There was a time when bowl projections were not quite easy, but at least sensible. The ACC and SEC met in the Peach Bowl every year, the Big Ten and Big 12 in the Alamo Bowl, and so on.
Like a lot about college football, those days are gone. Those who attempt to forecast where teams will end up in the postseason will have a tall task ahead of them this year. The College Football Playoff has expanded from four to 12 teams, and because of that, four teams will play in two bowl games. The controlled demolition of the Pac-12 means that many bowl tie-ins have not been properly reallocated. All that comes on the heels of increased flexibility regarding conference tie-ins in recent years, with many leagues tied to bowl games on a rotational basis.
Undeterred, we at SI have tried to take a stab at how the bowl picture would look if the season ended today. There are a number of unconventional matchups on here, and a couple of recent rematches—this is your one and only warning. The bloated Big Ten in particular appears poised to gobble up a number of slots traditionally assigned to other conferences.
The process for solving this sudoku puzzle unfolded thusly. First, we gamed out the College Football Playoff using the AP Top 25. Simple enough. Then, we allocated teams into conference tie-ins based on the rest of the top 25 and the all-important "Also Receiving Votes" section. After that, we went down the list of FBS teams by record; College Football Reference's rudimentary Simple Rating System served as the tiebreaker.
Without further ado—assuming you haven't Ctrl-F-ed your team already—here is an early look at how the 2024 bowl schedule might pan out. Put A Charlie Brown Christmas on the stereo and read on.
Way-Too-Early Bowl Projections for the 2024 Season
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Way-Too-Early Bowl Projections for the 2024 College Football Season.