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2016 NCAA College Football Bowl Projections For All 41 Bowl Games After Conference Championship Weekend

By Danny Cox
Published on: 11:50 PST, Dec 3, 2016

Last week, a lot of scores were settled in the last regular season games of the 2016 NCAA Football season. Nothing was really cemented and put in place, though, as the Conference Championship Weekend needed to take place with eight big games determining the top teams in different conferences. Now, every single game in the regular season and the conference championships are being played, so that means it is time to check out the 2016 NCAA college football bowl game projections.

Throughout Friday and Saturday, some interesting things took place. No. 17 Western Michigan completed a 13-0 undefeated season with a 29-23 defeat of Ohio in the MAC Championship. As recapped by ESPN, No. 4 Washington trounced No. 8 Colorado 41-10 in the PAC-12 Championship and possibly secured their spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Many thought that Navy could cause some problems for the selection committee, but their 34-10 loss to Temple in the AAC Championship squashed that.

Please remember that these are only projections for the college bowl games and not set in stone. Only a few teams have accepted bowl invitations as of this writing. BYU is one of them and they are going to the Poinsettia Bowl, as reported by the official school website.

The following college football bowl projections were put together by CBS Sports with some by SB Nation and have been updated throughout the season. Each projection is based on the current standings after the final week of the 2016 regular season. After the conference championship games, there could be a lot of changes based on bids, acceptance, and which teams are seeded where.

Teams in bold have officially accepted invitations.

College Football Playoff

  • Championship Game – Jan. 9, 2017: TBD
  • Fiesta Bowl – Dec. 31, 2016: Clemson vs. Ohio State (Semifinal)
  • Peach Bowl – Dec. 31, 2016: Alabama vs. Washington (Semifinal)

Selection Committee Bowl Games

SUGAR BOWL
Matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC
Date: Jan. 2, 2017
Projection: Oklahoma vs. Auburn

ROSE BOWL
Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Date: Jan. 2, 2017
Projection: Penn State vs. Colorado

SB Nation believes this will be Penn State vs. USC, with Colorado heading to the Alamo Bowl to take on Oklahoma State.

COTTON BOWL
Matchup: At-Large vs. At-Large
Date: Jan. 2, 2017
Projection: W. Michigan vs. Wisconsin

ORANGE BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten or SEC
Date: Dec. 30, 2016
Projection: Florida State vs. Michigan

In this match-up, SB Nation has Louisville taking on Michigan with FSU falling to the Russell Athletic Bowl against West Virginia.

Remaining Bowl Games

OUTBACK BOWL
Matchup: Big Ten vs. SEC
Date: Jan. 2, 2017
Projection: Nebraska vs. Florida

TAXSLAYER BOWL
Matchup: Dec. 31, 2016
Date: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee

CITRUS BOWL
Matchup: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Date: Dec. 31, 2016
Projection: Louisville vs. LSU

ARIZONA BOWL
Matchup: CUSA/Mountain West/Sun Belt
Date: Dec. 30, 2016
Projection: Air Force vs. South Alabama

MUSIC CITY BOWL
Matchup: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Date: Dec. 30, 2016
Projection: Minnesota vs. Kentucky

SUN BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. Big 12
Date: Dec. 30, 2016
Projection: North Carolina vs. Stanford

LIBERTY BOWL
Matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC
Date: Dec. 30, 2016
Projection: TCU vs. Georgia

ALAMO BOWL
Matchup: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Date: Dec. 29, 2016
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. USC

BELK BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. SEC
Date: Dec. 29, 2016
Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas

BIRMINGHAM BOWL
Matchup: American vs. SEC
Date: Dec. 29, 2016
Projection: Tulsa vs. Vanderbilt

TEXAS BOWL
Matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC
Date: Dec. 28, 2016
Projection: Kansas State vs. Texas A&M

FOSTER FARMS BOWL
Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Date: Dec. 28, 2016
Projection: Indiana vs. Utah

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. Big 12
Date: Dec. 28, 2016
Projection: Miami (FL) vs. West Virginia

PINSTRIPE BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten
Date: Dec. 28, 2016
Projection: Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern

CACTUS BOWL
Matchup: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Date: Dec. 27, 2016
Projection: Baylor vs. Boise State

HOLIDAY BOWL
Matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Date: Dec. 27, 2016
Projection: Iowa vs. Washington State

MILITARY BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. American
Date: Dec. 27, 2016
Projection: N.C. State vs. Temple

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
Matchup: Big Ten vs. CUSA
Date: Dec. 27, 2016
Projection: Appalachian State vs. Louisiana Tech

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Matchup: SEC vs. ACC
Date: Dec. 26, 2016
Projection: South Carolina vs. Wake Forest

QUICK LANE BOWL
Matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten
Date: Dec. 26, 2016
Projection: Boston College vs. Maryland

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL
Matchup: American vs. ACC
Date: Dec. 26, 2016
Projection: Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi State

HAWAII BOWL
Matchup: CUSA vs. MAC
Date: Dec. 24, 2016
Projection: Middle Tennessee State vs. Hawai’i

DOLLAR GENERAL BOWL
Matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Date: Dec. 23, 2016
Projection: Ohio vs. Arkansas State

ARMED FORCES BOWL
Matchup: Big 12 vs. Navy
Date: Dec. 23, 2016
Projection: North Texas vs. Navy

BAHAMAS BOWL
Matchup: CUSA vs. MAC
Date: Dec. 23, 2016
Projection: Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan

IDAHO POTATO BOWL
Matchup: MAC vs. Mountain West
Date: Dec. 22, 2016
Projection: Idaho vs. Colorado State

POINSETTIA BOWL
Matchup: Mountain West vs. BYU
Date: Dec. 21, 2016
Projection: Wyoming vs. BYU

BOCA RATON BOWL
Matchup: American vs. CUSA
Date: Dec. 20, 2016
Projection: Memphis vs. Western Kentucky

MIAMI BEACH BOWL
Matchup: American vs. MAC
Date: Dec. 19, 2016
Projection: UCF vs. Central Michigan

NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Matchup: Mountain West vs. Sun Belt
Date: Dec. 17, 2016
Projection: Southern Mississippi vs. UL Lafayette

CURE BOWL
Matchup: American vs. Sun Belt
Date: Dec. 17, 2016
Projection: South Florida vs. Toledo

CAMELLIA BOWL
Matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Date: Dec. 17, 2016
Projection: Army vs. Troy

LAS VEGAS BOWL
Matchup: Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Date: Dec. 17, 2016
Projection: San Diego State vs. Appalachian State

NEW MEXICO BOWL
Matchup: CUSA vs. Mountain West
Date: Dec. 17, 2016
Projection: Texas-San Antonio vs. New Mexico

If a conference does not have enough teams qualify for their bowl game eligibility, there could be a replacement team put in their place.

Baylor’s loss to No. 16 West Virginia; Oklahoma taking down Oklahoma State; and Alabama absolutely decimating Florida in the SEC Championship have all made adjustments to the list. All of those games and outcomes will help determine who goes where in many of the bowl games.

The 2016 NCAA college football bowl season is one of the most enjoyable times of every year for big-time sports fans. After the Conference Championship Weekend, many are still waiting to see where their favorite school/team is going to play in December or hopefully, in January. These projections are about as close that things can possibly get before the Selection Show on Sunday, and as usual, there will be some shocks and surprises.

[Featured Image by Brett Deering/Getty Images]

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