2021 College Football News bowl projections, predictions and possible matchups for the College Football Playoff: Week 2
All of a sudden, doing this requires a little bit of work.
Do you really believe Oregon will get through the season with just one loss or undefeated? Do you really buy into Iowa now? As always, this can and will change wildly during the season.
One key thing to remember – ESPN wants good matchups, and it’s going to do everything possible to get them. Also, more than ever after last season, the bowl games are going to want fans in the stands.
One final thing – the Redbox Bowl in the Santa Clara is taking another year off. That takes out spots for both the Big Ten and Pac-12.
Bowl Projections: Week 2
All Times Eastern
Bahamas Bowl
Friday, December 17
ESPN, 12:00 pm
Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
Bowl Tie-Ins: Conference USA vs. MAC
Bowl Projection: WKU vs. Buffalo
Cure Bowl
Friday, December 17
ESPN2, 6:00 pm
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: Group of Five vs. Group of Five (or Army)
Bowl Projection: Florida Atlantic vs. Appalachian State
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ESPN, 11:00 am
FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: Group of Five vs. Group of Five (or Army)
Bowl Projection: Charlotte vs. South Alabama
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ABC, 12:00 pm
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Bowl Tie-Ins: MEAC vs. SWAC
Bowl Projection: South Carolina State vs. Prairie View A&M
New Mexico Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ESPN, 2:15 pm
Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
Bowl Tie-Ins: C-USA vs. Mountain West
Bowl Projection: UAB vs. Nevada
– CFN Week 2 Rankings of All 130 Teams
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ABC, 3:30 pm
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, AL
Bowl Tie-Ins: C-USA vs. BYU
Bowl Projection: Marshall vs. BYU
LendingTree Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ESPN, 5:45 pm
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Kent State vs. Louisiana
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ABC, 7:30 pm
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
Bowl Tie-Ins: Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Boise State vs. Washington
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Saturday, December 18
ESPN, 9:15 pm
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Bowl Tie-Ins: C-USA vs. Sun Belt
Bowl Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. Coastal Carolina
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Monday, December 20
ESPN, 2:30 pm
Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
Bowl Tie-Ins: Sun Belt vs. AAC or MAC
Bowl Projection: Troy vs. SMU
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Tuesday, December 21
ESPN, 3:30 pm
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID
Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Mountain West
Bowl Projection: Ball State vs. Fresno State
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl
Tuesday, December 21
ESPN, 7:30 pm
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: Group of Five vs. Group of Five (or Army)
Bowl Projection: Houston vs. UTSA
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Wednesday, December 22
ESPN, 7:30 pm
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 or C-USA or Pac-12 or Army
Bowl Projection: Colorado vs. Army
Union Home Mortgage Bowl
Thursday, December 23
ESPN, 7:00 pm
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or ACC or Pac-12 or SEC
Bowl Projection: Wake Forest vs. *Liberty
*No AAC. Pac-12 or SEC projected available
EasyPost Hawaii Bowl
Friday, December 24
ESPN, 8:00 pm
Clarence TC Ching Complex, Honolulu, HI
Bowl Tie-Ins: American Athletic vs. Mountain West
Bowl Projection: Memphis vs. Utah State
Camellia Bowl
Saturday, December 25
ESPN, 2:30 pm
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Sun Belt (or C-USA)
Bowl Projection: Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State
NEXT: More Bowl Projections: Week 2
Bowl Projections: Week 2
Quick Lane Bowl
Monday, December 27
ESPN, 11:00 am
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. MAC
Bowl Projection: Maryland vs. Western Michigan
Military Bowl presented by Peraton
Monday, December 27
ESPN, 2:30 pm
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD
Bowl Tie-Ins: American vs. ACC
Bowl Projection: Tulane vs. Virginia
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
Tuesday, December 28
ESPN, 12:00 pm
Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL
Bowl Tie-Ins: American Athletic vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Air Force* vs. Missouri
*No AAC team projected available
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Tuesday, December 28
ESPN, 3:15 pm
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC or ACC or Big 12 or Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Stanford vs. Louisville
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Tuesday, December 28
ESPN, 6:45 pm
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Kentucky
San Diego State Credit Union Holiday Bowl
Tuesday, December 28
FOX, 8:00 pm
Petco Park, San Diego, CA
Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Miami vs. Utah
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Tuesday, December 28
FOX, 10:15 pm
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. Big 12
Bowl Projection: Indiana vs. West Virginia
Fenway Bowl
Wednesday, December 29
ESPN, 11:00 am
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Bowl Tie-Ins: AAC vs. ACC (or C-USA)
Bowl Projection: Cincinnati vs. Boston College
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Wednesday, December 29
ESPN, 2:15 pm
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big Ten
Bowl Projection: Pitt vs. Minnesota
Cheez-It Bowl
Wednesday, December 29
ESPN, 5:45 pm
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Big 12
Bowl Projection: Notre Dame vs. Texas
Valero Alamo Bowl
Wednesday, December 29
ESPN, 9:15 pm
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Iowa State vs. UCLA
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Thursday, December 30
ESPN, 11:30 am
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: North Carolina vs. LSU
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Thursday, December 30
ESPN, 3:00 pm
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Purdue vs. Tennessee
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Thursday, December 30
ESPN, 10:30 pm
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Michigan State vs. Arizona State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Friday, December 31
ESPN, 11:00 am
TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Mississippi State
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Friday, December 31
CBS, 12:30 pm
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: ACC vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Virginia vs. Colorado
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Friday, December 31
Barstool Sports, 2:00 pm
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ
Bowl Tie-Ins: MAC vs. Mountain West
Bowl Projection: Toledo vs. San Diego State
Outback Bowl
Saturday, January 1
ESPN2, 12:00 pm
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Michigan vs. Auburn
Vrbo Citrus Bowl
Saturday, January 1
ESPN2, 1:00 pm
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Wisconsin vs. Ole Miss
Mercari Texas Bowl
Tuesday, January 4
ESPN, Time TBA
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: Kansas State vs. Arkansas
NEXT: New Year’s Six Bowl Projections, Week 2
New Year’s Six Bowl Projections: Week 2
There’s one big call being made that affects all the other pieces of the puzzle – Oregon is going to blow it.
There are still too many tough road games – UCLA, Utah, Stanford, and yes, Washington (really – the Huskies will be fine). The Pac-12 will be crazy all season long. If not, put the Ducks in the CFP, Clemson in the Peach, and the UCLA-USC winner – the Trojans will bounce back – in the Rose.
And if Oregon really does happen to lose twice along the way, it’ll be a rematch against Ohio State in the Rose. No one really wants that, but it’s only Week 3 – this will all change soon.
UCF or Cincinnati will be in the Fiesta, and put the TCU-Iowa State winner late in the season in the Sugar. Not totally jumping off the Cyclones to the Sugar quite yet, but the first two weeks have been way too shaky.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Thursday, December 30
ESPN, 7:00 pm
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Bowl Tie-Ins: At-Large vs. At-Large
Bowl Projection: Penn State vs. Florida
Playstation Fiesta Bowl
Saturday, January 1
ESPN, 1:00 pm
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Bowl Tie-Ins: At-Large vs. At-Large
Bowl Projection: Iowa vs. UCF
Rose Bowl Game
Saturday, January 1
ESPN, 5:00 pm
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Bowl Projection: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Saturday, January 1
ESPN, 8:45 pm
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big 12 vs. SEC
Bowl Projection: TCU vs. Texas A&M
NEXT: 2021-2022 College Football Playoff Projections
2021-2022 College Football Playoff Projections
Clemson isn’t losing again. It’s going to rip through the rest of its slate, but it needs Oregon to trip up twice. Alabama and Georgia appear to be on a collision course to the SEC Championship, and Oklahoma is only going to get better through what now looks like a WAY soft Big 12.
Capital One Orange Bowl
Friday, December 30
ESPN, Time TBA
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP vs. CFP
Bowl Projection: Alabama vs. Clemson
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Friday, December 30
ESPN, Time TBA
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP vs. CFP
Bowl Projection: Georgia vs. Oklahoma
College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T
Monday, January 10
ESPN, 8:00 pm
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP vs. CFP
Bowl Projection: Alabama vs. Georgia