Post-Week 8 Bowl Projections For the 2024 College Football Season

Here's a look at the bowl picture after a week of movement throughout the game.

Georgia and Texas's game had playoff preview written all over it. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The beauty of midseason college football bowl projections is the extent to which small movements in the rankings can affect them. For instance, Tennessee's 24–17 win over Alabama had ramifications up and down the bowl schedule—knocking the Crimson Tide from the playoff field and elevating the Volunteers in their place.

However, bowl projections also have a way of bringing into the cold light teams in the midst of complete collapse. Wait until you see where Oklahoma is in this field after its blowout loss to South Carolina, or USC after its complete meltdown at Maryland.

As usual, the projections are determined by using the AP Poll and College Football Reference's Simple Rating System as guides. Conference tie-ins have been observed, but with .500 teams in short supply, gluttonous Power Four conferences (namely the Big Ten and SEC) ate a handful of slots nominally reserved for other leagues.

Without further ado, here's how the bowl picture might look if the season ended today, with some commentary at the end.

GAME	LOCATION	DATE	PROJECTED MATCHUP
Celebration Bowl	Atlanta	Dec. 14	Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central
Camellia Bowl	Montgomery, Ala.	Dec. 14	Rutgers vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Frisco Bowl	Frisco, Texas	Dec. 17	Texas State vs. Sam Houston
Boca Raton Bowl	Boca Raton, Fla.	Dec. 18	Ohio vs. Georgia Southern
LA Bowl	Inglewood, Calif.	Dec. 18	Utah vs. UNLV
New Orleans Bowl	New Orleans	Dec. 19	Western Kentucky vs. Lousiana-Monroe
Cure Bowl	Orlando	Dec. 20	Minnesota vs. James Madison
Gasparilla Bowl	Tampa	Dec. 20	Boston College vs. Arkansas
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 1	Columbus	Dec. 20	No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Ohio State
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 2	Austin	Dec. 21	No. 10 Clemson at No. 7 Texas
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 3	University Park, Pa.	Dec. 21	No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Penn State
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 4	Knoxville, Tenn.	Dec. 21	No. 9 LSU at No. 8 Tennessee
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Conway, S.C.	Dec. 23	Buffalo vs. Coastal Carolina
Potato Bowl	Boise, Idaho	Dec. 23	Northern Illinois vs. Colorado State
Hawaii Bowl	Honolulu	Dec. 24	Liberty vs. Tulane
Detroit Bowl	Detroit	Dec. 26	Maryland vs. Toledo
Rate Bowl	Phoenix	Dec. 26	Iowa vs. San Diego State
68 Ventures Bowl	Mobile, Ala.	Dec. 26	Michigan State vs. Marshall
Birmingham Bowl	Birmingham	Dec. 27	Oklahoma vs. North Texas
Armed Forces Bowl	Fort Worth	Dec. 27	Michigan vs. Kentucky
Liberty Bowl	Memphis	Dec. 27	TCU vs. South Carolina
Holiday Bowl	San Diego	Dec. 27	Virginia Tech vs. Arizona State
Las Vegas Bowl	Las Vegas	Dec. 27	Missouri vs. Washington State
Fenway Bowl	Boston	Dec. 28	Memphis vs. Virginia
Pinstripe Bowl	Bronx, N.Y.	Dec. 28	Wisconsin vs. Syracuse
New Mexico Bowl	Albuquerque	Dec. 28	Arkansas State vs. San Jose State
Pop-Tarts Bowl	Orlando	Dec. 28	Cincinnati vs. Georgia Tech
Arizona Bowl	Tucson	Dec. 28	Eastern Michigan vs. Fresno State
Military Bowl	Annapolis, Md.	Dec. 28	Louisville vs. Navy
Alamo Bowl	San Antonio	Dec. 28	Washington vs. Kansas State
Independence Bowl	Shreveport, La.	Dec. 28	Colorado vs. Army
Music City Bowl	Nashville	Dec. 30	Illinois vs. Ole Miss
ReliaQuest Bowl	Tampa	Dec. 31	Notre Dame vs. Alabama
Sun Bowl	El Paso, Texas	Dec. 31	Oregon State vs. SMU
Citrus Bowl	Orlando	Dec. 31	Indiana vs. Texas A&M
Texas Bowl	Houston	Dec. 31	Florida vs. Texas Tech
Fiesta Bowl	Glendale, Ariz.	Dec. 31	No. 12 Boise State or No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 4 Iowa State
Peach Bowl	Atlanta	Jan. 1	No. 10 Clemson or No. 7 Texas vs. No. 2 Georgia
Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Jan. 1	No. 9 LSU or No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Oregon
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans	Jan. 1	No. 11 BYU or No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Miami
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville	Jan. 2	Pittsburgh vs. Vanderbilt
First Responder Bowl	Dallas	Jan. 3	USC vs. Connecticut
Duke's Mayo Bowl	Charlotte	Jan. 3	Nebraska vs. Duke
Bahamas Bowl	Nassau	Jan. 4	Western Michigan vs. Jacksonville State
Orange Bowl	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Jan. 9	Sugar Bowl winner vs. Peach Bowl winner
Cotton Bowl	Arlington, Texas	Jan. 10	Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner
National Championship	Atlanta	Jan. 20	Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner

Notable Potential Bowl Matchups

Note Jackson State snagging Florida A&M's place in the Celebration Bowl after a 35–21 win over the Rattlers Saturday... Sam Houston and Texas State (Frisco Bowl) have spent a lot of time together over the years; the two schools helped found the Lone Star Conference way back in 1931... UNLV and Utah (LA Bowl) were in the Mountain West together from 1999 to 2010, and the WAC from 1996 to '98... Louisiana-Monroe and Western Kentucky locked horns in the Sun Belt from 2009 to '13... BYU and Ohio State, potential CFP opponents, have met three times in bowl games (the Buckeyes won all three matchups)... Depending on whether you consider CFP first-round matchups bowl games, we could be in line for a) the first bowl game in Ohio since the 1961 Aviation Bowl in Dayton and b) the first bowl game in Pennsylvania since the Liberty Bowl left Philadelphia in 1963... Tennessee and LSU are not scheduled to play this year; the Volunteers won their last meeting in 2022... Iowa and San Diego State (Rate Bowl) played in the 1986 Holiday Bowl; hilariously, the final score was 39–38 (the Hawkeyes won)... This would be Notre Dame and Alabama's (ReliaQuest Bowl) ninth matchup; the Fighting Irish lead the series 5-3 and the two teams will begin a home-and-home in 2029... SMU would be the first Texas-based team to appear in the Sun Bowl since TCU in 1998... Duke and Nebraska (Duke's Mayo Bowl) played in the 1955 Orange Bowl, won 34–7 by the Blue Devils.

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