Bowl Projections: Tracking the 2018 Postseason Picture as Every Matchup Is Set

Our final predictions for all 39 matchups of bowl season are below, and we're tracking every domino that falls as each bowl is set.

Three months of speculation and debate came down to one final weekend, and after the College Football Playoff hopefuls got one last chance to make a good impression on the selection committee, a nation of bowl-eligible teams awaited the announcement of everyone else’s postseason destination, from Albuquerque to Arlington.

Where is your team headed? Below, a look at all 39 bowl matchups and the College Football Playoff field, with the finalized pairing below our final set of predictions. The FBS ended up with 82 teams with six wins or more after Virginia Tech's win over Marshall, meaning that four eligible teams aren’t going bowling: Miami (Ohio), Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Miss and Wyoming.

Dec. 15

New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (2 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. Conference USA
Prediction: San Diego State vs. Middle Tennessee
Matchup: Utah State vs. North Texas

AutoNation Cure Bowl, Orlando (2:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
American vs. Sun Belt runner-up
Prediction: Eastern Michigan* vs. Louisiana
Matchup: Tulane vs. Louisiana

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Pac-12 vs. Mountain West
Prediction: Arizona State vs. Fresno State
Matchup: Arizona State vs. Fresno State

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sun Belt vs. MAC
Prediction: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio
Matchup: Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Sun Belt champion vs. Conference USA
Prediction: Appalachian State vs. Marshall
Matchup: Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee

Dec. 18

Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. Conference USA
Prediction: Tulane vs. Buffalo*
Matchup: Northern Illinois vs. UAB

Dec. 19

Frisco Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. At-large
Prediction: Temple vs. Utah State
Matchup: Ohio vs. San Diego State

Dec. 20

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
American vs. ACC/Conference USA
Prediction: South Florida vs. Wake Forest
Matchup: South Florida vs. Marshall

Dec. 21

Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl, Nassau (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Conference USA vs. MAC
Florida International vs. Toledo

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Boise (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. MAC
Prediction: Nevada vs. Western Michigan
Matchup: BYU vs. Western Michigan

Dec. 22

Birmingham Bowl (Noon ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. American
Prediction: Virginia Tech* vs. Memphis
Matchup: Wake Forest vs. Memphis

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. American
Prediction: Army* vs. Houston
Matchup: Army vs. Houston

Dollar General Bowl, Mobile, Ala. (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Prediction: Northern Illinois vs. Troy
Matchup: Buffalo vs. Troy

Hawai'i Bowl, Honolulu (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Mountain West vs. Conference USA
Hawai’i vs. Louisiana Tech

Dec. 26

SERVPRO First Responders Bowl, Dallas (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Conference USA
Prediction: BYU* vs. North Texas
Matchup: Boston College vs. Boise State

Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. ACC
Prediction: Minnesota vs. Virginia
Matchup: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech

Cheez-It Bowl, Phoenix (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Prediction: TCU vs. Stanford
Matchup: TCU vs. Cal

Dec. 27

Walk-On's Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC
Prediction: UAB* vs. Miami
Matchup: Temple vs. Duke

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, New York (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. ACC
Prediction: Purdue vs. Pitt
Matchup: Wisconsin vs. Miami

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Prediction: Baylor vs. Texas A&M
Matchup: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt

Dec. 28

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, Nashville (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Prediction: Vanderbilt vs. Boston College
Matchup: Purdue vs. Auburn

Camping World Bowl, Orlando (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. ACC
Prediction: West Virginia vs. NC State
Matchup: West Virginia vs. Syracuse

Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio (9 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Iowa State vs. Washington State
Matchup: Iowa State vs. Washington State

Dec. 29

Belk Bowl, Charlotte, N.C. (Noon ET, ABC)
SEC vs. ACC
Prediction: South Carolina vs. Duke
Matchup: South Carolina vs. Virginia

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl, Tucson (1:15 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
Prediction: Boise State vs. Arkansas State
Matchup: Nevada vs. Arkansas State

Dec. 31

Redbox Bowl, Santa Clara, Calif. (3 p.m. ET, Fox)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Wisconsin vs. Oregon
Matchup: Michigan State vs. Oregon

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman, Annapolis, Md. (Noon ET, ESPN)
ACC vs. American
Prediction: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Matchup: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati

AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis (3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Prediction: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri
Matchup: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, San Diego (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Iowa vs. Utah
Matchup: Northwestern vs. Utah

TaxSlayer Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla. (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Prediction: Auburn vs. Northwestern
Matchup: Texas A&M vs. NC State

Hyundai Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas (2 p.m. ET, CBS)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Syracuse vs. Cal
Matchup: Pitt vs. Stanford

Jan. 1

Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. (Noon ET, ESPN2)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Prediction: Michigan State vs. Mississippi State
Matchup: Iowa vs. Mississippi State

Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla. (1 p.m. ET, ABC)
SEC vs. ACC/Big Ten
Prediction: Kentucky vs. Penn State
Matchup: Kentucky vs. Penn State

New Year's Six Bowls

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Dec. 29, Noon ET, ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Prediction: Michigan vs. Florida
Matchup: Michigan vs. Florida

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
At-large vs. At-large
Prediction: LSU vs. UCF
Matchup: LSU vs. UCF

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Prediction: Ohio State vs. Washington
Matchup: Ohio State vs. Washington

Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN)
SEC vs. Big 12
Prediction: Georgia vs. Texas
Matchup: Georgia va. Texas

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Arlington, Texas (Dec. 29, 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Prediction: Clemson vs. Notre Dame
Matchup: Clemson vs. Notre Dame

Capital One Orange Bowl, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Dec. 29, 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. ET, ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Prediction: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Matchup: Alabama vs. Oklahoma

College Football Playoff National Championship, Santa Clara (Jan. 7, 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinal winner vs. CFP semifinal winner