Projecting every bowl and playoff game for the season ahead
College football's 2018 season is less than 50 days away, but it’s never too early to make projections and predictions on how the bowl games and playoff pairings may look by the time the CFB Playoff selection committee meets in December. The top four teams for the fifth year of the College Football Playoff era could look similar to the final pairings from last season. Alabama and Clemson have met for three consecutive years in the CFB Playoff and a fourth matchup is projected by Athlon Sports this postseason. The Crimson Tide and Tigers are the pick to meet in the national championship game, with Ohio State and Georgia rounding out the four playoff teams. Michigan, Auburn, Washington, Miami, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Penn State and Michigan State headline the next tier of contenders.
The 2017-18 bowl schedule features 40 overall games including the national championship. Additionally, the semifinals will take place on Dec. 29 this season. The Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the semifinals, while the national championship will be held in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Jan. 7.
How will the postseason matchups look by December? According to Athlon's projections, Syracuse, Duke, SMU, Baylor, Old Dominion, Miami (Ohio), Western Michigan, UNLV, Colorado and Washington State will be eligible. However, there are not enough spots (according to our projections) for the eligible teams. Below are Athlon Sports' predictions for every bowl and playoff game in 2018:
2018 College Football Conference Predictions
Power 5: ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC
Group of 5: American | C-USA | MAC | Mountain West | Sun Belt
College Football Bowl Projections for 2018-19
| Bowl |
Date/ TV |
Tie-In | Projection |
| New Mexico | Dec. 15 |
Mountain West vs. C-USA |
Wyoming |
| Cure | Dec. 15 |
American vs. Sun Belt |
Appalachian State |
| Las Vegas | Dec. 15 |
Mountain West vs. Pac-12 |
California |
| Camellia | Dec. 15 |
MAC vs. Sun Belt |
Troy |
| New Orleans | Dec. 15 |
C-USA vs. Sun Belt |
UAB |
| Boca Raton | Dec. 18 |
C-USA vs. American |
USF |
| Frisco | Dec. 19 |
American vs. At-Large |
Army |
| Gasparilla | Dec. 20 |
American vs. C-USA/ACC |
Pitt |
| Bahamas | Dec. 21 |
C-USA vs. MAC |
Toledo |
| Famous Idaho Potato | Dec. 21 |
Mountain West vs. MAC |
Fresno State |
| Birmingham | Dec. 22 |
American vs. SEC |
UCLA* |
| Armed Forces | Dec. 22 |
American vs. Big 12 |
Kansas State |
| Dollar General | Dec. 22 |
MAC vs. Sun Belt |
Ohio |
| Hawaii | Dec. 22 |
Mountain West vs. C-USA |
Utah State |
| First Responder | Dec. 26 |
Big Ten vs. C-USA |
Minnesota |
| Quick Lane | Dec. 26 |
ACC vs. Big Ten |
Indiana |
| Cheez-It | Dec. 26 |
Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |
Utah |
| Independence | Dec. 27 |
ACC vs. SEC |
Louisiana Tech* |
| Pinstripe | Dec. 27 |
ACC vs. Big Ten |
Nebraska |
| Texas | Dec. 27 |
Big 12 vs. SEC |
TCU |
| Music City | Dec. 28 |
SEC vs. Big Ten/ACC |
South Carolina |
| Camping World | Dec. 28 |
ACC vs. Big 12 |
Texas |
| Arizona | Dec. 28 |
Mountain West vs. Sun Belt |
ULM |
| Alamo | Dec. 28 |
Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |
USC |
| Belk | Dec. 29 |
ACC vs. SEC |
Missouri |
| San Francisco | Dec. 31 |
Big Ten vs. Pac-12 |
Oregon |
| Military | Dec. 31 |
American vs. ACC |
Boston College |
| Liberty | Dec. 31 |
Big 12 vs. SEC |
Kentucky |
| Holiday | Dec. 31 |
Big Ten vs. Pac-12 |
Iowa |
|
TaxSlayer Gator |
Dec. 31 |
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten |
Texas A&M |
| Sun | Dec. 31 |
ACC vs. Pac-12 |
Louisville |
| Outback | Jan. 1 |
Big Ten vs. SEC |
Florida |
| Citrus | Jan. 1 |
Big Ten vs. SEC |
Mississippi State |
New Year's Six Bowls |
|||
| Chick-fil-A Peach | Dec. 29 |
At-Large vs. At-Large |
Penn State |
| Fiesta | Jan. 1 |
At-Large vs. At-Large |
Wisconsin |
| Rose | Jan. 1 |
Big Ten vs. Pac-12 |
Washington |
| Sugar | Jan. 1 |
Big 12 vs. SEC |
Auburn |
College Football Playoff |
|||
| Orange | Dec. 29 |
Playoff Semifinal |
Georgia |
| Cotton | Dec. 29 |
Playoff Semifinal |
Ohio State |
National Championship |
|||
|
CFB National Championship (Santa Clara, Calif.) |
Jan. 7 |
Orange Winner vs. Cotton Bowl Winner |
Clemson |
MTSU vs.
Temple vs.
San Diego State vs.
Northern Illinois vs.
Louisiana vs.
FAU vs.
Tulane vs.
Memphis vs. 
Marshall vs.
Buffalo vs.
UCF vs.
Houston vs.
Arkansas State vs.
Southern Miss vs.
North Texas vs.
Wake Forest vs.
Iowa State vs.
Georgia Tech vs.
NC State vs.
LSU vs.
Maryland vs.
Florida State vs.
Colorado State vs.
West Virginia vs.
Virginia Tech vs.
Northwestern vs.
Navy vs.
Oklahoma State vs.
Stanford vs.
Notre Dame vs.
Arizona vs.
Purdue vs.
Michigan State vs.
Miami vs.
Boise State vs.
Michigan vs.
Oklahoma vs. 
Clemson vs.
Alabama vs.
* Indicates conference not expected to fill allotted slots. At-large team will be selected to fill that spot.
