Way-Too-Early Bowl Projections for the 2024 College Football Season

Posted by Admin October 8, 2024 Football

There was a time when bowl projections were not quite easy, but at least sensible. The ACC and SEC met in the Peach Bowl every year, the Big Ten and Big 12 in the Alamo Bowl, and so on.

Like a lot about college football, those days are gone. Those who attempt to forecast where teams will end up in the postseason will have a tall task ahead of them this year. The College Football Playoff has expanded from four to 12 teams, and because of that, four teams will play in two bowl games. The controlled demolition of the Pac-12 means that many bowl tie-ins have not been properly reallocated. All that comes on the heels of increased flexibility regarding conference tie-ins in recent years, with many leagues tied to bowl games on a rotational basis.

Undeterred, we at SI have tried to take a stab at how the bowl picture would look if the season ended today. There are a number of unconventional matchups on here, and a couple of recent rematches—this is your one and only warning. The bloated Big Ten in particular appears poised to gobble up a number of slots traditionally assigned to other conferences.

The process for solving this sudoku puzzle unfolded thusly. First, we gamed out the College Football Playoff using the AP Top 25. Simple enough. Then, we allocated teams into conference tie-ins based on the rest of the top 25 and the all-important “Also Receiving Votes” section. After that, we went down the list of FBS teams by record; College Football Reference’s rudimentary Simple Rating System served as the tiebreaker.

Without further ado—assuming you haven’t Ctrl-F-ed your team already—here is an early look at how the 2024 bowl schedule might pan out. Put A Charlie Brown Christmas on the stereo and read on.

GAME	LOCATION	DATE	PROJECTED MATCHUP
Celebration Bowl	Atlanta	Dec. 14	North Carolina Central vs. Florida A&M
Camellia Bowl	Montgomery, Ala.	Dec. 14	Arizona vs. Marshall
Frisco Bowl	Frisco, Texas	Dec. 17	Liberty vs. Texas State
Boca Raton Bowl	Boca Raton, Fla.	Dec. 18	Maryland vs. Louisiana-Monroe
LA Bowl	Inglewood, Calif.	Dec. 18	Arizona State vs. UNLV
New Orleans Bowl	New Orleans	Dec. 19	James Madison vs. Western Kentucky
Cure Bowl	Orlando	Dec. 20	Central Michigan vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Gasparilla Bowl	Tampa	Dec. 20	Tulane vs. South Carolina
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 1	Athens, Ga.	Dec. 20	No. 10 Ole Miss vs. No. 7 Georgia
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 2	University Park, Pa.	Dec. 21	No. 11 Clemson vs. No. 6 Penn State
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 3	Tuscaloosa, Ala.	Dec. 21	No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Alabama
College Football Playoff First Round—Game 4	Eugene, Ore.	Dec. 21	No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Oregon
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Conway, S.C.	Dec. 23	Buffalo vs. Coastal Carolina
Potato Bowl	Boise, Idaho	Dec. 23	Michigan State vs. Northern Illinois
Hawaii Bowl	Honolulu	Dec. 24	Sam Houston vs. North Texas
Detroit Bowl	Detroit	Dec. 26	Rutgers vs. Toledo
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Phoenix	Dec. 26	West Virginia vs. Nebraska
68 Ventures Bowl	Mobile, Ala.	Dec. 26	Wisconsin vs. Georgia Southern
Birmingham Bowl	Birmingham	Dec. 27	Virginia Tech vs. Florida
Armed Forces Bowl	Fort Worth	Dec. 27	UCF vs. Minnesota
Liberty Bowl	Memphis	Dec. 27	Colorado vs. Vanderbilt
Holiday Bowl	San Diego	Dec. 27	Duke vs. Washington State
Las Vegas Bowl	Las Vegas	Dec. 27	Texas A&M vs. Utah
Fenway Bowl	Boston	Dec. 28	Memphis vs. Boston College
Pinstripe Bowl	Bronx, N.Y.	Dec. 28	Iowa vs. Louisville
New Mexico Bowl	Albuquerque	Dec. 28	Arkansas State vs. Fresno State
Pop-Tarts Bowl	Orlando	Dec. 28	Kansas State vs. Virginia
Arizona Bowl	Tucson	Dec. 28	Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State
Military Bowl	Annapolis, Md.	Dec. 28	Georgia Tech vs. Navy
Alamo Bowl	San Antonio	Dec. 28	Washington vs. BYU
Independence Bowl	Shreveport, La.	Dec. 28	Oregon State vs. Army
Music City Bowl	Nashville	Dec. 30	Illinois vs. Missouri
ReliaQuest Bowl	Tampa	Dec. 31	Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma
Sun Bowl	El Paso, Texas	Dec. 31	Pittsburgh vs. USC
Citrus Bowl	Orlando	Dec. 31	Indiana vs. LSU
Texas Bowl	Houston	Dec. 31	Arkansas vs. Texas Tech
Fiesta Bowl	Glendale, Ariz.	Dec. 31	No. 12 Boise State or No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Iowa State
Peach Bowl	Atlanta	Jan. 1	No. 11 Clemson or No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Miami
Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Jan. 1	No. 10 Ole Miss or No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 2 Ohio State
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans	Jan. 1	No. 9 Tennessee or No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 1 Texas
Gator Bowl	Jacksonville	Jan. 2	SMU vs. Kentucky
First Responder Bowl	Dallas	Jan. 3	California vs. Cincinnati
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	Charlotte	Jan. 3	Michigan vs. Syracuse
Bahamas Bowl	Nassau	Jan. 4	Connecticut vs. Ohio
Orange Bowl	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Jan. 9	Peach Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner
Cotton Bowl	Arlington, Texas	Jan. 10	Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner
National Championship	Atlanta	Jan. 20	Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner