Oh did this just get even more interesting.
There will be plenty of upsets on the way, but until then the College Football Playoff picture remains … clear? It’s not what you think, and you’ll see what we’re talking about when we get there.
There are a slew of funky things happening with this week’s bowl projections, and they all have to do with remaining schedules.
Remember, a team needs to get to six wins to become bowl eligible. Michigan State might have just beaten Wisconsin, but it has to win three of its last five games against at Michigan, at Illinois, Rutgers, Indiana, at Penn State. It could happen, but the call is that it’ll lose three of those last five.
Wisconsin? It has been awful at times, but it has an easier finishing kick and should sneak in with three wins in the last five games.
Stanford?! Yeah, remember, it lost to four tough teams – USC, at Washington, at Oregon, Oregon State – but it can beat Arizona State, Washington State, Cal, and BYU to get to six. That might be a stretch, but that’s what the bowl projections are.
Even crazier might be the number of eligible teams. Yup, we’re making the call that ESPN will crank up the Frisco Bowl Classic like it did last year to get that extra TV game on.
So just as second half of the season gets going …
Bowl Projections: Week 7
Bowl Projections: Week 7 2022-2023
Bowl Projections, Part 2 | New Year’s Six
College Football Playoff Prediction
College Football Week 7 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 7 Scoreboard
Week 8 Early Lines | AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Top 10 Hot Seat Coach Rankings | Heisman Race
Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
2022-2023 conference bowl tie-ins
All Times Eastern
HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl
Friday, December 16, 2022
11:30 am, ESPN
Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Last Year: Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24
Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs MAC
Bowl Projection: WKU vs Ball State
Duluth Trading Cure Bowl
Friday, December 16, 2022
3:00, ESPN
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Last Year: Coastal Carolina 47, Northern Illinois 41
Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five or Army
Bowl Projection: Bowling Green vs Old Dominion
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
11:00 am, ESPN
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Last Year: Canceled
Bowl Ties: ACC vs American Athletic (Conference USA)
Bowl Projection: Syracuse vs Tulane
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
12:00, ABC
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Last Year: South Carolina State 31, Jackson State 10
Bowl Ties: MEAC vs SWAC
Bowl Projection: North Carolina Central vs Jackson State
New Mexico Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
2:15, ESPN
Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
Last Year: Fresno State 31, UTEP 24
Bowl Ties: Mountain West vs AAC, C-USA, MAC or Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: San Diego State vs North Texas
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
3:30, ABC
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Last Year: Canceled
Bowl Ties: Mountain West vs Pac-12
Bowl Projection: San Jose State vs Washington
LendingTree Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
5:45, ESPN
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Last Year: Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20
Bowl Ties: MAC vs Sun Belt (C-USA)
Bowl Projection: Toledo vs South Alabama
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
7:30, ABC
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Last Year: Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13
Bowl Ties: Pac-12 vs SEC
Bowl Projection: Stanford vs Mississippi State
Frisco Bowl
Saturday, December 17, 2022
9:15, ESPN
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Last Year: San Diego State 38, UTSA 24
Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five or Army
Bowl Projection: Rice vs Wyoming
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Monday, December 19, 2022
2:30, ESPN
Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
Last Year: Tulsa 30, Old Dominion 17
Bowl Ties: C-USA, MAC, Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Miami University vs Southern Miss
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
3:30 ESPN
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
Last Year: Wyoming 52, Kent State 38
Bowl Ties: MAC vs Mountain West
Bowl Projection: Ohio vs Boise State
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
7:30, ESPN
FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
Last Year: WKU 59, Appalachian State 38
Bowl Ties: Group of Five vs Group of Five
Bowl Projection: Georgia Southern vs Memphis
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
9:00, ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Last Year: Louisiana 36, Marshall 21
Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: UAB vs Coastal Carolina
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Thursday, December 22, 2022
7:30, ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Last Year: Army 24, Missouri 22
Bowl Ties: American Athletic vs Conference USA (Big 12, Pac-12)
Bowl Projection: UCF vs Texas Tech
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Friday, December 23, 2022
TBA, ESPN
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
Last Year: UAB 31, BYU 28
Bowl Ties: American Athletic vs Army
Bowl Projection: Houston vs BYU
Union Home Gasparilla Bowl
Friday, December 23, 2022
TBA, ESPN
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Last Year: UCF 29, Florida 17
Bowl Ties: ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC (AAC, C-USA)
Bowl Projection: Appalachian State vs UTSA
Frisco Football Classic*
Friday, December 23, 2022
TBA, ESPN
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Last Year: Miami University 27, North Texas 14
Bowl Ties: None
Bowl Projection: Kansas vs Liberty
*We’re making the call that once again there will be too many available bowl teams, so – this is a true projection – ESPN will revive the Frisco Football Classic to get a Big 12 team in against a bowl eligible team that has to find a spot somewhere.
Easyport Hawaii Bowl
Saturday, December 24, 2022
8:00, ESPN
Clarence TC Ching Complex, Honolulu, HI
Last Year: Canceled
Bowl Ties: Conference USA vs Mountain West
Bowl Projection: Middle Tennessee vs Air Force
Bowl Projections: Week 7 2022-2023
Bowl Projections, Part 2 | New Year’s Six
College Football Playoff Prediction
12-Team College Football Playoff: What If? Week 7
