College Football Bowl Game Projections 2017: Week 13 edition
By Zach Bigalke
New Year’s bowl games
The long New Year’s weekend centers on the New Year’s Six showdowns affiliated with the College Football Playoff. But there are other great bowl games that will take place. The best might be the Liberty Bowl, projected to host Big 12 hopeful TCU and SEC West heavyweight Mississippi State. Or perhaps it is the Citrus Bowl showdown, where South Carolina looks likely to play Michigan State.
Those games set the table for an exciting half-dozen showdowns in the premier bowls. Penn State and Oklahoma State could meet for the first time in history at the Cotton Bowl. USC and Georgia might be matched up for the first time since 1960 in the Fiesta Bowl. Clemson and Ohio State could replay their Orange Bowl battle from five years ago, while UCF looks likely to land the Group of Five spot in the Peach Bowl opposite Auburn.
Then there are the College Football Playoff semifinals, which will garner most of the attention as they fall again on New Year’s Day for the first time since 2014. Alabama will likely square off against Oklahoma, while Miami and Wisconsin will play for much bigger stakes than their Champs Sports Bowl showdown in 2009.
TaxSlayer Bowl
EverBank Field — Jacksonville, Fla.
Saturday, Dec. 30: Florida State vs. Notre Dame
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl — Memphis, Tenn.
Saturday, Dec. 30: TCU vs. Mississippi State
Outback Bowl
Raymond James Stadium — Tampa, Fla.
Monday, Jan. 1: Wake Forest vs. LSU
Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium — Orlando, Fla.
Monday, Jan. 1: South Carolina vs. Michigan State
College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas
Friday, Dec. 29: Penn State vs. Oklahoma State
Playstation Fiesta Bowl
University of Phoenix Stadium — Glendale, Ariz.
Saturday, Dec. 30: USC vs. Georgia
Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Gardens, Fla.
Saturday, Dec. 30: Clemson vs. Ohio State
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, Ga.
Monday, Jan. 1: Auburn vs. UCF
Rose Bowl Game
Rose Bowl — Pasadena, Calif.
Monday, Jan. 1: No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: First round after Week 12
Allstate Sugar Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome — New Orleans, La.
Monday, Jan. 1: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Oklahoma