    Military Bowl Projection: Pittsburgh (ACC) vs. Cincinnati (AAC)

    Holiday Bowl

    Date: Dec. 27
    Location: San Diego, California
    Tie-ins: Big Ten/Pac-12
    Holiday Bowl Projection: Minnesota (Big Ten) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)

    Heart of Dallas Bowl

    Date: Dec. 27
    Location: Dallas, Texas
    Tie-ins: Big Ten/Conference USA
    Heart of Dallas Bowl Projection: Northwestern (Big Ten) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)

    Cactus Bowl

    Date: Dec. 27
    Location: Tempe, Arizona
    Tie-ins: Big 12/Pac-12
    Cactus Bowl Projection: Texas (Big 12) vs. USC (Pac-12)

    Texas Bowl

    Date: Dec. 28
    Location: Houston, Texas
    Tie-ins: Big 12/SEC
    Texas Bowl Projection: Baylor (Big 12) vs. Arkansas (SEC)

    Russell Athletic Bowl

    Date: Dec. 28
    Location: Orlando, Florida
    Tie-ins: ACC/Big 12
    Russell Athletic Bowl Projection: Miami (ACC) vs. TCU (Big 12)

    Pinstripe Bowl

    Date: Dec. 28
    Location: New York, New York
    Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten
    Pinstripe Bowl Projection: NC State (ACC) vs. Maryland (Big Ten)

    Foster Farms Bowl

    Date: Dec. 28
    Location: Santa Clara, California
    Tie-ins: Big Ten/Pac-12
    Foster Farms Bowl Projection: Penn State (Big Ten) vs. UCLA (Pac-12)

    Birmingham Bowl

    Date: Dec. 29
    Location: Birmingham, Alabama
    Tie-ins: AAC/SEC
    Birmingham Bowl Projection: USF (AAC) vs. Missouri (SEC)

    Belk Bowl

    Date: Dec. 29
    Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
    Tie-ins: ACC/SEC
    Belk Bowl Projection: Virginia Tech (ACC) vs. Auburn (SEC)

    Alamo Bowl

    Date: Dec. 29
    Location: San Antonio, Texas
    Tie-ins: Big 12/Pac-12
    Alamo Bowl Projection: Oklahoma State (Big 12) vs. Stanford (Pac-12)

    NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl

    Date: Dec. 30
    Location: Tucson, Arizona
    Tie-ins: Mountain West/Sun Belt
    Arizona Bowl Projection: Colorado State (MW) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt)

    Sun Bowl

    Date: Dec. 30
    Location: El Paso, Texas
    Tie-ins: ACC/Pac-12
    Sun Bowl Projection: North Carolina (ACC) vs. Oregon (Pac-12)

    Liberty Bowl

    Date: Dec. 30
    Location: Memphis, Tennessee
    Tie-ins: Big 12/SEC
    Liberty Bowl Projection: Texas Tech (Big 12) vs. Mississippi State (SEC)

    Music City Bowl

    Date: Dec. 31
    Location: Nashville, Tennessee
    Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
    Music City Bowl Projection: Iowa (Big Ten) vs. Georgia (SEC)

    TaxSlayer Bowl

    Date: Dec. 31
    Location: Jacksonville, Florida
    Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
    TaxSlayer Bowl Projection: Florida State (ACC) vs. LSU (SEC)

    Citrus Bowl

    Date: Dec. 31
    Location: Orlando, Florida
    Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
    Citrus Bowl Projection: Wisconsin (Big Ten) vs. Tennessee (SEC)

    Outback Bowl

    Date: Jan. 2
    Location: Tampa, Florida
    Tie-ins: Big Ten/SEC
    Outback Bowl Projection: Michigan State (Big Ten) vs. Florida (SEC)

    New Year’s Six Bowl Projections

    Orange Bowl

    Date: Dec. 30
    Location: Miami, Florida
    Tie-ins: ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame
    Orange Bowl Projection: Louisville (ACC) vs. Nebraska (Big Ten)

    Rose Bowl

    Date: Jan. 2
    Location: Pasadena, California
    Tie-ins: Big Ten/Pac-12
    Rose Bowl Projection: Michigan (Big Ten) vs. Utah (Pac-12)

    Sugar Bowl

    Date: Jan. 2
    Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
    Tie-ins: Big 12/SEC
    Sugar Bowl Projection: Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. Texas A&M (SEC)

    Cotton Bowl

    Date: Jan. 2
    Location: Arlington, Texas
    Tie-ins: At-Large/At-Large
    Cotton Bowl Projection: Ole Miss (SEC) vs. Houston (AAC)

    College Football Playoff Projections

    Semifinal No. 1 – Fiesta Bowl

    Date: Dec. 31
    Location: Glendale, Arizona
    Tie-ins: CFP No. 2/CFP No. 3
    Fiesta Bowl Projection: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State

    The Tigers are finally looking like a complete outfit, and we’ll see how much of a test Florida State can give them when the teams meet in Tallahassee later this month. Dabo Swinney’s squad is finding its rhythm at the right time.

    Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes may be young, but they’re as talented as any team in the country. They may face their toughest challenge thus far, though, next week when they play Wisconsin on the road.

    Semifinal No. 2 – Peach Bowl

    Date: Dec. 31
    Location: Atlanta, Georgia
    Tie-ins: CFP No. 1/CFP No. 4
    Peach Bowl Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Washington

    The Crimson Tide are getting strong play from quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose performances are far exceeding the expectations for a true freshman. After Saturday’s win over Arkansas, Alabama now has 55 non-offensive touchdowns in Nick Saban’s nine-plus seasons at the school.

    The Huskies are the best out West, and they finally ended their 12-game skid to Oregon in a big way. Chris Petersen’s team returns home for a bye next week before hosting Oregon State on Oct. 22.

    College Football National Championship Game

    Date: Jan. 9
    Location: Tampa, FL
    Tie-ins: Semifinal winners
    Championship Game Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Clemson

    MORE: Projected AP Top 25 Rankings – Week 7

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