College football bowl projections before Week 0? Really?
Yes, I realize they’re as meaningless as every College Football Playoff ranking release show (except the final one). But college football fans love, love, LOVE their bowl projections and, if anything, I am a man of the people.
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally the people don’t agree with all of my Action Network bowl projections. That’s OK. My longtime fan knows how to spot the correct projections and ignore the inaccurate picks I include so other bowl projectionists get burned when they copy my projections. You know who you are!
In last year’s preseason projections, I correctly predicted 59 of the 82 teams that went to a bowl, including 10 teams in the correct bowl and two of the four playoff teams. I understand 12% accuracy (10 out of 82 teams in the correct bowl) isn’t that impressive, but remember, picking names out of a hat is only 11% accurate.
A quick reminder: the 12-team playoff debuts this year, as chosen by the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The five highest-ranked conference champions — regardless of ranking — receive an automatic bid to the playoff with the final spots going to the remaining seven highest-ranked teams.
The four highest-ranked conference champions receive byes into the quarterfinals and will be seeded Nos. 1-4 regardless of their selection committee ranking (even if they're “ranked” No. 3, 5, 12 and 24).
My bowl projections include the projected point spread of each matchup from Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s betting power ratings.
Also, if you want a first look at my weekly bowl projections, don’t forget to click on the link to download the Action Network app (click here). It’s free. Get my projections, news and notes — plus, there’s a ton of college football and NFL analysis available.
Projected College Football Playoff Field
| 1 |  Oregon* | Big Ten | ||||
| 2 |  Alabama* | SEC | ||||
| 3 |  Miami* | ACC | ||||
| 4 |  Utah* | Big 12 | ||||
| 5 |  Ohio State | Big Ten | ||||
| 6 |  Georgia | SEC | ||||
| 7 |  Ole Miss | SEC | ||||
| 8 |  LSU | SEC | ||||
| 9 |  Penn State | Big Ten | ||||
| 10 |  Virginia Tech | ACC | ||||
| 11 |  Iowa | Big Ten | ||||
| 12 |  Texas State | Sun Belt | ||||
College Football Playoff First Round
 CFP First Round Dec. 20 • Baton Rouge, LA Penn State -2.5 LSU  | CFP First Round Dec. 21 • Columbus, OH Texas State* Ohio State -26.5 |
CFP First Round Dec. 21 • Athens, GA Iowa Georgia -18.5 | CFP First Round Dec. 21 • Oxford, MS Virginia Tech Ole Miss -13 |
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Dec. 31 • Glendale, AZ Utah* Ohio State -11 |  Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Jan. 1 • Atlanta, GA  Alabama* -5 Ole Miss |
 Rose Bowl Jan. 1 • Pasadena, CA Oregon* -1 Penn State |  Allstate Sugar Bowl Jan. 1 • New Orleans, LA Miami* Georgia -15 |
College Football Playoff Semifinals
 Capital One Orange Bowl Jan. 9 • Miami, FL Alabama Georgia -5.5 |  Goodyear Cotton Bowl Jan. 10 • Arlington, TX Oregon Ohio State -1.5 |
CFP National Championship Prediction
Projections for All Other Bowl Games
 Bahamas Bowl Jan. 4 • Nassau, Bahamas  NIU  S. Alabama -1 |  Duke's Mayo Bowl Jan. 3 • Charlotte, NC  Louisville -13.5  Minnesota |  First Responder Bowl Jan. 3 • Dallas, TX  Illinois -15.5  Coastal Carolina |  TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Jan. 2 • Jacksonville, FL  Auburn  Florida State -8 |  Texas Bowl Dec. 31 • Houston, TX  Kansas  Oklahoma -4.5 |  Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Dec. 31 • Orlando, FL  Texas -26.5  Nebraska |  Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Dec. 31 • El Paso, TX  UNC  California -1.5 |  ReliaQuest Bowl Dec. 31 • Tampa, FL  Michigan -6  Missouri |  Music City Bowl Dec. 30 • Nashville, TN  Texas A&M -10.5  Wisconsin |  Independence Bowl Dec. 28 • Shreveport, LA  TCU -1  Washington St. |  Valero Alamo Bowl Dec. 28 • San Antonio, TX  Kansas State -0.5  USC |  Military Bowl Dec. 28 • Annapolis, MD  SMU -18.5  South Florida |  Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Dec. 28 • Tucson, AZ  Bowling Green -2.5  Colorado St. |  Pop-Tarts Bowl Dec. 28 • Orlando, FL  Clemson -2.5  Oklahoma St. |  New Mexico Bowl Dec. 28 • Albuquerque, NM  San Jose St.  Rice -4.5 |  Pinstripe Bowl Dec. 28 • Bronx, NY  NC State  Indiana -0.5 |  Wasabi Fenway Bowl Dec. 28 • Boston, MA  Syracuse  Memphis -2.5 |  Holiday Bowl TBD • San Diego, CA  Notre Dame -2  Washington |  Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 27 • Las Vegas, NV  Tennessee -2  Arizona |  AutoZone Liberty Bowl Dec. 27 • Memphis, TN  UCF -1  Kentucky |  Birmingham Bowl Dec. 27 • Birmingham, AL  Texas Tech  Boise State -6 |  Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 27 • Fort Worth, TX  West Virginia -18.5  Air Force |  68 Ventures Bowl Dec. 26 • Mobile, AL  Arkansas St. -5.5  W. Michigan |  Guaranteed Rate Bowl Dec. 26 • Phoenix, AZ  Maryland  Iowa State -17 |  Detroit Bowl Dec. 26 • Detroit, MI  Rutgers -21  C. Michigan |  Hawai'i Bowl Dec. 24 • Honolulu, HI  Fresno State -6.5  UTSA |  Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Dec. 23 • Boise, ID  Wyoming -0.5  Miami OH |  Myrtle Beach Bowl Dec. 23 • Conway, SC  Troy -5  UAB |  Gasparilla Bowl Dec. 20 • Tampa, FL  Cincinnati  Tulane -1 |  StaffDNA Cure Bowl Dec. 20 • Orlando, FL  JMU -7  Toledo |  New Orleans Bowl Dec. 19 • New Orleans, LA  App State -3.5  Liberty |  LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk Dec. 18 • Inglewood, CA  Oregon State -2.5  UNLV |  Boca Raton Bowl Dec. 18 • Boca Raton, FL  Pittsburgh -4  FAU |  Frisco Bowl Dec. 17 • Frisco, TX  Georgia Southern  WKU -4.4 |  Camellia Bowl Dec. 14 • Montgomery, AL  Louisiana -9  Jacksonville St. |
