Week 12 College Football Bowl Predictions
For the first time since 2015, UConn is bowl eligible. It’s an incredible achievement for first-year Huskies coach Jim Mora.
There’s just one little problem: Even though UConn is bowl-eligible, the Huskies are not technically guaranteed a bowl bid. Because UConn is an independent — it was a member of the AAC when it made its last bowl trip — the Huskies can only go bowling if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all 82 spots.
Not being part of the conference tie-ins with the bowls is the bad news.
The good news, however, is it appears there will not be more than 81 teams that are bowl eligible, so there will be room for the Huskies. No teams with less than six wins may be selected until all bowl-eligible teams are taken, meaning the Huskies should end the nation’s seventh-longest bowl drought.
Even if more than 82 teams reach six wins, sources told Action Network that ESPN would create an additional bowl, allowing all bowl-eligible teams to play in the postseason. ESPN did the same thing last year, creating the Frisco Football Classic.
As far as the Huskies’ postseason destination, they could be sent anywhere — well, the College Football Playoff semifinals is probably a longshot — so keep reading to see where I have the Huskies projected this week.
Entering the season’s final three weeks, I’m projecting there will be 80 bowl-eligible teams for 82 spots, meaning only two 5-7 teams would be needed to fill the final spots.
After last weekend, 63 teams are now bowl-eligible, while 29 have been mathematically eliminated (14 teams had their hopes crushed just last week — insert your favorite Texas A&M joke here). That means 39 teams are alive to reach bowl eligibility with 19 spots to fill.
This week’s projections include only two 5-7 teams — Rice and Iowa State, based on the Owls and Cyclones having the highest APR rankings among my projected 5-7 teams.
Here are this week’s projections with Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s current college football betting power ratings.
CFP National Championship Prediction
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Georgia
-1![]()
Ohio State
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College Football Playoff Semifinals Projections
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Georgia
-9![]()
Tennessee
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Ohio State
-13.5![]()
TCU
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New Year's Six Bowl Games
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Oregon
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Michigan
-11![]()
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Penn State
-5.5![]()
UCF
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Kansas State
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LSU
-2.5![]()
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North Carolina
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Alabama
-12.5![]()
Projections for All Other Bowls
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Illinois
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Ole Miss
-6.5![]()
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Iowa
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Kentucky
-1![]()
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Wisconsin
PK![]()
Arkansas
PK![]()
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Buffalo
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Fresno State
-13.5![]()
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Clemson
-8![]()
Mississippi State
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Wake Forest
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Washington
-3.5![]()
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Pittsburgh
PK![]()
Purdue
PK![]()
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Oklahoma State
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UCLA
-4![]()
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Notre Dame
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Texas
-1.5![]()
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Duke
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Minnesota
-11![]()
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Baylor
-9.5![]()
South Carolina
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Florida State
-1.5![]()
Utah
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Oklahoma
-16![]()
Arizona
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NC State
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Cincinnati
-3![]()
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Maryland
PK![]()
Kansas
PK![]()
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Eastern Michigan
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Southern Miss
-8![]()
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BYU
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Memphis
-1.5![]()
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Iowa State
PK![]()
Oregon State
PK![]()
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UConn
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Central Michigan
-5![]()
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San Jose State
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UTSA
-7![]()
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Syracuse
-5.5![]()
Coastal Carolina
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Louisiana
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Tulane
-6.5![]()
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SMU
-3![]()
Michigan State
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Western Kentucky
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Troy
-1.5![]()
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San Diego State
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Liberty
-6.5![]()
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Toledo
-4.5![]()
UNLV
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Middle Tennessee
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South Alabama
-11![]()
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Houston
PK![]()
Air Force
PK![]()
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Florida
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USC
-3![]()
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Ball State
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Marshall
-10.5![]()
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Washington State
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Boise State
-2.5![]()
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Wyoming
-4![]()
Rice
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Louisville
-2.5![]()
East Carolina
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UAB
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Appalachian State
-1.5![]()
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North Texas
PK![]()
Ohio
PK![]()
* The highest-rated champion from the Group of Five conferences (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt) will be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl if it does not qualify for College Football Playoff.
**If there are enough six-win teams to fill 42 bowls, ESPN will create another bowl not listed above. This week, Action Network does not project enough six-win teams for a 42nd bowl.
