College Football Bowl Projections After Week 11
Travis Etienne, Clemson Tigers Football
The start of college football’s 2018-19 bowl season is just under two months away, but with Week 11 in the books, it’s never too early to take a peek at the potential matchups this postseason. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Michigan are Athlon's projected picks after Week 11 to reach the CFB Playoff. The Crimson Tide and Tigers are a notch above the rest of the NCAA, with the Fighting Irish up next, followed by Michigan as the predicted champion of the Big Ten. Georgia, Oklahoma, Washington State, West Virginia and Ohio State are the top teams with one loss still in the mix to make the playoff. UCF remains the top team from the Group of 5 ranks, with Utah State, Boise State and Fresno State from the Mountain West in the next tier.
The 2018-19 bowl schedule features 40 overall games (most airing on ESPN, ABC and CBS) 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.
The post-Week 11 bowl projections are a mixture between picks for the next few weeks, preseason projections, how things would look if the season ended today, and the results from the first 11 weeks of action. Expect several changes over the next few weeks. Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Southern Miss, Wyoming, Air Force, Arizona, Louisiana, Miami (Ohio), Akron and Coastal Carolina are just on the outside of our bowl projections.
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How will the postseason matchups look by December? Below are Athlon Sports' predictions for every 2018 bowl and playoff game after Week 11:
College Football Bowl Projections for 2018-19 (After Week 11)
* Indicates conference not expected to fill allotted slots. At-large team will be selected to fill that spot.
