College Football Bowl Projections 2018: Big Changes in New Year’s Six after Week 9
December 27
Walk-On’s Independence Bowl: NC State vs. Vanderbilt
1:30 pm ET, ESPN – Shreveport, Louisiana
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Purdue
5:15 pm ET, ESPN – New York, New York
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl: Texas Tech vs. BYU
9 pm ET, ESPN – Houston, Texas
December 28
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Mississippi State
1:30 pm ET, ESPN – Nashville, Tennessee
Camping World Bowl: Boston College vs. Iowa State
5:15 pm ET, ESPN – Orlando, Florida
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl: San Diego State vs. Arkansas State
5:30 pm ET, CBSSN – Tuscon, Arizona
Valero Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Washington
9 pm ET, ESPN – San Antonio, Texas
The skinny
Vanderbilt has the third highest APR score among FBS schools, ranking slightly behind Northwestern and Air Force. That means, with how things are shaping up, the Commodores are probably just one win away from clinching a bowl berth.
BYU has no direct bowl tie-in, but they have a deal with ESPN that guarantees them a spot if they are eligible. With games left against UMass and New Mexico State, it still seems more likely than not that the Cougars get there, but the loss to Northern Illinois certainly didn’t help matters.
Miami has fallen as far as any team over the last few weeks, going from a potential New Year’s Six participant all the way down to the Music City Bowl following consecutive road losses to Virginia and Boston College.
Texas and Washington both suffered upset losses that knocked them out of the New Year’s Six picture for now. Washington still controls their own destiny for the PAC-12 North crown, so their chances of getting to the Rose Bowl remain decent, but it’s been a disappointing year for Chris Petersen’s squad as they sit 6-3 following a deflating road loss to California. Texas staged a late rally in Stillwater, but couldn’t overcome an early hole that now puts them on the outside looking in. The Longhorns also still control their own destiny in the Big 12 title race, but like the Huskies, it seems unlikely that they would garner an at-large berth.