College Football Bowl Projections for 2020-21
College Football Bowl Projections for 2020-21
College football's 2020 bowl season is less than a week away, and with 16 weeks in the books, it’s never too early to take a peek at the potential matchups this postseason. Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame are projected to compete in the CFB Playoff, with the New Year's Six matchups headlined by North Carolina-Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl and Iowa State-Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
The 2020-21 bowl schedule features 34 overall games including the national championship. Additionally, the semifinals will take place on Friday, Jan. 1 this season. The Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl will host the semifinals, while the national championship will be held in the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Jan. 11. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, seven bowl games Hawaii, Holiday, Pinstripe, Sun, Las Vegas, Birmingham, Los Angeles, Military, Independence, Quick Lane, Guaranteed Rate, Fenway, Redbox and Bahamas - will not be played. With conference championships scheduled for Dec. 18 and 19, our bowl projections take into account which teams are projected for those games. As a result, teams like Coastal Carolina, Marshall, UAB and Louisiana are projected for bowl games one week after the conference championship. Boston College, San Diego State, UCLA, Utah, Virginia Tech, USC, Penn State, Kansas State, Louisville, Virginia, Florida State, Washington, Georgia Tech, LSU, Pitt and Stanford have opted out of a bowl game.
How will the postseason matchups look by December? Below are Athlon Sports' predictions for every bowl and playoff game in 2020 after Week 16:
College Football Bowl Projections for 2020-21
Alamo Bowl
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Projection: Texas vs. Colorado
Arizona Bowl
Tie-In: MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Ball State vs. San Jose State
Armed Forces Bowl
Tie-In: Pac-12 vs. SEC
Projection: Mississippi State vs. Tulsa
Boca Raton Bowl
Tie-In: AAC/Sun Belt/MAC/C-USA
Projection:UCF vs. BYU
Camellia Bowl
Tie-In: Sun Belt vs. MAC/Conference USA
Projection: Marshall vs. Buffalo
Cheez-It Bowl
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big 12
Projection:Miami vs. OklahomaState
Citrus Bowl
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection:Northwestern vs. Auburn
Cure Bowl
Tie-In: AAC/C-USA/Sun Belt/MAC
Projection: CoastalCarolina vs. Liberty
Duke's Mayo Bowl
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection:WakeForest vs. Wisconsin
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Tie-In: MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection:Tulane vs. Nevada
First Responder Bowl
Tie-In: American/Big 12/Sun Belt/Conference USA
Projection: UTSA vs. Louisiana
Frisco Bowl (Canceled)
Tie-In: AAC/MW/C-USA/MAC/Sun Belt
Projection: UTSA vs. SMU (Game canceled due to COVID-19 concerns)
Gasparilla Bowl
Tie-In: SEC vs. American/ACC/C-USA
Projection: UAB vs. South Carolina
Gator Bowl
Tie-In: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Kentucky vs. NCState
LendingTree Bowl
Tie-In: Sun Belt vs. C-USA/MAC
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Projection: GeorgiaState vs. WKU
Liberty Bowl
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection:WestVirginia vs. Tennessee
Music City Bowl
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection:Iowa vs. Missouri
Montgomery
Tie-In: At-Large vs. At-Large
Projection: Memphis vs. FAU
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Tie-In: AAC/Sun Belt/MAC/C-USA
Projection: North Texas vs. Appalachian State
New Mexico Bowl
Tie-In: MW/AAC/Sun Belt/MAC/C-USA
Projection: Hawaii vs. Houston
New Orleans Bowl
Tie-In: Sun Belt vs. Conference USA
Projection:GeorgiaSouthern vs. LouisianaTech
Outback Bowl
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Indiana vs. Ole Miss
Texas Bowl
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: TCU vs. Arkansas
New Year's Six
Cotton Bowl
Tie-In: At-Large vs. At-Large
Projection: Oklahoma vs. Florida
Fiesta Bowl
Tie-In: At-Large vs. At-Large
Projection:Oregon vs. IowaState
Peach Bowl
Tie-In: At-Large vs. At-Large
Projection: Cincinnati vs. Georgia
Orange Bowl
Tie-In: ACC vs. SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame
Projection: North Carolina vs. Texas A&M
College Football Playoff
Sugar Bowl (Semifinal)
Tie-In: National Semifinal
Projection:Clemson vs. OhioState
Rose Bowl (Semifinal in Texas)
Tie-In: National Semifinal
Projection:Alabama vs. NotreDame
National Championship
Tie-In: Rose Bowl Winner vs. Sugar Bowl Winner
Projection: Alabama vs. Clemson
