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

Projection: GeorgiaState vs. WKU

Liberty Bowl

Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SEC

Projection:WestVirginia vs. Tennessee