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College football bowl projections for Week 4 of the 2016 season. Following another exciting weekend of college football, here's how the sport's postseason could shake out.
September 16, 2016College football bowl projections for Week 4 of the 2016 season. Following another great weekend, here’s how the postseason figures to play out.
Week 3 saw the early editions of the 2016-17 college football bowl projections get shaken up quite a bit.
Florida State was shockingly demolished by Louisville to kick off Saturday’s action, as the Seminoles had no chance to defend the dual-threat abilities of Cardinals star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Thus, the ‘Noles are no longer projected to face Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, which is one of the College Football Playoff semifinal games.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma and Notre Dame suffered their second losses of the season already, costing both squads spots in a potential New Year’s Six bowl game.
Plenty can and will change between now and the end of the season, but this is how the college football postseason could take shape.
Note: An asterisk (*) denotes that the respective league did not have enough teams eligible to fill its bowl slot, thus it went to a team from a different league.
Date: Dec. 17
Location: Orlando, Florida
Tie-ins: AAC/Sun Belt
Cure Bowl Projection: East Carolina (AAC) vs. Troy (Sun Belt)
Date: Dec. 17
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Tie-ins: Mountain West/Pac-12
Las Vegas Bowl Projection: Boise State (MW) vs. Utah (Pac-12)
Date: Dec. 17
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
Tie-ins: MAC/Sun Belt
Camellia Bowl Projection: NIU (MAC) vs. Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
Date: Dec. 17
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Tie-ins: Conference USA/Mountain West
New Mexico Bowl Projection: Western Kentucky (C-USA) vs. Nevada (MW)
Date: Dec. 17
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Tie-ins: Conference USA/Sun Belt
New Orleans Bowl Projection: Louisiana Tech (C-USA) vs. Georgia Southern (Sun Belt)
Date: Dec. 19
Location: Miami, Florida
Tie-ins: AAC/MAC
Miami Beach Bowl Projection: Memphis (AAC) vs. Central Michigan (MAC)
Date: Dec. 20
Location: Boca Raton, Florida
Tie-ins: AAC/Conference USA
Boca Raton Bowl Projection: Tulsa (AAC) vs. Marshall (C-USA)
Date: Dec. 21
Location: San Diego, California
Tie-ins: MAC/Mountain West/BYU (BYU tied to bowl if not in CFP)
Poinsettia Bowl Projection: BYU vs. San Diego State (MW)
Date: Dec. 22
Location: Boise, Idaho
Tie-ins: MAC/Mountain West
Idaho Potato Bowl Projection: Ohio (MAC) vs. Air Force (MW)
Date: Dec. 23
Location: Nassau, Bahamas
Tie-ins: AAC/MAC
Bahamas Bowl Projection: UConn (AAC) vs. Toledo (MAC)
Date: Dec. 23
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Tie-ins: AAC/Big 12/Navy (automatically takes spot if eligible)
Armed Forces Bowl Projection: West Virginia (Big 12) vs. Navy
Date: Dec. 23
Location: Mobile, Alabama
Tie-ins: MAC/Sun Belt
Dollar General Bowl Projection: Western Michigan (MAC) vs. Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
Date: Dec. 24
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Tie-ins: Conference USA/Mountain West
Hawaii Bowl Projection: Middle Tennessee (C-USA) vs. Utah State (MW)
Date: Dec. 26
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten
Quick Lane Bowl Projection: NC State (ACC) vs. Indiana (Big Ten)
Date: Dec. 26
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Tie-ins: ACC/AAC
St. Petersburg Bowl Projection: Wake Forest (ACC) vs. Temple (AAC)
Date: Dec. 26
Location: Shreveport, Louisiana
Tie-ins: ACC/SEC
Independence Bowl Projection: Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Mississippi State (SEC)
Date: Dec. 27
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Tie-ins: ACC/AAC
Military Bowl Projection: Pittsburgh (ACC) vs. Cincinnati (AAC)
Date: Dec. 27
Location: San Diego, California
Tie-ins: Big Ten/Pac-12
Holiday Bowl Projection: Minnesota (Big Ten) vs. Arizona State (Pac-12)
Date: Dec. 27
Location: Dallas, Texas
Tie-ins: Big Ten/Conference USA
Heart of Dallas Bowl Projection: Northwestern (Big Ten) vs. Southern Miss (C-USA)
Date: Dec. 27
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Tie-ins: Big 12/Pac-12
Cactus Bowl Projection: Texas (Big 12) vs. Arizona (Pac-12)
Date: Dec. 28
Location: Houston, Texas
Tie-ins: Big 12/SEC
Texas Bowl Projection: Baylor (Big 12) vs. Arkansas (SEC)
Date: Dec. 28
Location: Orlando, Florida
Tie-ins: ACC/Big 12
Russell Athletic Bowl Projection: Notre Dame (ACC) vs. Oklahoma (Big 12)
Date: Dec. 28
Location: New York, New York
Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten
Pinstripe Bowl Projection: North Carolina (ACC) vs. Maryland (Big Ten)
Date: Dec. 28
Location: Santa Clara, California
Tie-ins: Big Ten/Pac-12
Foster Farms Bowl Projection: Penn State (Big Ten) vs. UCLA (Pac-12)
Date: Dec. 29
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Tie-ins: AAC/SEC
Birmingham Bowl Projection: USF (AAC) vs. Missouri (SEC)
Date: Dec. 29
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Tie-ins: ACC/SEC
Belk Bowl Projection: Virginia Tech (ACC) vs. Auburn (SEC)
Date: Dec. 29
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Tie-ins: Big 12/Pac-12
Alamo Bowl Projection: Oklahoma State (Big 12) vs. USC (Pac-12)
Date: Dec. 30
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Tie-ins: Mountain West/Sun Belt
Arizona Bowl Projection: Colorado State (MW) vs. Georgia State (Sun Belt)
Date: Dec. 30
Location: El Paso, Texas
Tie-ins: ACC/Pac-12
Sun Bowl Projection: Miami (ACC) vs. Oregon (Pac-12)
Date: Dec. 30
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Tie-ins: Big 12/SEC
Liberty Bowl Projection: Texas Tech (Big 12) vs. South Carolina (SEC)
Date: Dec. 31
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Music City Bowl Projection: Wisconsin (Big Ten) vs. Tennessee (SEC)
Date: Dec. 31
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
TaxSlayer Bowl Projection: Florida State (ACC) vs. Texas A&M (SEC)
Date: Dec. 31
Location: Orlando, Florida
Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Citrus Bowl Projection: Iowa (Big Ten) vs. Ole Miss (SEC)
Date: Jan. 2
Location: Tampa, Florida
Tie-ins: Big Ten/SEC
Outback Bowl Projection: Nebraska (Big Ten) vs. Florida (SEC)
Date: Dec. 30
Location: Miami, Florida
Tie-ins: ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame
Orange Bowl Projection: Louisville (ACC) vs. Michigan
Date: Jan. 2
Location: Pasadena, California
Tie-ins: Big Ten/Pac-12
Rose Bowl Projection: Michigan State (Big Ten) vs. Washington (Pac-12)
Date: Jan. 2
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Tie-ins: Big 12/SEC
Sugar Bowl Projection: TCU (Big 12) vs. LSU (SEC)
Date: Jan. 2
Location: Arlington, Texas
Tie-ins: At-Large/At-Large
Cotton Bowl Projection: Georgia (SEC) vs. Houston (AAC)
Date: Dec. 31
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Tie-ins: CFP No. 2/CFP No. 3
Fiesta Bowl Projection: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State
The Tigers have some real competition in the ACC Atlantic division, so there is a lot of work to do between now and the end of the year. But when Deshaun Watson is on top of his game, only Alabama can beat him.
Urban Meyer does his best work with young teams, which he’s proving is the case once again early in the new season. The Buckeyes were not intimidated on Saturday night when they went into Norman and handed Oklahoma its second loss of the year.
Date: Dec. 31
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Tie-ins: CFP No. 1/CFP No. 4
Peach Bowl Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Stanford
The dynasty isn’t going anywhere any time soon, as Nick Saban’s outfit looks like the best in the SEC West—and America—once again. Perhaps Texas A&M will be Alabama’s toughest obstacle.
David Shaw still may be the most underappreciated head coach in America, and star Christian McCaffrey is as lethal as ever. The Cardinal passed their first test of a tough stretch with a win over USC on Saturday night.
Date: Jan. 9
Location: Tampa, FL
Tie-ins: Semifinal winners
Championship Game Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Clemson