Bowl projections: One eligible team will get left out of a bowl in 2021
A wild final week of the season gave us more bowl-eligible teams than bowl spots.
With teams like North Texas and LSU pulling upsets, 83 teams finished the season at 6-6 or better. There are 82 bowl spots, so someone is going to get left out. Who will it be?
There are a couple candidates. The first is a team from the MAC like Ball State or Miami (Ohio). They finished 6-6 and the MAC has had teams left out from bowls before when there are more eligible teams than spots. The other is Liberty. The Flames finished 7-5 and don't have a bowl tie-in as an independent.
We're going with Liberty as the team left out. The MAC has eight bowl-eligible teams and has six bowl tie-ins and the ability to fill a bowl or two in other bowl games. The Quick Lane Bowl was our last game filled this week and we chose Ball State over the Flames because of Ball State's proximity to Detroit. Sorry Liberty, please hope all you want that we're wrong.
Let's get to our last round of projections before the bowl matchups are revealed on Sunday. We'll find out the playoff field first and then the New Year's Six bowls after that. The rest of the bowls will get filled in as the day goes. As always, check Yahoo Sports for everything you need to know on Sunday ahead of bowl season.
College Football Playoff
Orange Bowl
Georgia vs. Oklahoma State
We're going to go ahead and assume wins for both Georgia and Oklahoma State on Saturday. Georgia's win over Alabama will be enough to push Oklahoma State into the top four. The committee did itself a favor on Tuesday night by putting Oklahoma State above Notre Dame. Keeping the Irish — who are done for the season — ahead of Oklahoma State would have led to some useless consternation this week.
Cotton Bowl
Michigan vs. Cincinnati
The Wolverines will stay at No. 2 with a win over Iowa in the Big Ten title game. A Cincinnati win over Houston will give the Bearcats another victory over a top-25 team and bump the Bearcats up a spot too with an Alabama loss.
New Year's Six Bowls
Peach Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Wake Forest
We're going with Wake Forest to win the ACC over Pitt. If the Panthers win on Saturday night, they're heading to the Peach Bowl. It feels pretty certain that you can pencil in Ole Miss vs. the ACC champion in this game.
Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
With the Peach Bowl likely set on that matchup, this one is pretty certain too if the favorites win on Saturday.
Rose Bowl
Utah vs. Ohio State
We're going with Utah to get a second win over Oregon. Ohio State is locked into the Rose Bowl as the No. 2 Big Ten team in the rankings if Michigan makes the playoff.
Sugar Bowl
Baylor vs. Alabama
Baylor's head-to-head win over Oklahoma should be enough to keep the Bears above the Sooners in the rankings and into the Sugar Bowl against Alabama.
Other bowls
Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 17)
Middle Tennessee (confirmed) vs. Toledo (confirmed)
Cure Bowl (Dec. 17)
UCF vs. Appalachian State
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 18)
Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia State
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 18)
Wyoming vs. UTEP
Independence Bowl (Dec. 18)
UTSA vs. BYU
LendingTree Bowl (Dec. 18)
Miami (Ohio) vs. Old Dominion
L.A. Bowl (Dec. 18)
Oregon State vs. San Diego State
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 18)
Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 20)
Coastal Carolina vs. Marshall
Potato Bowl (Dec. 21)
Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 21)
Boise State vs. Western Michigan
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22)
Army vs. North Texas
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 23)
Louisville vs. Florida
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24)
Memphis (confirmed) vs. Nevada
Camellia Bowl (Dec. 25)
UAB vs. Central Michigan
Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 27)
Tulsa vs. Ball State
Military Bowl (Dec. 27)
Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina (confirmed)
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 28)
SMU vs Auburn
First Responder Bowl (Dec. 28)
Missouri vs. Air Force
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28)
West Virginia vs. Tennessee
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 28)
Pitt vs. UCLA
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Dec. 28)
Texas Tech vs. Maryland
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 29)
Houston vs. Boston College
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 29)
Virginia vs. Penn State
Cheez-It Bowl (Dec. 29)
NC State vs. Iowa State
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 29)
Oklahoma vs. Oregon
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 30)
North Carolina vs. South Carolina
Music City Bowl (Dec. 30)
LSU vs. Purdue
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 30)
Arizona State vs. Wisconsin
Gator Bowl (Dec. 31)
Clemson vs. Mississippi State
Sun Bowl (Dec. 31)
Miami vs. Washington State
Arizona Bowl (Dec. 31)
Utah State vs. Kent State
Outback Bowl (Jan. 1)
Minnesota vs. Arkansas
Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1)
Iowa vs. Kentucky
Texas Bowl (Jan. 4)
Texas A&M vs. Kansas State