Week 12 College Football Bowl Projections
With only two more full weeks remaining in the regular season before conference championship weekend on Dec. 3-4, which teams will and won’t go bowling is becoming clearer.
There are now 55 bowl-eligible teams (82 bowl teams are needed) with 27 teams mathematically unable to reach six wins. The remaining 48 FBS teams are still alive to reach bowl eligibility. For this week, I’m projecting having to use two 5-7 teams since there won’t be enough six-win teams available.
The College Football Playoff pairings will be announced on Dec. 5, along with the remaining bowl lineups.
My bowl projections this week are based on Georgia winning the SEC, Ohio State winning the Big Ten, undefeated Cincinnati winning the American, while the Big 12 and Pac-12 champions will each have at least two losses (the ACC will need a lot of help to get a playoff berth).
That’s how I ended up with Georgia vs. Cincinnati in one semifinal and Ohio State vs. two-loss Alabama in the other semifinal.
Each bowl projection includes the projected point spread for each game based on Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s updated college football betting power ratings.
Updated College Football Bowl Game Predictions
College Football Playoff National Championship
Monday, Jan. 10 ⋅ Indianapolis, IN
Projection: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Alabama
Action Spread: Georgia -5
College Football Playoff Semifinals
Capital One Orange Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Miami Gardens, FL
Projection: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Cincinnati
Action Spread: Georgia -18.5
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Arlington, TX
Projection: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Alabama
Action Spread: Alabama -1.5
New Year's Six Bowls
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ New Orleans, LA
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
Action Spread: Oklahoma State -0.5
Rose Bowl
Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Pasadena, CA
Projection: Michigan vs. Oregon
Action Spread: Michigan -2.5
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Glendale, AZ
Projection: Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame*
Action Spread: Pick'em
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Atlanta, GA
Projection: Michigan State vs. Wake Forest
Action Spread: Michigan State -1
Other Bowls
Texas Bowl
Tuesday, Jan. 4 ⋅ Houston, TX
Projection: Iowa State vs. Mississippi State
Action Spread: Iowa State -2
Vrbo Citrus Bowl
Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Orlando, FL
Projection: Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
Action Spread: Texas A&M -1.5
Outback Bowl
Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Tampa, FL
Projection: Penn State vs. Kentucky
Action Spread: Penn State -4.5
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Tucson, AZ
Projection: Kent State vs. Fresno State
Action Spread: Fresno State -13
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Jacksonville, FL
Projection: Clemson vs. Auburn
Action Spread: Auburn -3
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ El Paso, TX
Projection: Miami vs. UCLA
Action Spread: UCLA -1.5
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Nashville, TN
Projection: Minnesota vs. Tennessee
Action Spread: Tennessee -4.5
Duke's Mayo Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Charlotte, NC
Projection: North Carolina vs. Arkansas
Action Spread: Arkansas -0.5
Las Vegas Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Las Vegas, NV
Projection: Iowa vs. Arizona State
Action Spread: Arizona State -3.5
Valero Alamo Bowl
Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ San Antonio, TX
Projection: Baylor vs. Utah
Action Spread: Utah -3
Cheez-It Bowl
Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ Orlando, FL
Projection: Pitt vs. Kansas State
Action Spread: Pitt -5.5
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ Bronx, NY
Projection: Virginia vs. Purdue
Action Spread: Purdue -1
Fenway Bowl
Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ Boston, MA
Projection: Louisville vs. SMU
Action Spread: SMU -1
SDCCU Holiday Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ San Diego, CA
Projection: NC State vs. Oregon State
Action Spread: NC State -4
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Phoenix, AZ
Projection: Rutgers vs. West Virginia
Action Spread: West Virginia -9
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Memphis, TN
Projection: Texas Tech vs. Florida
Action Spread: Florida -3.5
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Dallas, TX
Projection: Army vs. Toledo
Action Spread: Army -1.5
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Birmingham, AL
Projection: Air Force vs. UAB
Action Spread: Air Force -1
Military Bowl
Monday, Dec. 27 ⋅ Annapolis, MD
Projection: Boston College vs. Houston
Action Spread: Houston -2
Quick Lane Bowl
Monday, Dec. 27 ⋅ Detroit, MI
Projection: Maryland vs. Northern Illinois
Action Spread: Maryland -8
Camellia Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 25 ⋅ Montgomery, AL
Projection: Louisiana vs. Central Michigan
Action Spread: Louisiana -9
EasyPost Hawaii Bowl
Friday, Dec. 24 ⋅ Honolulu, HI
Projection: Nevada vs. UCF
Action Spread: UCF -2.5
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Thursday, Dec. 23 ⋅ Tampa, FL
Projection: Memphis vs. Liberty
Action Spread: Liberty -7
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Wednesday, Dec. 22 ⋅ Fort Worth, TX
Projection: Middle Tennessee vs. TCU
Action Spread: TCU -14.5
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 21 ⋅ Frisco, TX
Projection: Utah State vs. Western Michigan
Action Spread: Western Michigan -1.5
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 21 ⋅ Boise, ID
Projection: Eastern Michigan vs. Boise State
Action Spread: Boise State -11.5
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Monday, Dec. 20 ⋅ Myrtle Beach, SC
Projection: Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina
Action Spread: Coastal Carolina -6
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ New Orleans, LA
Projection: Western Kentucky vs. Appalachian State
Action Spread: Appalachian State -5
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Inglewood, CA
Projection: Washington State vs. San Diego State
Action Spread: Pick'em
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Shreveport, LA
Projection: BYU vs. UTSA
Action Spread: BYU -2
LendingTree Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Mobile, AL
Projection: Troy vs. Ball State
Action Spread: Troy -7
New Mexico Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Albuquerque, NM
Projection: Wyoming vs. UTEP
Action Spread: Wyoming -10
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Boca Raton, FL
Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Marshall
Action Spread: Virginia Tech -1.5
Cure Bowl
Friday, Dec. 17 ⋅ Orlando, FL
Projection: Charlotte vs. Georgia State
Action Spread: Georgia State -11.5
Bahamas Bowl
Friday, Dec. 17 ⋅ Nassau, Bahamas
Projection: Florida Atlantic vs. Miami (OH)
Action Spread: Florida Atlantic -1.5
* 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 Fiesta Bowl if it does not qualify for College Football Playoff.
