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
