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Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 2

The College Football News bowl projections, and the predictions for the College Football Playoff after Week 2.

Could the Big Ten be a part of all of this soon? At the moment it’s still too soon, but we’ll adjust on the fly if something changes.

There are too many bowls available considering just 76 teams are expected to play college football in 2020 – maybe 77 if you throw in Air Force, and a whole lot more if the Big Ten is alive again – so some modifications have to be made.

At the moment – again, this all changes if the Big Ten teams are available – we have to eliminate some bowls that would’ve been going in normal times. The RedBox (Big Ten vs. Pac-12) has already decided not to go.

We’re going to assume that three – Famous Idaho Potato (MAC vs. Mountain West), Quick Lane (Big Ten vs. MAC), and the NOVA Home Loans Arizona (MAC vs. Mountain West) – won’t be able to go.

For now, we do this a few ways. There are the teams we think are certain to be bowl eligible and will get in like normal, and there’s the thought that everyone could get a bowl bid for one extra game no matter what the final records are.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews

2020-2021 Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 2

BOWL PROJECTIONS
If every college team is allowed to go bowling regardless of record

Call these the bowl games on the bubble. The only way they’ll be played will be if all the teams are allowed to go bowling – or if the Big Ten and Pac-12 return. Don’t assume any of them will go off – few of these teams will be bowl eligible, if any – but …

Bahamas Bowl

ESPN, Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: C-USA vs. MAC
Bowl Projection: Middle Tennessee vs. Georgia State

Cactus Bowl

ESPN, Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. Big Ten
Bowl Projection: Kansas vs. Liberty

Camellia Bowl

ESPN, Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Charlotte vs. South Alabama

Gasparillia Bowl

ESPN, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or ACC or SEC
Bowl Projection: USF vs. FIU

LA Bowl

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Pac-12 vs. MWC
Bowl Projection: Duke vs. Ole Miss

Mistubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl

ESPN, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Pac-12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Wake Forest vs. Missouri

Myrtle Beach Bowl

ESPN, Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or MAC or Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: East Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina

New Mexico Bowl

ESPN, Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or C-USA or MAC
Bowl Projection: Tulsa vs. UTEP

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

ESPN, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or ACC or Big 12
Bowl Projection: North Texas vs. Arkansas

SoFi Hawaii Bowl

ESPN, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MWC vs. AAC or C-USA
Bowl Projection: ULM vs. Rice

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

ESPN, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or C-USA or MAC or MWC
Bowl Projection: Texas State vs. UTEP

Those bowls are all long shots – again, most of those teams won’t be close to bowl eligible – and then there are the …

– Bowls That Will Likely Be Played, Part 1
– Bowls That Will Likely Be Played, Part 2
– New Year’s Six Bowl Projections
– College Football Playoff Predictions

NEXT: Bowls that will likely be played

BOWL PROJECTIONS
The bowls that will likely be played

None of these bowl games are a sure-thing to be played, but there will likely be enough eligible teams to give them a go. They’re also the ones – at least most of them – that can either keep their contracted tie-ins, or are big enough to figure it all out.

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl

ESPN, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: TCU vs. Texas A&M

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

ESPN, Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Kansas State vs. South Carolina

Cheez-It Bowl

ESPN, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big 12
Bowl Projection: Louisville vs. Iowa State

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl

ESPN, Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or C-USA or MAC
Bowl Projection: Temple vs. Florida Atlantic

Duke’s Mayo Bowl

ESPN, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big Ten
Bowl Projection: NC State vs. WKU

FBS Mortgage Cure Bowl

CBS Sports Network, Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC, MAC, Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Tulane vs. Arkansas State

Fenway Bowl

ESPN, Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. AAC
Bowl Projection: Boston College vs. Cincinnati

LendingTree Bowl

ESPN, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Southern Miss vs. Georgia Southern

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

ESPN, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs Group of 5
Bowl Projection: Texas Tech vs. SMU

Military Bowl

ESPN, Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium, Annapolis, MD
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. AAC
Bowl Projection: Georgia Tech vs. Navy

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

ESPN, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big Ten
Bowl Projection: Pitt vs. West Virginia

Outback Bowl

ESPN, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Miami vs. Tennessee

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

ESPN, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: C-USA vs. Sun Belt Champion (if available)
Bowl Projection: UAB vs. Louisiana

NEXT: Bowls that will likely be played, Part 2

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

ESPN, Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Army vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Army vs. Louisiana Tech

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

FOX, SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, CA
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Virginia vs. BYU

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

ESPN, EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Florida State vs. Mississippi State

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

ESPN, Legion Field, Birmingham, AL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC, ACC vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Marshall vs. Troy

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

CBS, Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Syracuse vs. Vanderbilt

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

ESPN, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Memphis vs. Kentucky

Valero Alamo Bowl

ESPN, Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Baylor vs. Houston

VRBO Citrus Bowl

ESPN, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: North Carolina vs. Auburn

NEXT: New Year’s Six Bowls & College Football Playoff

New Year’s Six Bowls Schedule

New Year’s Six Games
Chick-Fil-A Peach, Cotton, Fiesta are all based on the 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 a New Year’s Six game along with the top-ranked Group of Five champion.