2021 College Football Bowl Projections: Brett McMurphy’s Week 7 Predictions with Projected Spreads

2021 College Football Bowl Projections: Brett McMurphy’s Week 7 Predictions with Projected Spreads article feature image
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Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: The Iowa Hawkeyes.

College Football Bowl Projections for Week 7

Another week, more carnage and upsets among the Associated Press Top 25 rankings — which results in more chaos in my bowl projections.

The biggest impact this week involves Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes. It’s simple for the Tide: win out the rest of the way, including another SEC Championship. Then, 12-1 Alabama is guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Another certainty: if Georgia finishes the regular season 12-0 and loses to a one-loss Alabama in the SEC title game, then both the Bulldogs and Tide would be in the playoff. You can come up with any scenarios involving another other team, but it won’t matter: Georgia and Bama would both be in.

However … this is where it gets tricky for Bama. After losing to Texas A&M, if the Tide lose to Georgia in the SEC title game to finish 11-2, Alabama will need some help to make the four-team playoff.

Regarding Cincinnati: the Bearcats couldn’t have had a better week. They demolished Temple, Notre Dame won (to strengthen UC’s strength of schedule), Alabama lost to Texas A&M and BYU lost to Boise State (which derailed the Cougars’ long-shot playoff hopes).

Even if Cincinnati finishes 13-0, I don’t believe the selection committee will pick UC over a one-loss Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Oklahoma or Oregon.

Fortunately for Cincinnati, it will be difficult — but not impossible — for two of those Big Ten schools to finish undefeated or with one-loss. So, Cincinnati needs to (a) keep winning … big and (b) hope Oklahoma and Oregon stumble in the final two months while the Big Ten beats up on itself.

Each projection includes the projected point spread for each game based on Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s updated college football betting power ratings.

College Football Betting Power Ratings

Updated College Football Bowl Game Predictions

college football playoff-cfp-national championship

College Football Playoff National Championship

Monday, Jan. 10 ⋅ Indianapolis, IN

Projection: No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 4 Georgia

Action Spread: Georgia -5


College Football Playoff Semifinals

college football-orange bowl

Capital One Orange Bowl

Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Miami Gardens, FL

Projection: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Alabama

Action Spread: Alabama – 6.5


college football-cotton bowl

Goodyear Cotton Bowl

Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Arlington, TX

Projection: No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 4 Georgia

Action Spread: Georgia -15


New Year's Six Bowls

college football-sugar bowl

Allstate Sugar Bowl

Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ New Orleans, LA

Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Kentucky

Action Spread: Kentucky -3


college football-rose bowl-game

Rose Bowl

Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Pasadena, CA

Projection: Michigan vs. Oregon

Action Spread: Michigan -2.5


college football-fiesta bowl

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Glendale, AZ

Projection: Ohio State vs. Cincinnati*

Action Spread: Ohio State -6


college football-chick fil a-peach bowl

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Atlanta, GA

Projection: Notre Dame vs. NC State

Action Spread: Notre Dame -4.5



Other Bowls

college football-texas bowl

Texas Bowl

Tuesday, Jan. 4 ⋅ Houston, TX

Projection: Baylor vs. Mississippi State

Action Spread: Mississippi State -2.5


college football-citrus bowl

Vrbo Citrus Bowl

Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Orlando, FL

Projection: Penn State vs. Ole Miss

Action Spread: Penn State -4


college football-outback bowl

Outback Bowl

Saturday, Jan. 1 ⋅ Tampa, FL

Projection: Michigan State vs. Texas A&M

Action Spread: Texas A&M -5


college football-arizona bowl

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl

Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Tucson, AZ

Projection: Central Michigan vs. Fresno State

Action Spread: Fresno State -13


college football-gator bowl

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl

Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Jacksonville, FL

Projection: Wake Forest vs. Auburn

Action Spread: Auburn -7


college football-sun bowl

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Friday, Dec. 31 ⋅ El Paso, TX

Projection: Boston College vs. Utah

Action Spread: Utah -5.5


college football-music city bowl

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Nashville, TN

Projection: Minnesota vs. Arkansas

Action Spread: Arkansas -8.5


college football-dukes mayo bowl

Duke's Mayo Bowl

Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Charlotte, NC

Projection: Virginia vs. Florida

Action Spread: Florida -8.5


college football-las vegas bowl

Las Vegas Bowl

Thursday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Las Vegas, NV

Projection: Wisconsin vs. Oregon State

Action Spread: Wisconsin -3


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college football-alamo bowl

Valero Alamo Bowl

Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ San Antonio, TX

Projection: Iowa State vs. Arizona State

Action Spread: Arizona State -1


college football-cheez it bowl

Cheez-It Bowl

Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ Orlando, FL

Projection: Clemson vs. Texas

Action Spread: Texas -4


college football-pinstripe bowl-new york

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ Bronx, NY

Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Purdue

Action Spread: Virginia Tech -5.5


college football-fenway bowl-boston

Fenway Bowl

Wednesday, Dec. 29 ⋅ Boston, MA

Projection: North Carolina vs. SMU

Action Spread: North Carolina -3.5


college football-holiday bowl

SDCCU Holiday Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ San Diego, CA

Projection: Pitt vs. UCLA

Action Spread: UCLA -0.5


college football-guaranteed rate bowl

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Phoenix, AZ

Projection: Maryland vs. Kansas State

Action Spread: Kansas State -0.5


college football-liberty bowl

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Memphis, TN

Projection: TCU vs. Tennessee

Action Spread: Pick'em


college football-first responder bowl

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Dallas, TX

Projection: Texas Tech vs. USC

Action Spread: USC -5.5


college football-birmingham bowl-alabama

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 28 ⋅ Birmingham, AL

Projection: LSU vs. Coastal Carolina

Action Spread: Coastal Carolina -4.5


college football-military bowl

Military Bowl

Monday, Dec. 27 ⋅ Annapolis, MD

Projection: Louisville vs. Houston

Action Spread: Houston -0.5


college football-quick lane bowl-detroit

Quick Lane Bowl

Monday, Dec. 27 ⋅ Detroit, MI

Projection: Indiana vs. Northern Illinois

Action Spread: Indiana -12


college football-camellia bowl

Camellia Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 25 ⋅ Montgomery, AL

Projection: Western Michigan vs. South Alabama

Action Spread: Western Michigan -11


college football-hawaii bowl

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl

Friday, Dec. 24 ⋅ Honolulu, HI

Projection: Hawaii vs. Memphis

Action Spread: Memphis -2


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college football-gasparilla bowl

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl

Thursday, Dec. 23 ⋅ Tampa, FL

Projection: Rutgers vs. Florida Atlantic

Action Spread: Florida Atlantic -0.5


college football-armed forces bowl

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Wednesday, Dec. 22 ⋅ Fort Worth, TX

Projection: Wyoming vs. Army

Action Spread: Pick'em


college football-frisco bowl

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 21 ⋅ Frisco, TX

Projection: Air Force vs. Eastern Michigan

Action Spread: Eastern Michigan -0.5


college football-famous idaho-potato bowl-boise

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Tuesday, Dec. 21 ⋅ Boise, ID

Projection: Kent State vs. Boise State

Action Spread: Boise State -12


college football-myrtle beach bowl

Myrtle Beach Bowl

Monday, Dec. 20 ⋅ Myrtle Beach, SC

Projection: East Carolina vs. Toledo

Action Spread: Pick'em


college football-new orleans bowl

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ New Orleans, LA

Projection: UAB vs. Louisiana

Action Spread: Louisiana -6.5


college football-la bowl-jimmy kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Inglewood, CA

Projection: Stanford vs. San Diego State

Action Spread: Stanford -0.5


college football-independence bowl

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Shreveport, LA

Projection: BYU vs. UTSA

Action Spread: BYU -6


college football-lendingtree bowl

LendingTree Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Mobile, AL

Projection: Troy vs. Charlotte

Action Spread: Troy -9


college football-new mexico bowl

New Mexico Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Albuquerque, NM

Projection: Nevada vs. UTEP

Action Spread: Nevada -18


college football-boca raton bowl

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl

Saturday, Dec. 18 ⋅ Boca Raton, FL

Projection: UCF vs. Appalachian State

Action Spread: Appalachian State -2


college football-cure bowl-orlando

Cure Bowl

Friday, Dec. 17 ⋅ Orlando, FL

Projection: Western Kentucky vs. Liberty

Action Spread: Liberty -12


college football-bahamas bowl

Bahamas Bowl

Friday, Dec. 17 ⋅ Nassau, Bahamas

Projection: Marshall vs. Ball State

Action Spread: Marshall -3.5


* The highest-rated champion from the Group of Five conferences (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt) will be selected to play in the Fiesta Bowl.

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