College football’s bowl season is set.
2016’s college football bowl schedule is now complete
This post started as a list of bowl projections, but there’s no more use for that now. Here’s a bowl schedule instead.
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The College Football Playoff is finalized, the New Year’s just Six fell into place based on the Playoff, and other bowl matchups elsewhere along the calendar came into focus.
Below, everything from the New Orleans Bowl through the National Championship.
| College Football Playoff | |||
| Fiesta Dec. 31, Glendale, AZ | No. 2 Clemson | No. 3 Ohio State | Playoff rankings top 4 |
| Peach Dec. 31, Atlanta | No. 1 Alabama | No. 4 Washington | Playoff rankings top 4 |
| National Championship Jan. 9, Tampa | Alabama | Ohio State | Fiesta winner vs. Peach winner |
Bama’s in at 13-0, Clemson’s in at 12-1, and I think Ohio State’s already in (explained here).
Washington's committee-disapproved schedule made it less than a lock, but a 31-point Friday night win in the Pac-12 Championship likely sealed a spot. Big Ten champ Penn State had a solid case. More on how I think Penn State vs. Washington went.
| New Year's Six bowls | |||
| Cotton Jan. 2, Arlington, TX | Western Michigan | Wisconsin | At-large |
| Rose Jan. 2, Pasadena, CA | Penn State | USC | Big Ten 1 vs. Pac-12 1 |
| Sugar Jan. 2, New Orleans | Oklahoma | Auburn | Big 12 1 vs. SEC 1 |
| Orange Dec. 30, Miami | Florida State | Michigan | ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC/ND |
Navy entered the weekend only two spots behind Western Michigan for the automatic mid-major spot. But then Navy lost. Row the boat.
Penn State can’t fall beyond the Rose, while Wisconsin should slip past Michigan and into the Cotton.
Colorado’s big loss to Washington and head-to-head loss to USC earlier in the year should put the Trojans in the Rose.
Michigan’s in the Orange. Florida State entered the weekend ranked one spot ahead of Louisville, but a big win by Bama over Florida could’ve devalue FSU’s best win enough for Louisville’s 43-point win over FSU to matter. Personally surprised it didn’t, but that’s fine.
| Conference selection order, not based on standings | |||
| Outback Jan. 2, Tampa | Iowa | Florida | Big Ten 2-4 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Citrus Dec. 31, Orlando | Louisville | LSU | Big Ten 2-4/ACC vs. SEC 2 |
| TaxSlayer Dec. 31, Jacksonville | Georgia Tech | Kentucky | ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Music City Dec. 30, Nashville | Nebraska | Tennessee | ACC 3-6/Big Ten 5-7 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Liberty Dec. 30, Memphis | TCU | Georgia | Big 12 5 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Sun Dec. 30, El Paso, TX | North Carolina | Stanford | ACC 3-6 vs. Pac-12 5 |
| Arizona Dec. 30, Tucson | Air Force | South Alabama | MWC vs. Sun Belt |
| Alamo Dec. 29, San Antonio | Oklahoma State | Colorado | Big 12 2 vs. Pac-12 2 |
| Belk Dec. 29, Charlotte | Virginia Tech | Arkansas | ACC 3-6 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Birmingham Dec. 29 | USF | South Carolina | American vs. SEC 9 |
| Foster Farms Dec. 28, Santa Clara, CA | Indiana | Utah | Big Ten 5-7 vs. Pac-12 4 |
| Pinstripe Dec. 28, New York City | Pitt | Northwestern | ACC 3-6 vs. Big Ten 5-7 |
| Russell Athletic Dec. 28, Orlando | Miami | West Virginia | ACC 2 vs. Big 12 3 |
| Texas Dec. 28, Houston | Kansas State | Texas A&M | Big 12 4 vs. SEC 3-8 |
| Cactus Dec. 27, Tempe, AZ | Baylor | Boise State* | Big 12 6 vs. Pac-12 7 |
| Heart of Dallas Dec. 27 | Army | North Texas | Big Ten vs. C-USA |
| Holiday Dec. 27, San Diego | Minnesota | Washington State | Big Ten 2-4 vs. Pac-12 3 |
| Military Dec. 27, Annapolis, MD | Wake Forest | Temple | ACC vs. American |
| Independence Dec. 26, Shreveport, LA | NC State | Vanderbilt | ACC vs. SEC |
| St. Petersburg Dec. 26 | Mississippi State** | Miami (Ohio)* | ACC vs. American |
| Quick Lane Dec. 26, Detroit, MI | Boston College | Maryland | ACC vs. Big Ten |
| Hawaii Dec. 24, Honolulu | MTSU | Hawaii | C-USA vs. MWC |
| Dollar General Dec. 23, Mobile, AL | Ohio | Troy | MAC 1 vs. Sun Belt 2 |
| Armed Forces Dec. 23, Fort Worth, TX | LA Tech* | Navy | Big 12 vs. Navy |
| Bahamas Dec. 23, Nassau | Old Dominion* | EMU | American vs. MAC |
| Potato Dec. 22, Boise, ID | Idaho* | Colorado State | MAC 2 vs. MWC |
| Poinsettia Dec. 21, San Diego | BYU | Wyoming | BYU vs. MWC |
| Boca Raton Dec. 20 | Memphis | WKU | American vs. C-USA |
| Miami Beach Dec. 19 | Tulsa | CMU | American vs. MAC |
| Las Vegas Dec. 17 | San Diego State | Houston* | MWC 1 vs. Pac-12 6 |
| Camellia Dec. 17, Montgomery, AL | Toledo | Appalachian State | MAC 3 vs. Sun Belt 3 |
| Cure Dec. 17, Orlando | UCF | Arkansas State | American vs. Sun Belt |
| New Mexico Dec. 17, Albuquerque | UTSA | New Mexico | C-USA vs. MWC |
| New Orleans Dec. 17 | UL Lafayette | Southern Miss | Sun Belt 1 vs. C-USA |
| * = Filling another conference's spot ** = Here at 5-7, thanks to APR scores | |||
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