Christmas season is something that everyone looks forward to each and every single year. Along with the food, family gatherings, and presents, there is some great holiday programming that also includes bowl games. Yes, the 2016 NCAA college football bowl season arrives in just about three weeks and the projections are close to becoming real now that the final week of the regular season is over.
A number of conference championship games remain for the ACC, SEC, Sun Belt, and many others. While those results will say a lot about which school is playing in which bowl game, some things can already be figured out as everyone looks to see where their team may end up going.
SB Nation believes there could be some problems for the college football playoff committee regarding the Big Ten. Ohio State defeated Michigan over the weekend and that means the Buckeyes will likely remain in the top two of the playoff rankings. The only problem is that Penn State defeated them earlier in the season and kept them out of the conference championship game.
If Penn State wins the Big Ten Championship, is it really fair for Ohio State to be in the playoffs when they couldn’t even win their own conference?
Please remember that these are only projections for the college bowl games and not set in stone. Only one team has accepted a bowl bid as of this writing and it is BYU to the Poinsettia Bowl for 2016 and 2018 as reported by the official school website .
Navy, as usual, will also play in the Armed Forces Bowl.
The following college football bowl projections were put together by CBS Sports and have been updated throughout the season. They are based on the current standings after the final week of the 2016 regular season. After the conference championship games, there could be a lot of changes based on bids, acceptance, and which teams are seeded where.
College Football Playoff
- Championship Game – Jan. 9, 2017: Semifinal Winners
- Fiesta Bowl – Dec. 31, 2016: Clemson vs. Ohio State (Semifinal)
- Peach Bowl – Dec. 31, 2016: Alabama vs. Washington (Semifinal)
Selection Committee Bowl Games
SUGAR BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC Date: Jan. 2, 2017 Projection: Oklahoma vs. Auburn
ROSE BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12 Date: Jan. 2, 2017 Projection: Wisconsin vs. Colorado
COTTON BOWL Matchup: At-Large vs. At-Large Date: Jan. 2, 2017 Projection: W. Michigan vs. Penn State
ORANGE BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten or SEC or ND Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: Florida State vs. Michigan
Remaining Bowl Games
OUTBACK BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. SEC Date: Jan. 2, 2017 Projection: Nebraska vs. LSU
TAXSLAYER BOWL Matchup: Dec. 31, 2016 Date: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC Projection: North Carolina vs. Tennessee
CITRUS BOWL Matchup: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC Date: Dec. 31, 2016 Projection: Louisville vs. Florida
ARIZONA BOWL Matchup: CUSA/Mountain West/Sun Belt Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: North Texas vs. Idaho
MUSIC CITY BOWL Matchup: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: Iowa vs. Kentucky
SUN BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big 12 Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: Georgia Tech vs. Utah
LIBERTY BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: TCU vs. Georgia
ALAMO BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. Pac-12 Date: Dec. 29, 2016 Projection: West Virginia vs. USC
BELK BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. SEC Date: Dec. 29, 2016 Projection: Miami vs. Arkansas
BIRMINGHAM BOWL Matchup: American vs. SEC Date: Dec. 29, 2016 Projection: Tulsa vs. Vanderbilt
TEXAS BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC Date: Dec. 28, 2016 Projection: Kansas State vs. Texas A&M
FOSTER FARMS BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12 Date: Dec. 28, 2016 Projection: Indiana vs. Stanford
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big 12 Date: Dec. 28, 2016 Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State
PINSTRIPE BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten Date: Dec. 28, 2016 Projection: Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern
CACTUS BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. Pac-12 Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: Baylor vs. Air Force
HOLIDAY BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12 Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: Minnesota vs. Washington State
MILITARY BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. American Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: Army vs. Houston
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. CUSA Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: Colorado State vs. W. Kentucky
INDEPENDENCE BOWL Matchup: SEC vs. ACC Date: Dec. 26, 2016 Projection: South Carolina vs. N.C. State
QUICK LANE BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten Date: Dec. 26, 2016 Projection: Boston College vs. Maryland
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL Matchup: American vs. ACC Date: Dec. 26, 2016 Projection: South Florida vs. Wake Forest
HAWAII BOWL Matchup: CUSA vs. MAC Date: Dec. 24, 2016 Projection: Old Dominion vs. Hawai’i
DOLLAR GENERAL BOWL Matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 23, 2016 Projection: Ohio vs. Troy
ARMED FORCES BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. Navy Date: Dec. 23, 2016 Projection: Mississippi State vs. Navy
BAHAMAS BOWL Matchup: CUSA vs. MAC Date: Dec. 23, 2016 Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (OH)
IDAHO POTATO BOWL Matchup: MAC vs. Mountain West Date: Dec. 22, 2016 Projection: Toledo vs. Boise State
POINSETTIA BOWL Matchup: Mountain West vs. BYU Date: Dec. 21, 2016 Projection: Wyoming vs. BYU
BOCA RATON BOWL Matchup: American vs. CUSA Date: Dec. 20, 2016 Projection: Memphis vs. Southern Mississippi
MIAMI BEACH BOWL Matchup: American vs. MAC Date: Dec. 19, 2016 Projection: Temple vs. Central Michigan
NEW ORLEANS BOWL Matchup: Mountain West vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: Middle Tennessee vs. UL Lafayette
CURE BOWL Matchup: American vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: UCF vs. South Alabama
CAMELLIA BOWL Matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: Eastern Michigan vs. Arkansas State
LAS VEGAS BOWL Matchup: Mountain West vs. Pac-12 Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: San Diego State vs. Appalachian State
NEW MEXICO BOWL Matchup: CUSA vs. Mountain West Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: Texas-San Antonio vs. New Mexico
If a conference does not have enough teams qualify for their bowl game eligibility, there could be a replacement team put in their place. Examples of that in these projections are Air Force in the Cactus Bowl and Colorado State in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Campus Insiders agree with CBS for the most part for the SEC teams, but there are a few changes here and there. For instance, they have LSU facing Iowa in the Citrus Bowl while they put Florida in the Outback Bowl to take on Nebraska.
The 2016 NCAA college football bowl season is one of the best times of the year as it brings forth constant action for three weeks. Some of these projections are likely to change depending on the conference championship games, but there are many which could be spot on accurate. There is still time for schools to position themselves for a better bowl game and knock their rivals back into the early part of December.
[Featured Image by Bob Levey/Getty Images]
