Latest College Football Bowl Projections: Predicting All 82 Matchups for the 2023 Bowl Season

Predicting the results of bowl games, once we know the matchups? Yeah, that's hard. Predicting the 82-team jigsaw puzzle ahead of time? Well, that's something that's probably better spent done by somebody else... which is exactly what WE have done!

Douglas Farmer - Betting Analyst at Covers
Douglas Farmer ? Betting Analyst
Nov 20, 2023 ? 18:27 ET ? 4 min read
Georgia Bulldogs College Football NCAA
Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

Hold your breath, Jacksonville State. That is if the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl will wait for Army or Navy to notch its sixth win in their Dec. 9 meeting.

Enough teams have sprung college football odds upsets of late that if every favorite won this weekend, we would have 80 teams bowl eligible for 82 bowls. Some of this week’s spreads have strayed from previous presumptions of power rankings’ bias simply because bowl eligibility is on the line.

Consider Northwestern’s trip to Illinois. In the coaching job of the year, Wildcats interim-turned-permanent head coach David Bruan has them bowl-eligible with time to spare, 6-5 currently. Upsetting Wisconsin two weeks ago and beating Purdue as a 2.5-point favorite on Saturday spurred Northwestern that much further beyond any expectations.

Thus, it is now a 5.5- or 6-point underdog at Illinois this weekend, a game that would have been within a field goal otherwise. The Illini need the win to reach 6-6, and need the win to be officially bowl-eligible, and that motivation gets factored into the final week of the season.

The same can be said of Georgia State’s trip to Old Dominion. The Panthers have lost four games in a row, but they started the season 6-1, reaching bowl eligibility plenty quickly. Meanwhile, the Monarchs need one more win. Typically, this game would have been right about a pick’em. Instead, Old Dominion is a 2.5-point favorite.

These bowl projections presume all favorites win this weekend, then lean into conference tie-ins to assign postseason destinations. That process comes up with 80 bowl-eligible teams, the Army-Navy game guaranteeing an 81st, something that some bowl should be willing to wait for. By these numbers, well, Jacksonville State will end up on the outside looking in despite its current 8-3 record, thanks to the NCAA denying its waiver for immediate postseason eligibility during the second season of its transition from the FCS ranks.

James Madison would assuredly slide into that final spot first, at 10-1, and held back by the same NCAA ruling.

Best college football bonuses

FanDuel All Users
30% boost on 3+ leg CFB SGP
+400 BOOSTS to +520! Claim Now

DraftKings All Users
33% boost for 4+ leg CFB parlay
e.g. +300 BOOSTS to +399! Claim Now

BetMGM All Users
No-sweat 3+ leg CFB SGP
Bonus bets back if your wager doesn't win! Claim Now

Eligible USA locations only. Also, see our full list of best sportsbook promotions for 2023.
21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

Updated college football bowl projections for November 20

December 16

Myrtle Beach Bowl: James Madison vs. Liberty

This will no longer be an unbeaten matchup, so the focus would tilt toward Liberty’s chase of a perfect 14-0 season.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Troy vs. New Mexico State

Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl: South Florida vs. Georgia State

Isleta New Mexico Bowl: San Jose State vs. Western Kentucky

LA Bowl hosted by Gronk: Fresno State vs. Georgia Southern

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: West Virginia vs. Utah


December 18

Bahamas Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Utah State

Being held in Myrtle Beach for a year, the Bahamas Bowl needed to be rebranded and found its corporate partner this week.

December 19

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl: Rice vs Old Dominion

December 21

Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl: Wyoming vs South Alabama

December 22

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: Syracuse vs. Louisiana

December 23

Camellia Bowl: Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State

Don’t sleep on the potential of this matchup; it could be one of the best games of bowl season if a reality.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Texas State vs. Colorado State

68 Ventures Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Coastal Carolina

Birmingham Bowl: Ohio vs. Marshall

Ohio vs. Marshall — Another Group of Five matchup that could attract a football-loving audience, a quality game on paper.


SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl:
UCLA vs. Maryland

Easypost Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Air Force

Projecting Memphis to the Hawai’i Bowl is an effort at a make-good, after the Tigers’ appearance in the game was canceled in 2021 after Memphis was already on the island because Hawaii, the football team, suffered a COVID outbreak.

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Central Florida vs. the winner of Army-Navy on Dec. 9

On a two-game winning steak, Navy needs just one more to reach a bowl game. That is unlikely this weekend at SMU, though, meaning both the Midshipmen and Army will be 5-6 when they meet in the last game of the regular season. With that guarantee of a team reaching 6-6, a spot should be held for the winner.

December 26

Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers vs. Toledo

Servpro First Responder Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Texas Tech

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Nebraska vs. Iowa State

December 27

Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. UTSA

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Clemson vs. Texas A&M

Presumably, the Aggies will have a new head coach by late December after firing Jimbo Fisher on Sunday, but the new coach will almost assuredly not coach the bowl game, though he will certainly be in attendance and probably pop up in the broadcast booth.

TaxAct Texas Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV

DirecTV Holiday Bowl: North Carolina State vs. Oregon State


December 28

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Duke vs. Tulane

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma

Valera Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. USC

The Trojans have fallen too far to be sent to the Las Vegas Bowl, no offense intended to the Alamo Bowl.


Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
: Boston College vs. Northwestern

December 29

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: North Carolina vs. LSU

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Miami vs. Arizona

The Wildcats have risen too far to simply head to the LA Bowl because it is hosted by their favorite alum, Rob Gronkowsk.


AutoZone Liberty Bowl:
Kansas State vs. Auburn

Goodyear Cotton Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas

A prime opportunity for the next great Buckeyes receiver to reveal himself.

December 30

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Missouri vs. SMU

At this point, pencil in the AAC champion to a New Year’s Six bowl. The top of the conference is a delightful chase, so it is anyone’s guess who will win it, but from a power rating perspective, the Mustangs get the edge.


TransPerfect Music City Bowl:
Illinois vs. Kentucky

Capital One Orange Bowl: Louisville vs. Alabama

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Boise State

January 1

ReliaQuest Bowl: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin

Penn State moving into a New Year’s Six bowl also moves each Big Ten team up a slot, bringing even the struggling Badgers to a New Year’s Day appearance.


Cheez-It Citrus Bowl:
Mississippi vs. Iowa

VRBO Fiesta Bowl: Washington vs. Penn State

Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal): Michigan vs. Florida State

Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal): Georgia vs. Oregon

January 8

CFP National Championship: Rose Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner

Schools already CFB bowl eligible

AAC

TulaneTulane (10-1), Southern MethodistSMU (9-2), MemphisMemphis (8-3), UTSAUTSA (8-3)

ACC

Florida StateFlorida State (11-0), LouisvilleLouisville (10-1), North CarolinaNorth Carolina (8-3), DukeDuke (6-5), Boston CollegeBoston College (6-5)NC StateNorth Carolina State (8-3)MiamiMiami (6-5), ClemsonClemson (7-4)

ACC-adjacent

Notre DameNotre Dame (8-3)
Notre Dame is bowl-eligible at 7-3 and, as part of its pseudo-membership with the ACC, has access to all the conference’s bowl tie-ins aside from the Orange Bowl, which its third loss precluded, anyway.

Big 12

TexasTexas (10-1), Oklahoma StateOklahoma State (8-3), KansasKansas (7-4)OklahomaOklahoma (8-3)Kansas StateKansas State (8-3)West VirginiaWest Virginia (7-4)

Big Ten

MichiganMichigan (11-0), Ohio StateOhio State (11-0)Penn StatePenn State (9-2), IowaIowa (9-2), RutgersRutgers (6-5), MarylandMaryland (6-5), Wisconsin (6-4)

Conference USA

LibertyLiberty (11-0), New Mexico StateNew Mexico State (9-3), Jacksonville StateJacksonville State (8-3)*

MAC

ToledoToledo (10-1), Miami (Ohio)Miami (OH) (9-2), OhioOhio (8-3), Bowling GreenBowling Green (6-5)

Mountain West

Air ForceAir Force (8-3), Fresno StateFresno State (8-3), UNLVUNLV (9-2), WyomingWyoming (7-4)

Pac-12

WashingtonWashington (11-0), OregonOregon (10-1), USCUSC (7-5)Oregon StateOregon State (8-3), UtahUtah (7-4), ArizonaArizona (8-3), UCLAUCLA(7-4)

SEC

GeorgiaGeorgia (11-0), AlabamaAlabama (10-1), MississippiMississippi (9-2), MissouriMissouri (9-2), TennesseeTennessee (7-4), KentuckyKentucky (6-5)LSULSU (8-3), Texas A&MTexas A&M (7-4), AuburnAuburn (6-5)

Sun Belt

TroyTroy (9-2), Coastal CarolinaCoastal Carolina (7-4), Georgia SouthernGeorgia Southern (6-5), Texas StateTexas State (6-5), Georgia StateGeorgia State (6-5)James MadisonJames Madison (10-1)*

*Becomes eligible if there are not 82 six-win teams

Google News
Stay updated with the latest picks, odds, and news! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.

Pages related to this topic

Douglas Farmer
Betting Analyst

Douglas Farmer spends his days thinking about college football and his nights thinking about the NBA. His betting habits and coverage follow that same pattern. He covered Notre Dame football for various outlets from 2008 to 2024, most notably spending eight seasons as NBC Sports’ beat writer on the Irish. That was also when his gambling focus took off. Knowing there were veteran beat writers with three decades more experience than he had, Douglas found his niche by best recognizing Notre Dame’s standing in each year’s national landscape, a complex tapestry most easily understood and remembered via betting odds.

In 2021, that interest created a freelance opportunity with Covers, a role that eventually led to Douglas joining the company full-time in 2023. In the fall, Douglas will place five or six dozen bets each week, a disproportionate amount via BetRivers because the operator tends to have lines slightly different than the rest of the market. The same can be said of Circa Sports’ futures markets.

While Douglas is an avid NBA fan and covers the league throughout the year, the vast majority of his bets are on college football, because that is the biggest key to sports betting: Know what you do not know.

Popular Content

Legal Canadian sports betting

Best Canadian betting sites Ontario sports betting
Covers is verified safe by: Evalon Logo GPWA Logo GDPR Logo GeoTrust Logo Evalon Logo
seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com