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2020-2021 Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Spring Version

CollegeFootballNews.com bowl projections and College Football Playoff schedule and predictions: 2020 spring version


Oh, why the heck not?

We’re living in absurd times, so let’s just get even weirder.

Will there actually be a 2020 college football season?

Uhhhhh … not sure.

Will there be a full bowl slate if there is some sort of a season?

Uhhhhh …

Are all of the conferences bowl tie-ins locked in yet?

The Power Fives are, but the Group of Five situation is extremely loose.

Who cares? It’s fun offseason stuff that – if this all actually happens – probably isn’t too terribly far from the pin.

There are a whole slew of ground rules and new contracted deals for the 2020-2021 bowl season. Here are the main ones.

The College Football Playoff will be the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The Orange Bowl has to take an ACC team – the next-highest ranked ACC team will get in if the champion is in the CFP – and Notre Dame can’t take the league’s spot. Otherwise, the non-CFP New Year’s Six games are wide open.

– As always, every Power Five conference champ will at least be in a New Year’s Six game, and the top-ranked Group of Five champion will be in, too, or in the College Football Playoff.

– Again, most of the Group of Five bowl tie-ins are still up in the air. There are 16 ESPN owned and operated bowls with a whole lot of holes to fill – that’s where the available American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt teams come in. An eligible BYU will take one of them, and then it’ll be all about the top matchups and best geographic possibilities.

Let’s just do this already. If you don’t see your team on here, don’t sweat it. We’ll do this exercise again later this summer, and we’ll adapt and adjust as we go.


CFN in 60: Spring College Football Playoff Projections


2020-2021 Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions

Future College Football Playoff Sites & Dates
All of the 2020-2021 bowl tie-ins

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Games listed alphabetically until all the dates are announced 

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Big 12 vs. SEC
Spring Projection: TCU vs. Tennessee
Last Season: Texas A&M 24, Oklahoma State 21

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN
Big 12 vs. SEC 
Spring Projection: Baylor vs. Mississippi State
Last Season: Navy 20, Kansas State 17

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
SEC vs. ACC (or American Athletic)
Spring Projection: Syracuse vs. Houston 
Last Season: UCF 48, Marshall 25

Bahamas Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Thomas Robinson National Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Conference USA vs. MAC
Spring Projection: Southern Miss vs. Northern Illinois
Last Season: Buffalo 31, Charlotte 9

Belk Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
ACC vs. SEC
Spring Projection: Virginia vs. South Carolina 
Last Season: Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30

Camellia Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Spring Projection: Buffalo vs. Louisiana
Last Season: Arkansas State 34, FIU 26

Camping World Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
ACC vs. Big 12
Spring Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State
Last Season: Notre Dame 33, Iowa State 9

Cheez-It Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Big Ten vs. Big 12 
Spring Projection: Michigan State vs. West Virginia 
Last Season: Air Force 31, Washington State 21

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
American Athletic or Conference USA or MAC
Spring Projection: Temple vs. Marshall
Last Season: Florida Atlantic 52, SMU 28

Cure Bowl

Saturday, December 19
CBS Sports Network
Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL
American Athletic or MAC or Sun Belt
Spring Projection: SMU vs. Toledo
Last Season: Liberty 23, Georgia Southern 16

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Lyle Smith Field at Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
MAC vs. Mountain West
Spring Projection: Miami University vs. Air Force
Last Season: Ohio 30, Nevada 21

NEXT: 2020-2021 New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Spring Version, Part 2

2020-2021 New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Spring Version, Part 2

Fenway Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
ACC vs. American Athletic
Spring Projection: Boston College vs. UCF
Last Season: First Bowl in 2020

LA Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: San Diego State vs. Arizona State 
Last Season: First Bowl in 2020

LendingTree Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Spring Projection: Miami University vs. Louisiana 
Last Season: Troy

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Big 12 vs. Group of Five Team
Spring Projection: Iowa State vs. Navy
Last Season: Tulane 30, Southern Miss 13

Military Bowl Presented By Northrup Grumman

Date Coming
ESPN
Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium, Annapolis, MD
ACC vs. American Athletic
Spring Projection: Pitt vs. Cincinnati
Last Season: North Carolina 55, Temple 13

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Iowa vs. Utah
Last Season: Washington 38, Boise State 7

Myrtle Beach Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
American Athletic or MAC or Sun Belt
Spring Projection: UAB vs. Georgia Southern 
Last Season: First Bowl in 2020

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
ACC vs. Big Ten
Spring Projection: Florida State vs. Nebraska
Last Season: Michigan State 27, Wake Forest 21

New Mexico Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Branch Field at Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
American Athletic or Conference USA or Mountain West
Spring Projection: BYU vs. Fresno State
Last Season: San Diego State 48, Central Michigan 11

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl

Date Coming
CBS Sports Network
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ
MAC vs. Mountain West
Spring Projection: Ohio vs. Nevada 
Last Season: Wyoming 38, Georgia State 17

Outback Bowl

Wednesday, January 1
1:00 ET, ESPN
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Big Ten vs. SEC
Spring Projection: Michigan vs. Auburn
Last Season: Minnesota 31, Auburn 24

Quick Lane Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Big Ten vs. MAC
Spring Projection: Northwestern vs. Kent State
Last Season: Pitt 34, Eastern Michigan 30

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Conference USA vs. Sun Belt (champion)
Spring Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. Appalachian State
Last Season: Appalachian State 31, UAB 17

NEXT: 2020-2021 New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Spring Version, Part 3

2020-2021 New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Spring Version, Part 3

Redbox Bowl

Date Coming
FOX
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Indiana vs. Stanford 
Last Season: Cal 35, Illinois 20

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

Date Coming
FOX
SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, CA
ACC vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Louisville vs. Washington
Last Season: Iowa 49, UAC 24

SERVPRO First Responders Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Cotton Bowl Stadium, Dallas, TX
ACC vs. Big 12 (or Group of Five program)
Spring Projection: Duke vs. Kansas State 
Last Season: WKU 23, Western Michigan 20

SoFi Hawai’i Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union Field at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
American Athletic Conference or Conference USA vs. Mountain West
Spring Projection: WKU vs. Hawaii
Last Season: Hawaii 38, BYU 34

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
ACC vs. SEC
Spring Projection: North Carolina vs. Missouri
Last Season: Tennessee 23, Indiana 22

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Legion Field, Birmingham, AL
American Athletic (or ACC) vs. SEC 
Spring Projection: Memphis vs. Ole Miss 
Last Season: Cincinnati 38, Boston College 6

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Thursday, December 30
CBS
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX
ACC vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: NC State vs. UCLA
Last Season: Arizona State 20, Florida State 14

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Big Ten vs. SEC
Spring Projection: Minnesota vs. Kentucky
Last Season: Louisville 38, Mississippi State 28

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
American Athletic or Conference USA or MAC or Mountain West
Spring Projection: Florida Atlantic vs. Wyoming 
Last Season: Kent State 51, Utah State 41

Valero Alamo Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Texas vs. USC
Last Season: Texas 38, Utah 10

VRBO Citrus Bowl

Friday, January 1
1:00 ET, ESPN
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Big Ten vs. SEC
Spring Projection: Wisconsin vs. LSU
Last Season: Alabama 35, Michigan 16

Walk-On’s Independence Bowl

Date Coming
ESPN
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Army vs. Pac-12
Spring Projection: Army vs. Cal
Last Season: Louisiana Tech 14, Miami 0

NEXT: 2020-2021 New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Spring Version

New Year’s Six Bowl Projections

New Year’s Six Games
Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta all based on best possible matchups. An ACC team has to play in the Orange vs. an at-large team. All Power Five conference champions will be in either the College Football Playoff or New Year’s Six games along with the top-ranked Group of Five champion.

GoodYear Cotton Bowl Classic

Wednesday, December 30
ESPN
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
New Year’s Six at-large vs. New Year’s Six at-large
Spring Projection: Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M
Last Season: Penn State 53, Memphis 39

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Friday, January 1
ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
New Year’s Six at-large vs. New Year’s Six at-large
Spring Projection: Florida vs. Notre Dame
Last Season: LSU 63, Oklahoma 28

Capital One Orange Bowl

Saturday, January 2
ESPN
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
ACC vs. New Year’s Six at-large  
Spring Projection: Miami vs. Boise State 
Last Season: Florida 36, Virginia 28

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

Saturday, January 2
ESPN
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
New Year’s Six at-large vs. New Year’s Six at-large
Spring Projection: Oregon vs. Penn State 
Last Season: Clemson 29, Ohio State 23

NEXT: 2020-2021 College Football Playoff Projections, Spring Version

2020-2021 College Football Playoff Projection and Schedule

Rose Bowl

Friday, January 1
5:00 ET, ESPN
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large

Spring Projection: Ohio State vs. Georgia
Last Season: Oregon 28, Wisconsin 27

AllState Sugar Bowl

Friday, January 1
8:45 ET, ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, New Orleans, LA
CFP at-large vs. CFP at-large

Spring Projection: Clemson vs. Alabama 
Last Season: Georgia 26, Baylor 14

College Football Playoff National Championship

Monday, January 11
8:00 ET, ESPN
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
CFP vs. CFP

Spring Projection: Ohio State vs. Alabama
Last Season: LSU 42, Clemson 25

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