A new era of college football is upon us, making the entire season more intriguing than ever before, and this December will likely generate just as much discussion as 1966, 1997 and 2016.
This is the first time we've tried to select a 12-team College Football Playoff field, and it's clear that there will be politics between the teams, even in the same league. Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa are projected to finish the season at 9-3, but none of them will play each other. How will their season records stack up against each other? How will they compare to Kansas State (10-2), Virginia Tech (10-2), and Louisiana State (9-3)? And who will take the final CFP spot? First, Kansas State is projected to lose the Big 12 final, so the Wildcats will go 10-3 and the Wolverines will slip in.
We also predicted the other 34 bowl tournaments that are now uncertain due to the disbanding of the Pac-12: Check out the preseason CFP and bowl tournament brackets, determined in part by Stewart Mandel's previews of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
Going deeper
Expert predictions for College Football Playoff, Heisman Trophy and national title
Learn more about CFP
As in previous years, a committee will select the CFP participants. Starting on November 5th (yes, election night), the committee will release rankings every week. On Sunday, December 8th, the committee will announce the CFP contestants and the final Top 25.
The CFP field will consist of the top five conference champions and the seven at-large teams. The top four conference champions will receive byes from the first round. The bottom one conference champions and the seven at-large teams will play on campus on December 20th and 21st. Seeds 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 at home.
Notre Dame is projected to finish the season at 11-1, which would be better than ACC champion Miami and Big 12 champion Utah. However, because the Irish cannot win the conference championship, No. 4 seed Notre Dame gets a bye and No. 5 seed Notre Dame does not get a bye.
For byes, the committee will prioritize historic conference affiliation in determining bowl order. Our projections are that the Sugar Bowl will continue to feature SEC champion Georgia, while the Rose Bowl will feature Big Ten champion Ohio State.
The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the CFP semifinals on January 9th and 10th, respectively.
College Football Playoff
Bowl/Playoff Date Location Team Team Time (ET) Network
play off
December 20
Austin, Texas
7. Texas (whole state)
10. Tennessee (whole state)
8pm
ABC/ESPN
play off
December 21
South Bend, Indiana
5. University of Notre Dame (General)
12. Memphis (G5)
noon
TNTNT
play off
December 21
Eugene, Oregon
8. Oregon (whole state)
9. Ole Miss (General)
4pm
TNTNT
play off
December 21
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
6. Alabama (All states)
11. Michigan (Statewide)
8pm
ABC/ESPN
Fiesta
December 31
Glendale, Arizona
3. Utah (Big 12)
Alabama vs. Michigan Winner
7:30pm
ESPN
peach
January 1st
Atlanta
4. Miami (ACC)
ND-Memphis Winner
noon
ESPN
rose
January 1st
Pasadena, California
1. Ohio State University (Big Ten)
Oregon vs. Ole Miss winner
5pm
ESPN
sugar
January 1st
New Orleans
2. Georgia (SEC)
Texas vs. Tennessee Winner
8:45pm
ESPN
orange
January 9
Miami, Florida
Quarterfinal Winner
Quarterfinal Winner
7:30pm
ESPN
cotton
January 10
Arlington, Texas
Quarterfinal Winner
Quarterfinal Winner
7:30pm
ESPN
Championship
January 20
Atlanta
Semi-Final Winners
Semi-Final Winners
7:30pm
ESPN
Other Bowls
When it comes to non-CFP bowl games, realignment has complicated the process of allocating slots: Power conferences have contracts with non-CFP bowl games that expire after the 2025 season.
For the next two years, the Pac-12's past bowl competitions will be drawn from the league's current members (Oregon State and Washington State) and former members. These bowl competitions include the Alamo, Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA Bowl and Independence. Despite currently playing in the Big Ten, 7-5 USC is projected to play in the Sun Bowl as a Pac-12 affiliate.
Once again, Academic Progress Rate (APR) data will determine which 5-7 teams (if any) qualify for bowl games, and in our lineup, those teams are Minnesota and Stanford.
Remaining bowl
Bowl Date Location Team Team Time (ET) Network
Bahamas
January 4th
Nassau, Bahamas
NIU (MAC)
Jacksonville State University (CUSA)
11:00 AM
ESPN2
Duke's Mayonnaise
January 3
Charlotte, North Carolina
Penn State (Big Ten 4)
NC State (ACC 5-7)
7:30pm
ESPN
First Responder
January 3
University Park, Texas
Texas Tech (ESPN)
UTSA (ESPN)
4pm
ESPN
Gator
January 2nd
Jacksonville, Florida
Virginia Tech (ACC 2-4)
LSU (SEC 3-8)
7:30pm
ESPN
Texas
December 31
Houston
Iowa State University (Big 12 4)
Oklahoma (SEC 3-8)
3:30pm
ESPN
citrus
December 31
Orlando, Florida
Nebraska (Big Ten 2)
Texas A&M (SEC 2)
3pm
A.B.C.
solar
December 31
El Paso, Texas
North Carolina (ACC 5-7)
USC (Pac-12 5)
2pm
CBS
Lelia Quest
December 31
Tampa, Florida
Iowa (Big Ten 3)
Auburn (SEC 3-8)
noon
ESPN
Music City
December 30
Nashville, Tennessee
Wisconsin (Big Ten 5)
Missouri (SEC 3-8)
2:30pm
A.B.C.
Independence
December 28
Shreveport, Louisiana
Military
Arkansas State* (Pac-12 7)
9:15pm
ESPN
The Alamo
December 28
San Antonio, Texas
Kansas State University (Big 12 2)
Washington State University (Pac-12 2)
9:15pm
A.B.C.
Military
December 28
Annapolis, Maryland
East Carolina (AAC)
Louisville (ACC 8)
5:45pm
ESPN
Arizona
December 30
Tucson, Arizona
UNLV (MWC)
Miami-Ohio (MAC)
4:30pm
translation
Pop Tarts
December 28
Orlando, Florida
Kansas (Big 12 3)
Florida State (ACC 2-4)
3:30pm
A.B.C.
New Mexico
December 28
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Wyoming (MWC)
Rice** (ESPN)
2:15pm
ESPN
Pinstripe
December 28
Bronx, New York
Northwestern (Big Ten 6)
Georgia Tech (ACC 5-7)
noon
A.B.C.
Fenway
December 28
Boston
Syracuse (ACC 9)
Tulane University (AAC)
11:00 AM
ESPN
Vegas
December 27
Las Vegas
Arizona (Pac-12 3)
Kentucky (SEC 3-8)
10:30pm
ESPN
Free
December 27
Memphis, Tennessee
Oklahoma State University (Big 12 5)
Florida (SEC 3-8)
7pm
ESPN
Birmingham
December 27
Birmingham, Alabama
SMU (ESPN)
University of California (ESPN)
12/3:30pm
ESPN
Military
December 27
Fort Worth, Texas
West Virginia (Big 12 7)
Air Force (ESPN)
12/3:30pm
ESPN
68 Ventures
December 26
Mobile, Alabama
Texas (Sunbelt)
Liberty (CUSA)
9pm
ESPN
Guaranteed Rate
December 26
Phoenix
Rutgers (Big Ten 7)
TCU (Big 12 6)
5:45pm
ESPN
Detroit
December 26
Detroit
Minnesota** (Big Ten 8)
Central Michigan (MAC)
2pm
ESPN
Hawaii
December 24th
Honolulu
Colorado State University (MWC)
FIU (CUSA)
8pm
ESPN
Idaho Potatoes
December 23
Boise, Idaho
Fresno State University (MWC)
Toledo (MAC)
2:30pm
ESPN
Myrtle Beach
December 23
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
USF (ESPN)
Western Michigan (ESPN)
11:00 AM
ESPN
Gasparilla
December 20
Tampa, Florida
Wake Forest (ACC)
Coastal Carolina (ESPN)
3:30pm
ESPN
cure
December 20
Orlando, Florida
James Madison (ESPN)
Ohio (ESPN)
noon
ESPN
New Orleans
December 19
New Orleans
Appalachian States (Sun Belt)
Western Kentucky (C-USA)
7pm
ESPN2
LA Bowl
December 18
Inglewood, California
Stanford** (Pac-12 6)
Boise State University (MWC 1)
9pm
A.B.C.
Frisco
December 17
Frisco, Texas
Louisiana (ESPN)
Sam Houston (ESPN)
9pm
ESPN
Boca Raton
December 17
Boca Raton, Florida
Marshall (ESPN)
FAU (ESPN)
5:30pm
ESPN
Camellia
December 14th
Montgomery, Alabama
Georgia Southern (ESPN)
Bowling Green (ESPN)
9pm
ESPN
holiday
to be decided
San Diego
Clemson (ACC 2-4)
Oregon State University (Pac-12 4)
to be decided
Fox
* = Substitute team
** = Teams predicted to win 5-7
(Photo: David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty)
