Final college football bowl projections for CFP, every bowl game in 2023-24

Bill Bender

Final college football bowl projections for CFP, every bowl game in 2023-24 image

Bowl Season is here. 

The College Football Playoff pairings will be decided on Sunday. 

That means it's time to unveil our final bowl projections of the season. There are 81 bowl-eligible teams with a record of 6-6 or better, and Minnesota (5-7) will fill out the last spot. The Army-Navy winner – a battle of 5-6 teams –  will not play in a bowl game in 2023. The Sun Belt leads all conferences with 12 bowl eligible teams. 

The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Jan. 1, 2024. Those semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif., and the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Those locations were the sites of the first four-team playoff in 2014. 

The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston. 

LIVE: Latest news on final College Football Playoff rankings

Final college football bowl projections for 2023-24

A look at Sporting News final bowl projections heading into championship weekend: 

DATEBOWLPROJECTED MATCHUP
Dec. 16Myrtle Beach BowlSMU (11-2) vs. James Madison (11-1)
Dec. 16R&L Carriers New Orleans BowlNew Mexico State (10-4) vs. Troy (11-2)
Dec. 16Cure BowlSouth Florida (6-6) vs. Texas State (7-5)
Dec. 16New Mexico BowlWestern Kentucky (7-5) vs. Fresno State (8-4)
Dec. 16LA BowlCal (6-6) vs. Boise State (8-5)
Dec. 16Radiance Technologies Independence BowlUSC (7-5) vs. UCF (6-6)
Dec. 18Famous Toastery BowlNorthern Illinois (6-6) vs. Jacksonville State (8-4)
Dec. 19Frisco BowlUTSA (8-4) vs. South Alabama (6-6)
Dec. 21RoofClaim.com Boca Raton BowlMemphis (9-3) vs. Georgia State (6-6)
Dec. 22Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla BowlRice (6-6) vs. Old Dominion (6-6)
Dec. 23Birmingham BowlMinnesota (5-7) vs. Syracuse (6-6)
Dec. 23Camellia BowlMiami, Ohio (11-2) vs. Appalachian State (8-5)
Dec. 23Lockheed Martin Armed Forces BowlTexas Tech (6-6) vs. Marshall (6-6)
Dec. 23Famous Idaho Potato BowlOhio (9-3) vs. Air Force (8-4)
Dec. 2368 Ventures BowlEastern Michigan (6-6) vs. Arkansas State (6-6)
Dec. 23SRS Distribution Las Vegas BowlNorthwestern (7-5) vs. Utah (8-4)
Dec. 23Easypost Hawai'i BowlCoastal Carolina* (7-5) vs. San Jose State* (7-5)
Dec. 26Quick Lane BowlGeorgia Southern (6-6) vs. Toledo (11-2)
Dec. 26Servpro First Responder BowlWest Virginia (8-4) vs. Wyoming (8-4)
Dec. 26Guaranteed Rate BowlIowa State (7-5) vs. Rutgers (6-6)
Dec. 27Military BowlLouisiana (6-6) vs. Utah State (6-6)
Dec. 27Duke's Mayo BowlAuburn (6-6) vs. Georgia Tech (6-6)
Dec. 27TaxAct Texas BowlKansas (8-4) vs. Duke (7-5)
Dec. 28Fenway BowlBoston College (6-6) vs. Tulane (11-2)
Dec. 28Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe BowlWisconsin (7-5) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6)
Dec. 28San Diego County Credit Union Holiday BowlUCLA (7-5) vs. Miami (7-5)
Dec. 28Pop-Tarts BowlOklahoma State (9-4) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
Dec. 28Valero Alamo BowlOklahoma (10-2) vs. Arizona (9-3)
Dec. 29TaxSlayer Gator BowlTexas A&M (7-5) vs. Clemson (8-4)
Dec. 29Tony The Tiger Sun BowlOregon State (8-4) vs. NC State (9-3)
Dec. 29AutoZone Liberty BowlKentucky (7-5) vs. Kansas State (8-4)
Dec. 30Transperfect Music City BowlTennessee (8-4) vs. Maryland (7-5)
Dec. 30Barstool Arizona BowlBowling Green (7-5) vs. UNLV (9-4)
Jan. 1Reliaquest BowlLSU (9-3) vs. Notre Dame (9-3)
Jan. 1Cheez-It Citrus BowlOle Miss (10-2) vs. Iowa (10-3)

*Denotes accepted bowl bid 

College football New Year's Day Six picks 

A look at Sporting News' New Year's Day Six picks heading into championship weekend: 

DATEBOWLPROJECTED MATCHUP
Dec. 29Goodyear Cotton Bowl ClassicTexas (12-1) vs. Ohio State (11-1)
Dec. 30Chick-fil-A Peach BowlLiberty (13-0) vs. Penn State (10-2)
Dec. 30Capital One Orange BowlGeorgia (12-1) vs. Louisville (10-3)
Jan. 1Vrbo Fiesta BowlMissouri (10-2) vs. Oregon (11-2)

College Football Playoff picks

A look at Sporting News' College Football Playoff picks heading into championship weekend: 

DATEBOWLPROJECTED MATCHUP
Jan. 1Rose Bowl Game (National semifinal)Michigan (13-0) vs. Florida State (13-0)
Jan. 1Allstate Sugar Bowl (National semifinal)Washington (13-0) vs. Alabama (12-1)

College Football Playoff championship pick 

DATEBOWLPROJECTED MATCHUP
Jan. 8CFP championship gameMichigan vs. Alabama

Bill Bender

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.