It’s four months before the College Football Playoff and no games have been played, but it’s not too early to look ahead to the four teams will be playing for the national title.
And if that isn’t enough, there’s also 38 other bowl games looking for two teams to pair up. So here’s the first take on predicting all the postseason matchups that are sure to change though the course of the season.
A reminder: Some conferences may not fulfill their allotment. Asterisks denote a replacement pick.
Date | Bowl | Affliations | Projection |
Jan. 11 | CFP title game | Semifinal winners | Ohio State vs. TCU |
Dec. 31 | Cotton | CFP semifinal | TCU vs. Auburn |
Dec. 31 | Orange | CFP semifinal | Ohio State vs. Notre Dame |
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Dec. 31 | Peach | At-large vs. At-large | Georgia vs. Florida State |
Jan. 1 | Fiesta | At-large vs. At-large | Oregon vs. Boise State |
Jan. 1 | Rose | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | Michigan State vs. UCLA |
Jan. 1 | Sugar | Big 12 vs. SEC | Baylor vs. Alabama |
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Jan. 2 | Cactus | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 | Texas vs. California |
Jan. 2 | Alamo | Big 12 vs. Pac-12 | Oklahoma vs. USC |
Jan. 2 | Liberty | Big 12 vs. SEC | Kansas State vs. Missouri |
Jan. 2 | TaxSlayer | ACC/Big Ten/Notre Dame vs. SEC | Clemson vs. Tennessee |
Jan. 1 | Citrus | Big Ten vs. SEC | Wisconsin vs. LSU |
Jan. 1 | Outback | Big Ten vs. SEC | Penn State vs. Mississippi |
Dec. 30 | Holiday | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | Michigan vs. Arizona State |
Dec. 30 | Music City | ACC/Notre Dame/Big Ten vs. SEC | Nebraska vs. Texas A&M |
Dec. 30 | Belk | ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC | N.C. State vs. South Carolina |
Dec. 30 | Birmingham | American vs. SEC | Memphis vs. Arkansas |
Dec. 29 | Texas | Big 12 vs. SEC | West Virginia vs. Florida |
Dec. 29 | Russell Athletic | ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12 | Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State |
Dec. 29 | Armed Forces | Big Ten vs. Mountain West | Maryland vs. Air Force |
Dec. 29 | Arizona | Conference USA vs. Mountain West | UTEP vs. Colorado State |
Dec. 28 |
Military | ACC/Notre Dame vs. American | Miami (Fla. ) vs. Temple |
Dec. 28 | Quick Lane | ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten | North Carolina vs. Rutgers |
Dec. 26 | Foster Farms | Big Ten vs. Pac-12 | Iowa vs. Arizona |
Dec. 26 | Independence | ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC | Duke vs. Mississippi State |
Dec. 26 | Pinstripe | ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten | Louisville vs. Minnesota |
Dec. 26 | Sun | ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12 | Georgia Tech vs. Stanford |
Dec. 26 | St. Petersburg | American vs. Conference USA | East Carolina vs. W. Kentucky |
Dec. 26 | Heart of Dallas | Big 12 vs. Conference USA | *Northwestern vs. Rice |
Dec. 24 |
Hawaii | American vs. Mountain West/BYU | Cincinnati vs. BYU |
Dec. 24 | Bahamas | Conference USA vs. MAC | Louisiana Tech vs. Bowling Green |
Dec. 23 | GoDaddy | MAC vs. Sun Belt | Toledo vs. La.-Lafayette |
Dec. 23 | Poinsettia | Mountain West vs. Army | Utah State vs. *Ohio |
Dec. 22 | Boca Raton | American vs. MAC | Navy vs. Northern Illinois |
Dec. 22 | Idaho Potato | MAC vs. Mountain West | Akron vs. Utah State |
Dec. 21 | Miami Beach | American vs. Conference USA | Central Florida vs. Marshall |
Dec. 19 | New Orleans | Conference USA vs. Sun Belt | *Nevada vs. Georgia Southern |
Dec. 19 | Cure | American vs. Sun Belt | Houston vs. Appalachian State |
Dec. 19 | Camelia | MAC vs. Sun Belt | W. Michigan vs. Arkansas State |
Dec. 19 | Las Vegas | Mountain West/BYU vs. Pac-12 | San Diego State vs. Utah |
Dec. 19 |
New Mexico | Conference USA vs. Mountain West | Middle Tenn. vs. Fresno State |