College Football Bowl Game Projections & Predictions (2023)
Now that we’re in Conference Championship Week, college football’s bowl season is almost upon us. This season, I’ve developed a system to take a practical look ahead each and every week. I’ve reviewed the requirements and stipulations for every single bowl game, and I’m leveraging my projections, power rankings, and adjusted totals for all 133 FBS schools to come up with comprehensive college football bowl game projections and predictions.
With Washington taking down Oregon to win the Pac-12 and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff, we started to get a clearer picture of what these bowl game matchups should look like. But then Alabama took down Georgia in the SEC championship, and suddenly, we’re looking at pure chaos. But barring any late-night surprises, this is where things should settle. If necessary, I’ll publish one final bowl game predictions article on Sunday.
See below for my updated bowl game predictions.
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College Football Bowl Game Predictions: Conference Championship Week
These projections will be updated on Saturday, and again on Sunday, following the results of this weekend's game.
Note: Games with a double-asterisk (**) have already been scheduled.
| Bowl | Favorite | Underdog | Spread | Location | Date |
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | Appalachian St. | Ohio | -6.6 | Conway, SC | 12/16 |
| **New Orleans Bowl | Louisiana | Jacksonville St. | -0.8 | New Orleans, LA | 12/16 |
| Cure Bowl | Troy | Fresno St. | -9.2 | Orlando, FL | 12/16 |
| New Mexico Bowl | UNLV | New Mexico St. | -3.0 | Albuquerque, NM | 12/16 |
| Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl | UCLA | Boise St. | -3.0 | Inglewood, CA | 12/16 |
| Independence Bowl | West Virginia | California | -3.1 | Shreveport, LA | 12/16 |
| Famous Toastery Bowl | Western Kentucky | Eastern Michigan | -8.1 | Charlotte, NC | 12/18 |
| Frisco Bowl | Texas St. | Rice | -2.2 | Frisco, TX | 12/19 |
| Boca Raton Bowl | Marshall | South Florida | -3.0 | Boca Raton, FL | 12/21 |
| Gasparilla Bowl | UCF | Georgia St. | -16.4 | Tampa, FL | 12/22 |
| Camellia Bowl | Northern Illinois | Old Dominion | -2.2 | Montgomery, AL | 12/23 |
| Birmingham Bowl | UTSA | Georgia Southern | -9.9 | Birmingham, AL | 12/23 |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Wyoming | Bowling Green | -4.1 | Boise, ID | 12/23 |
| Armed Forces Bowl | James Madison | Air Force | -7.7 | Fort Worth, TX | 12/23 |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | Toledo | South Alabama | -2.9 | Mobile, AL | 12/23 |
| Las Vegas Bowl | Utah | Maryland | -2.3 | Las Vegas, NV | 12/23 |
| **Hawai’i Bowl | San Jose St. | Coastal Carolina | -5.9 | Honolulu, HI | 12/23 |
| Quick Lane Bowl | Minnesota | Miami (OH) | -1.1 | Detroit, MI | 12/26 |
| First Responder Bowl | Texas Tech | Syracuse | -7.8 | Dallas, TX | 12/26 |
| Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Kansas | Northwestern | -10.1 | Phoenix, AZ | 12/26 |
| Military Bowl | Tulane | Virginia Tech | -1.2 | Annapolis, MD | 12/27 |
| Duke’s Mayo Bowl | Kentucky | Duke | -3.7 | Charlotte, NC | 12/27 |
| Holiday Bowl | Clemson | USC | -4.4 | San Diego, CA | 12/27 |
| Texas Bowl | Texas A&M | Oklahoma St. | -5.9 | Houston, TX | 12/27 |
| Fenway Bowl | SMU | Boston College | -9.8 | Boston, MA | 12/28 |
| Pinstripe Bowl | Georgia Tech | Rutgers | -0.2 | Bronx, NY | 12/28 |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | Kansas St. | North Carolina St. | -7.4 | Orlando, FL | 12/28 |
| Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma | Arizona | -4.4 | San Antonio, TX | 12/28 |
| Gator Bowl | Tennessee | North Carolina | -5.1 | Jacksonville, FL | 12/29 |
| Sun Bowl | Oregon St. | Miami (FL) | -1.5 | El Paso, TX | 12/29 |
| Liberty Bowl | Iowa St. | Memphis | -6.5 | Memphis, TN | 12/29 |
| Cotton Bowl | Penn St. | Missouri | -5.4 | Arlington, TX | 12/29 |
| Peach Bowl | Florida St. | Liberty | -7.2 | Atlanta, GA | 12/30 |
| Music City Bowl | Auburn | Wisconsin | -0.9 | Nashville, TN | 12/30 |
| Orange Bowl | Ohio St. | Louisville | -14.3 | Miami, FL | 12/30 |
| Arizona Bowl | Arkansas St. | Utah St. | -1.4 | Tucson, AZ | 12/30 |
| ReliaQuest Bowl | LSU | Notre Dame | -0.3 | Tampa, FL | 01/01 |
| Fiesta Bowl | Georgia | Oregon | -2.0 | Glendale, AZ | 01/01 |
| Citrus Bowl | Ole Miss | Iowa | -11.0 | Orlando, FL | 01/01 |
| Rose Bowl (CFP Semi) | Michigan | Alabama | -5.3 | Pasadena, CA | 01/01 |
| Sugar Bowl (CFP Semi) | Texas | Washington | -4.2 | New Orleans, LA | 01/01 |
| CFP Championship | Michigan | Texas | -5.8 | Houston, TX | 01/08 |
What is Betting Against the Spread?
Betting "against the spread" refers to the act of choosing the winning team based on a numeric handicap placed on the team that oddsmakers believe is superior, rather than picking the outright winner. For example, if the Rams face the Bengals, and oddsmakers set the spread at Rams -3.5, you would need Los Angeles to win by 4 or more points in order to cash your Rams bet.
What is an Over/Under Bet?
Over/Under is a wager based on how many points you think will be scored in a specific game. Oddsmakers set the total, and bettors decide whether the final score will be higher or lower than that number. If an Over/Under is set at 44.5 points and you bet Over, you will need the combined score of both teams to be 45 points or higher to win your bet.
What is a Moneyline Bet?
A moneyline bet involves choosing which team you believe will win a specific matchup. The moneyline favorite carries a minus designation, like -130. This means that you need to wager $130 to earn a $100 profit. Conversely, the underdog carries a plus designation, like +110. This means that you win $110 in profit on a $100 bet.
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