Preseason Projections for All 41 College Football Bowl Games

From the Playoff to Group of 5 battles, we predict this year’s postseason matchups.

We’ve got a long regular season ahead of us, but it’s never too early to start thinking about college football bowl season and who goes where this postseason. These projections come from (roughly) how Vegas sees each team at the beginning of the 2022 season, but if there is anything we know about college football it’s that it won’t play out anywhere close to how we predict it beyond maybe the Playoff four. We’ll merely use this as a starting point before the real games start—when everything you see here probably gets shredded.

All times are Eastern.

College Football Playoff

Peach Bowl, Atlanta (Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Alabama vs. Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Ariz. (Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN)
CFP semifinalist vs. CFP semifinalist
Utah vs. Clemson

Can C.J. Stroud lead the Buckeyes to the Playoff? :: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY NETWORK

New Year’s Six

Orange Bowl, Miami (Dec. 30, 7:30 or 8 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame
NC State vs. Texas A&M

Sugar Bowl, New Orleans (Dec. 31, noon, ESPN)
SEC vs. Big 12
Georgia vs. Baylor

Cotton Bowl, Arlington, Texas (Jan. 2, 1 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. at-large
Houston vs. Oklahoma

Rose Bowl, Pasadena (Jan. 2, 5 p.m., ESPN)
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Michigan vs. Oregon

All other bowls

Dec. 16

Bahamas Bowl, Nassau (11:30 a.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. MAC
FAU vs. Miami (Ohio)

Cure Bowl, Orlando (3 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. at-large
Appalachian State vs. UAB

Dec. 17

Fenway Bowl, Boston (11 a.m., ESPN)
ACC/Notre Dame vs. American
Boston College vs. Tulane

New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque (2:15 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. Mountain West
UTEP vs. Utah State

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl, Inglewood, Calif. (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Pac-12 vs. Mountain West
San Diego State vs. Arizona State

LendingTree Bowl, Mobile (5:45 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. Sun Belt
Middle Tennessee vs. Georgia State

Las Vegas Bowl, Las Vegas (7:30 p.m., ABC) 
Pac-12 vs. SEC
LSU vs. Cal

Frisco Bowl, Frisco, Texas (9:15 p.m., ESPN) 
At-large vs. at-large
BYU vs. Troy

Dec. 19

Myrtle Beach Bowl, Conway, S.C. (2:30 p.m., ESPN) 
At-large vs. at-large
Liberty vs Louisiana

Dec. 20

Famous Idaho Potato, Boise, Id. (3:30 p.m., ESPN) 
Mountain West vs. MAC
Wyoming vs. Western Michigan

Boca Raton Bowl, Boca Raton, Fla. (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. at-large
Coastal Carolina vs. Memphis

Dec. 21

New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans (9 p.m., ESPN)
C-USA vs. Sun Belt
Marshall vs. North Texas

Dec. 22

Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
American vs. at-large
SMU vs. Washington State

Dec. 23

Independence Bowl, Shreveport, La. (3 p.m., ESPN)
American vs. Army
UCF vs. Army

Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa (6:30 p.m., ESPN)
ACC/SEC vs. at-large
Florida vs. Oregon State

Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl, Honolulu (8 p.m., ESPN)
Mountain West vs. C-USA
Air Force vs. Western Kentucky

Dec. 26

Quick Lane Bowl, Detroit (2:30 p.m., ESPN)
Big Ten vs. MAC
Maryland vs. Northern Illinois

Dec. 27

Camellia Bowl, Montgomery, Ala. (Noon, ESPN)
At-large vs. at-large
Central Michigan vs. Fresno State

First Responder Bowl, Dallas (3:15 or 6:45 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. at-large
Texas Tech vs. Virginia

Birmingham Bowl, Birmingham (3:15 or 6:45 p.m., ESPN)
At-large vs. ACC/SEC
UTSA vs. Syracuse

Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Phoenix (10:15 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Big Ten
Nebraska vs. TCU

Dec. 28

Military Bowl, Annapolis, Md. (2 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. American
Wake Forest vs. Cincinnati

Liberty Bowl, Memphis (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Iowa State vs. Auburn

Holiday Bowl, San Diego (8 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Washington vs. Florida State

Texas Bowl, Houston (9 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. SEC
Kansas State vs. Mississippi State

Dec. 29

Pinstripe Bowl, the Bronx (2 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten
Purdue vs. Louisville

Cheez-It Bowl, Orlando (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
ACC vs. Big 12
Texas vs. North Carolina

Alamo Bowl, San Antonio (9 p.m., ESPN)
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Oklahoma State vs. USC

Dec. 30

Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Charlotte (Noon, ESPN)
ACC vs. Big Ten
Miami vs. Minnesota

Sun Bowl, El Paso (2 p.m., CBS)
ACC vs. Pac-12
Pitt vs. UCLA

Gator Bowl, Jacksonville (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Wisconsin vs. Arkansas

Arizona Bowl, Tucson (4:30 p.m., Barstool)
Mountain West vs. MAC
Toledo vs. Boise State

Dec. 31

Music City Bowl, Nashville (Noon, ABC)
Big Ten vs. SEC
Michigan State vs. Kentucky

Jan. 2

ReliaQuest Bowl, Tampa (Noon, ESPN2)
Big Ten/ACC vs. SEC
Notre Dame vs. Tennessee

Citrus Bowl, Orlando (1 p.m., ABC)
SEC vs. Big Ten
Ole Miss vs. Penn State