Athlon runs down the bowl projections following the Week 7 action.
College football's bowl season is inching closer, but it's never too early to take a look at what the matchups might look like. With seven weeks of results in the books, it's still too early to make long-term projections about teams, especially with some teams just getting into conference play.
The post-Week 7 bowl projections are a mixture between preseason projections, how things would look if the season ended today, and a dose of the results so far this year. Expect more changes over the next few weeks, especially as we see how teams perform in conference games.
2012-2013 Post-Week 7 College Football Bowl Projections
| Bowl | Date | Tie-In | Projected Matchup |
| New Mexico | Dec. 15 | MWC vs. Pac-12 |
 Arizona vs. Nevada
|
| Famous Idaho Potato | Dec. 15 | MAC vs. WAC |
 Utah State vs. N. Illinois
|
| Poinsettia | Dec. 20 | BYU vs. MWC |
 BYU vs. San Diego State
|
| Beef 'O'Brady's | Dec. 21 | Big East vs. C-USA |
 East Carolina vs. Kent State*
|
| New Orleans | Dec. 22 | Sun Belt vs. C-USA |
 UL Lafayette vs. Tulsa
|
| Las Vegas | Dec. 22 | MWC vs. Pac-12 |
 UCLA vs. Boise State
|
| Hawaii | Dec. 24 | C-USA vs. MWC |
 Fresno State vs. SMU
|
| Little Caesars | Dec. 26 | Big Ten vs. MAC |
 Minnesota vs. Toledo
|
| Military | Dec. 27 | ACC vs. Army |
 Maryland vs. Marshall*
|
| Belk | Dec. 27 | ACC vs. Big East |
 NC State vs. Cincinnati
|
| Holiday | Dec. 27 | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |
 Stanford vs. TCU
|
| Independence | Dec. 28 | ACC vs. SEC |
 Duke vs. La. Tech*
|
| Russell Athletic | Dec. 28 | ACC vs. Big East |
 Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers
|
| Meineke Car Care | Dec. 28 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
 Iowa vs. Baylor
|
| Armed Forces | Dec. 29 | C-USA vs. MWC |
 Houston vs. Air Force
|
| Kraft Fight Hunger | Dec. 29 | Pac-12 vs. Navy |
 Navy vs. Washington
|
| Pinstripe | Dec. 29 | Big East vs. Big 12 |
 Pittsburgh vs. Okla. State
|
| Alamo | Dec. 29 | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 |
 Oregon State vs. Texas Tech
|
| Buffalo Wild Wings | Dec. 29 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
 Michigan State vs. Texas 
|
| Music City | Dec. 31 | SEC vs. ACC |
 Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech
|
| Sun | Dec. 31 | ACC vs. Pac-12 |
 Arizona State vs. Miami
|
| Liberty | Dec. 31 | SEC vs. C-USA |
 Arkansas vs. UCF**
|
| Chick-fil-A | Dec. 31 | ACC vs. SEC |
 Clemson vs. Miss. State
|
| Heart of Dallas | Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 |
 Purdue vs. Iowa State
|
| TaxSlayer.com Gator | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |
 Texas A&M vs. N'Western
|
| Capital One | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |
 Wisconsin vs. South Carolina
|
| Outback | Jan. 1 | SEC vs. Big Ten |
 Nebraska vs. Georgia
|
| Cotton | Jan. 4 | Big 12 vs. SEC |
 West Virginia vs. LSU
|
| BBVA Compass | Jan. 5 | SEC vs. Big East |
 Vanderbilt vs. UL Monroe*
|
| GoDaddy.com | Jan. 6 | MAC vs. Sun Belt |
 W. Kentucky vs. Ohio
|
| Â | Â | Â | Â |
| BCS Bowls | Â | Â | Â |
| Rose | Jan. 1 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Michigan vs. USC
|
| Orange | Jan. 1 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Florida State vs. Louisville
|
| Sugar | Jan. 2 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Florida vs. Oklahoma
|
| Fiesta | Jan. 3 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Kansas State vs. Notre Dame
|
| National Title | Jan. 7 | BCS vs. BCS |
 Oregon vs. Alabama
|
* Indicates an at-large team due to a conference unable to fill bowl slots according to Athlon's projections.
** UCF is appealing a postseason ban and for now, is eligible to compete in the 2012 postseason.
by Steven Lassan
(published Oct. 16, 2012)
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College Football Week 7 Recap
