Last week, a lot of scores were settled in the last regular season games of the 2016 NCAA Football season. Nothing was really cemented and put in place, though, as the Conference Championship Weekend needed to take place with eight big games determining the top teams in different conferences. Now, every single game in the regular season and the conference championships are being played, so that means it is time to check out the 2016 NCAA college football bowl game projections.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, some interesting things took place. No. 17 Western Michigan completed a 13-0 undefeated season with a 29-23 defeat of Ohio in the MAC Championship. As recapped by ESPN , No. 4 Washington trounced No. 8 Colorado 41-10 in the PAC-12 Championship and possibly secured their spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Washington seemingly locked up a playoff spot with a dominant win over Colorado in the Pac-12 title game. https://t.co/tUGv3GlHBO pic.twitter.com/DtwfqsS7CQ
— USA TODAY Sports (@USATODAYsports) December 3, 2016
Many thought that Navy could cause some problems for the selection committee, but their 34-10 loss to Temple in the AAC Championship squashed that.
Please remember that these are only projections for the college bowl games and not set in stone. Only a few teams have accepted bowl invitations as of this writing. BYU is one of them and they are going to the Poinsettia Bowl, as reported by the official school website .
The following college football bowl projections were put together by CBS Sports with some by SB Nation and have been updated throughout the season. Each projection is 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.
Teams in bold have officially accepted invitations.
College Football Playoff
- Championship Game – Jan. 9, 2017: TBD
- 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: Penn State vs. Colorado
SB Nation believes this will be Penn State vs. USC, with Colorado heading to the Alamo Bowl to take on Oklahoma State.
COTTON BOWL Matchup: At-Large vs. At-Large Date: Jan. 2, 2017 Projection: W. Michigan vs. Wisconsin
ORANGE BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten or SEC Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: Florida State vs. Michigan
In this match-up, SB Nation has Louisville taking on Michigan with FSU falling to the Russell Athletic Bowl against West Virginia.
Remaining Bowl Games
OUTBACK BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. SEC Date: Jan. 2, 2017 Projection: Nebraska vs. Florida
TAXSLAYER BOWL Matchup: Dec. 31, 2016 Date: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC Projection: Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee
CITRUS BOWL Matchup: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC Date: Dec. 31, 2016 Projection: Louisville vs. LSU
ARIZONA BOWL Matchup: CUSA/Mountain West/Sun Belt Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: Air Force vs. South Alabama
MUSIC CITY BOWL Matchup: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: Minnesota vs. Kentucky
SUN BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big 12 Date: Dec. 30, 2016 Projection: North Carolina vs. Stanford
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: Oklahoma State vs. USC
BELK BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. SEC Date: Dec. 29, 2016 Projection: Virginia Tech 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. Utah
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. Big 12 Date: Dec. 28, 2016 Projection: Miami (FL) vs. West Virginia
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. Boise State
HOLIDAY BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12 Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: Iowa vs. Washington State
MILITARY BOWL Matchup: ACC vs. American Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: N.C. State vs. Temple
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL Matchup: Big Ten vs. CUSA Date: Dec. 27, 2016 Projection: Appalachian State vs. Louisiana Tech
INDEPENDENCE BOWL Matchup: SEC vs. ACC Date: Dec. 26, 2016 Projection: South Carolina vs. Wake Forest
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: Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi State
HAWAII BOWL Matchup: CUSA vs. MAC Date: Dec. 24, 2016 Projection: Middle Tennessee State vs. Hawai’i
DOLLAR GENERAL BOWL Matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 23, 2016 Projection: Ohio vs. Arkansas State
ARMED FORCES BOWL Matchup: Big 12 vs. Navy Date: Dec. 23, 2016 Projection: North Texas vs. Navy
BAHAMAS BOWL Matchup: CUSA vs. MAC Date: Dec. 23, 2016 Projection: Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan
IDAHO POTATO BOWL Matchup: MAC vs. Mountain West Date: Dec. 22, 2016 Projection: Idaho vs. Colorado 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. Western Kentucky
MIAMI BEACH BOWL Matchup: American vs. MAC Date: Dec. 19, 2016 Projection: UCF vs. Central Michigan
NEW ORLEANS BOWL Matchup: Mountain West vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: Southern Mississippi vs. UL Lafayette
CURE BOWL Matchup: American vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: South Florida vs. Toledo
CAMELLIA BOWL Matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt Date: Dec. 17, 2016 Projection: Army vs. Troy
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.
Baylor’s loss to No. 16 West Virginia; Oklahoma taking down Oklahoma State; and Alabama absolutely decimating Florida in the SEC Championship have all made adjustments to the list. All of those games and outcomes will help determine who goes where in many of the bowl games.
SEC CHAMPS!
Alabama defeats Florida, 54-16, to win its 3rd straight SEC title. pic.twitter.com/oIDjcqxWwi
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 4, 2016
The 2016 NCAA college football bowl season is one of the most enjoyable times of every year for big-time sports fans. After the Conference Championship Weekend, many are still waiting to see where their favorite school/team is going to play in December or hopefully, in January. These projections are about as close that things can possibly get before the Selection Show on Sunday, and as usual, there will be some shocks and surprises.
[Featured Image by Brett Deering/Getty Images]
