Brett McMurphy releases his early 2022 college football bowl projections

With the Super Bowl now in the rearview mirror, Brett McMurphy of The Action Network has put out his way-too-early 2022 college football bowl projections.

The College Football Playoff semifinals will be Dec. 31, held at the Fiesta and Peach bowls. Because Jan. 1, 2023 is a Sunday — college football secedes that day to the NFL — the Cotton, Rose (Big Ten vs. Pac-12) and Sugar (SEC vs. Big 12) bowls will be played on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. The Orange Bowl (ACC vs. SEC, Big Ten or Notre Dame) will be played on Dec. 30.

There are a couple of SEC-related changes.

In its second game with its new conference affiliations, the Las Vegas Bowl will get teams from the Pac-12 and SEC. Last year, Las Vegas had Pac-12 vs. Big Ten. The Duke’s Mayo Bowl will feature the ACC vs. the Big Ten. Last year, it was SEC vs. the ACC.

Here are the projections:

CFP National Championship
Monday, Jan. 9 ⋅ Los Angeles, CA
Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Ohio State

Peach Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Atlanta, GA
Projection: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Clemson

Fiesta Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 31 ⋅ Phoenix, AZ
Projection: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Georgia

Orange Bowl
Friday, Dec. 30 ⋅ Miami Gardens, FL
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin

Cotton Bowl
Monday, Jan. 2 ⋅ Dallas, TX
Projection: NC State vs. Houston*

Sugar Bowl
Monday, Jan. 2 ⋅ New Orleans, LA
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

Rose Bowl
Monday, Jan. 2 ⋅ Pasadena, CA
Projection: Michigan vs. Utah

Texas Bowl
Projection: Texas vs. Tennessee

Citrus Bowl
Projection: Penn State vs. Florida

Outback Bowl
Projection: Notre Dame vs. Kentucky

Arizona Bowl
Projection: Toledo vs. Fresno State

Gator Bowl
Projection: Pitt vs. LSU

Sun Bowl
Projection: Virginia Tech vs. UCLA

Music City Bowl
Projection: Iowa vs. Arkansas

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Projection: Louisville vs. Michigan State

Las Vegas Bowl
Projection: Ole Miss vs. Washington

Alamo Bowl
Projection: Oklahoma vs. USC

Cheez-It Bowl
Projection: Miami vs. Baylor

Pinstripe Bowl
Projection: North Carolina vs. Nebraska

Fenway Bowl
Projection: Syracuse vs. Cincinnati

Holiday Bowl
Projection: Florida State vs. Oregon

Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Projection: Purdue vs. Iowa State

Liberty Bowl
Projection: TCU vs. Auburn

First Responder Bowl
Projection: Minnesota vs. Kansas State

Birmingham Bowl
Projection: Mississippi State vs. Maryland

Military Bowl
Projection: Virginia vs. UCF

Quick Lane Bowl
Projection: Northwestern vs. Central Michigan

Camellia Bowl
Projection: Middle Tennessee vs. Liberty

Hawaii Bowl
Projection: BYU vs. Western Kentucky

Gasparilla Bowl
Projection: South Carolina vs. Boston College

Armed Forces Bowl
Projection: West Virginia vs. SMU

Frisco Bowl
Projection: Utah State vs. Troy

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Projection: Miami (OH) vs. San Jose State

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Projection: Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina

New Orleans Bowl
Projection: UAB vs. Appalachian State

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl
Projection: Arizona State vs. Air Force

Independence Bowl
Projection: Army vs. Tulane

LendingTree Bowl
Projection: Western Michigan vs. Marshall

New Mexico Bowl
Projection: San Diego State vs. Oregon State

Boca Raton Bowl
Projection: Memphis vs. Boise State

Cure Bowl
Projection: Florida Atlantic vs. Eastern Michigan

Bahamas Bowl
Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. Northern Illinois

TBA Bowl**
Projection: Louisiana vs. UTSA

* The highest-rated champion from the Group of Five conferences (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt) will be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl if it does not qualify for College Football Playoff.

**ESPN will create a bowl this fall to replace the San Francisco Bowl if it is not played.

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.