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Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 8

The College Football News bowl projections, and the predictions for the College Football Playoff after Week 8.

A whole slew of bowl things happened this week.

1. Army accepted the Independence Bowl bid. The Black Knights rolled by Mercer, and then received its official invitation to play in the Independence vs. a Pac-12 team. This was Army’s contracted bowl tie-in.

2. The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl has been cancelled. Organizers will take a year off from the bowl due to the coronavirus – this takes away tie-ins for the Big Ten and Pac-12.

In a year when records don’t necessarily matter to get into a bowl game, this is a big loss for those two conferences. All of a sudden, the contracted tie-ins dry up in a hurry. However, watch out for some bowls to try shoehorning in a Nebraska, Michigan State, or Pac-12 team in place of a Group of Five program.

Longwinded explanation short, if you don’t see your Power Five program here in a bowl, don’t get crazy quite yet. Bowls are going to want the big-name teams no matter what the records.

3. A few name changes. The Cactus Bowl between the Big 12 and Big Ten in Phoenix is now the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and the Gasparilla in Tampa between the American Athletic, ACC, SEC, or BYU is now the Union Home Mortgage Bowl.

– New Year’s Six Bowl Projections
– College Football Playoff Predictions

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews

2020-2021 Bowl Projections: Week 8

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl

ESPN, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Oklahoma State vs. LSU

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

ESPN, Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Iowa State vs Tennessee

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

ESPN, Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. Big Ten
Bowl Projection: West Virginia vs. Indiana

Camellia Bowl

ESPN, Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Ball State vs. Louisiana

Cheez-It Bowl

ESPN, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big 12
Bowl Projection: Miami vs. Kansas 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: Miami University 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. Minnesota

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

ESPN, Lyle Smith Field at Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Mountain West
Bowl Projection: Toledo vs. Nevada

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. Memphis

Union Home Mortgage Bowl

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

LA Bowl

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Pac-12 vs. MWC
Bowl Projection: Washington vs. Boise State

LendingTree Bowl

ESPN, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Ohio vs. Appalachian State

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: TCU vs. SMU

Military Bowl

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

Mistubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl

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

Myrtle Beach Bowl

ESPN, Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Conference USA or MAC or Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Liberty vs. UAB

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

ESPN, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big Ten
Bowl Projection: North Carolina vs. Iowa

New Mexico Bowl

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

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl

CBS Sports Network, Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. MW
Bowl Projection: Buffalo vs. San Diego State

Outback Bowl

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

Quick Lane Bowl

ESPN, Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. MAC
Bowl Projection: Purdue vs. Western Michigan

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: Marshall vs. Coastal Carolina

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

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

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

ESPN, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or ACC or Big 12
Bowl Projection: Houston vs. West Virginia

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

ESPN, EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

ESPN, Legion Field, Birmingham, AL
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC, ACC vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Virginia vs. Mississippi State

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

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

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

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

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

ESPN, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Normal Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or C-USA or MAC or MWC
Bowl Projection: Baylor vs. Air Force

Valero Alamo Bowl

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

VRBO Citrus Bowl

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

– New Year’s Six Bowl Projections
– College Football Playoff Predictions

NEXT: New Year’s Six Bowls

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 against a Big Ten or SEC 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.