The Original College Football Czar

2024 Season Preview

a sports publication from The Shinbone

by Daniel Clark 

Description: The College Football Czar

Welcome to the 2024 season preview issue of The College Football Czar, a seasonal sports publication by the author and editor of The Shinbone. In the coming months, you will find weekly analyses of upcoming college football action posted at this site. To find out more, please consult the Ground Rules.

This issue contains the Czar's rankings for all 134 teams in Division I-A football, as well as conference preview capsules, potential upsets to watch for, postseason projections, and a guide to help you locate head coaches and starting QBs on the move. Most importantly, it includes early nominees for the Lardhead of the Year Award, which the Czar never gets around to actually awarding, but for which he dispenses nominations promiscuously.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

COACHING MOVES

New coach ..... arriving at ..... previous position ..... former coach

Kalen DeBoer ..... Alabama ..... head coach Washington ..... Nick Saban

Brent Brennan ..... Arizona ..... head coach San Jose St. ..... Jedd Fisch

Spencer Danielson ..... Boise State ..... off. coord/int. HC Boise St. ..... Andy Avalos

Bill O'Brien ..... Boston College ..... off. coord. N.E. Patriots ..... Jeff Halfley

Manny Diaz ..... Duke ..... def. coord. Penn St. ..... Mike Elko

Tim Skipper (interim) ..... Fresno State ..... LB coach Fresno St. ..... Jeff Tedford

Dell McGee ..... Georgia State ..... RB coach Georgia ..... Shawn Elliott

Willie Fritz ..... Houston ..... head coach Tulane ..... Dana Holgorsen

Curt Cignetti ..... Indiana ..... head coach James Madison ..... Tom Allen

Bob Chesney ..... James Madison ..... head coach Holy Cross (I-AA) ..... Curt Cignetti

Bryant Vincent ..... Louisiana-Monroe ..... off. coord. New Mexico ..... Terry Bowden

Sherrone Moore ..... Michigan ..... off. coord. Michigan ..... Jim Harbaugh

Jonathan Smith ..... Michigan St. ..... head coach Oregon St. ..... Mel Tucker

Derek Mason ..... Middle Tennessee ..... def. coord. Oklahoma St. ..... Rick Stockstill

Jeff Lebby ..... Mississippi St. ..... off. coord. Oklahoma ..... Zach Arnett

Jeff Choate ..... Nevada ..... LB coach Texas ..... Ken Wilson

Bronco Mendenhall ..... New Mexico ..... head coach Virginia ('21) ..... Danny Gonzales

Tony Sanchez ..... New Mexico State ..... WR coach New Mexico St. ..... Jerry Kill

Trent Bray ..... Oregon State ..... def. coord. Oregon St. ..... Jonathan Smith

Sean Lewis ..... San Diego State ..... off. coord. Colorado ..... Brady Hoke

Ken Niumatalolo ..... San Jose State ..... TE coach UCLA ..... Brent Brennan

Major Applewhite ..... South Alabama ..... off. coord. South Alabama ..... Kane Wommack

Fran Brown ..... Syracuse ..... DB coach Georgia ..... Dino Babers

Mike Elko ..... Texas A&M ..... head coach Duke ..... Jimbo Fisher

Gerad Parker ..... Troy ..... off. coord. Notre Dame ..... Jon Sumrall

Jon Sumrall ..... Tulane ..... head coach Troy ..... Willie Fritz

DeShaun Foster ..... UCLA ..... RB coach UCLA ..... Chip Kelly

Nate Dreiling (interim) ..... Utah State ..... def. coordinator Utah State ..... Blake Anderson

Scotty Walden ..... UTEP ..... head coach Austin Peay (I-AA) ..... Dana Dimel

Jedd Fisch ..... Washington ..... head coach Arizona ..... Kalen DeBoer

Jay Sawvel ..... Wyoming ..... def. coordinator Wyoming ..... Craig Bohl

 

ROLLING HEAD WATCH

The following coaches will have a difficult time hanging onto their noggins through the 2024 season:

Kalani Sitake, Brigham Young -- This had better be an up year for Sitake, because there's not mushroom for him to go in the other direction, after ending his inaugural Big XII season on a five-game losing streak. The eighth-year coach has got a more than respectable career record of 61-41, but a school that had the chutzpah to call itself the Notre Dame of the West when it went Independent in 2011 is going to demand a lot better than a 2-7 record as a member of a power conference.

Justin Wilcox, California -- Last year's Independence Bowl loss to Texas Tech left Wilcox without a non-losing season since 2019. During his seven years in the Pac 12, he fell short of the .500 mark in conference play every time, finishing 4-5 on four occasions. His first ACC season is aided by a soft November schedule that includes both Syracuse and Stanford at home. By then, however, his travel schedule may have proven too much to bear, including long road trips to Auburn, Florida State, Pitt, Wake Forest and SMU.

Mike Houston, East Carolina -- The Pirate coach has got to pick up the pieces of eight from a terrible 2-10 season, or else his booty will get the boot out of Greenville, where he is 24-34 in five seasons. It is his ship that has been raided in recent years, as the transfer portal has become ECU's own Bermuda Triangle. Such is life at a group-of-five school, but 12 other teams in the American Athletic Conference have handled it better. Even Temple, which tied Houston's team for last place, finished with a better overall record.

Mike McIntyre, Florida International -- The former Colorado coach is only in his third season at FIU, but how hard should it be to compete in Conference USA? McIntyre is only 3-13 in the worst league in Division I-A, with wins over three teams that finished with overall records of 3-9. Compared to the Golden Panthers, even their co-inhabitants in Coral Gables have cause for optimism.

Mario Cristobal, Miami -- On the other end of town, the Hurricanes have fallen on hard times, too. At least last year, they finished with a winning record, but only at 7-6 with a loss to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. Cristobal is now 12-13 at his alma mater, having gone only 27-47 during a stint at Florida International from 2007-12. This season looks more promising with QB Cam Ward arriving from Washington State, but talent is seldom the trouble at The U. The coach left a great gig at Oregon to return to the Sunshine State, but he didn't need a cristobal to see the storm clouds approaching. All he had to do was observe the career path of fellow Floridian Willie Taggart, who also became head coach at UO, but left that program for an unsuccessful run at Florida State.

Pat Narduzzi, Pitt -- Being a defensive specialist, the tenth-year head coach has gotten a lot of leeway regarding his deference to his offensive coordinators, but last year he might have been the last person in town to notice that OC Frank Cignetti was guilty of a gross misapplication of resources. The Panthers should consider themselves very fortunate that their two most underutilized offensive players, running back Rodney Hammond and tight end Gavin Bartholomew, resisted the temptation to transfer out. Narduzzi's new offense with coordinator Kade Bell is already drawing comparisons to the "high octane" team that played for Todd Graham back in 2011, but that's hardly a compliment. The Panthers only went 6-6 that season under Graham, who is no more fondly remembered in Pittsburgh than he is in Houston or Honolulu. Come to think of it, if Coach Graham has ever been to Ouagadougou, they probably hate him there, too.

 

QB TRANSFER TRACKER

Name ..... arriving at ..... previous team ..... starting status

Sam Leavitt ..... Arizona State ..... Michigan State ..... probable

Dequan Finn ..... Baylor ..... Toledo ..... likely

Malachi Nelson ..... Boise St. ..... USC ..... contested

Chandler Rogers ..... California .... North Texas ..... unlikely

K.J. Jefferson ..... Central Florida ..... Arkansas ..... certain

Max Brown ..... Charlotte ..... Florida ..... certain

Brendan Sorsby ..... Cincinnati ..... Indiana ..... probable

Maalik Murphy ..... Duke ..... Texas ..... likely

Jake Garcia ..... East Carolina ..... Missouri ..... contested

Katin Houser ..... East Carolina ..... Michigan State ..... contested

Cam Fancher ..... Florida Atlantic ..... Marshall ..... likely

D.J. Uiagalelei ..... Florida State ..... Oregon State ..... certain

Brock Vandagriff ..... Kentucky ..... Georgia ..... certain

Tyler Shough ..... Louisville ..... Texas Tech ..... probable

M.J. Morris ..... Maryland ..... Nc State ..... likely

Cam Ward ..... Miami ..... Washington State ..... certain

Aidan Chiles ..... Michigan State ..... Oregon State ..... certain

Blake Shapen ..... Mississippi State ..... Baylor ..... certain

Grayson McCall ..... Nc State ..... Coastal Carolina ..... certain

Chandler Morris ..... North Texas ..... TCU ..... certain

Riley Leonard ..... Notre Dame ..... Duke ..... certain

Will Howard ..... Ohio State ..... Kansas State ..... probable

Dillon Gabriel ..... Oregon ..... Oklahoma ..... probable

Dante Moore ..... Oregon ..... UCLA ..... unlikely

E.J. Warner ..... Rice ..... Temple ..... likely

Tate Rodemaker ..... Southern Miss ..... Florida State ..... contested

Kyle McCord ..... Syracuse ..... Ohio State ..... certain

Jordan McCloud ..... Texas State ..... James Madison ..... probable

Ty Thompson ..... Tulane ..... Oregon ..... contested

Jayden Maiava ..... USC ..... UNLV ..... contested

Diego Pavia ..... Vanderbilt ..... New Mexico State ..... contested

Nate Johnson ..... Vanderbilt ..... Utah ..... contested

Hank Bachmeier ..... Wake Forest ..... Louisiana Tech ..... contested

Will Rogers ..... Washington ..... Mississippi State ..... certain

T.J. Finley ..... Western Kentucky ..... Auburn ..... contested

Tyler Van Dyke ..... Wisconsin ..... Miami ..... likely

 

WHAT'S NEW IN 2024

* Team #134 -- The more the Royal Smart People complain that no school wants to be in Division I-A without any chance of winning a national championship, the more the ranks of the group-of-fives continue to swell. This year, Kennesaw State climbs up to Conference USA, to be followed next year by Missouri State and Delaware. At first, when the College Football Czar read that the Fighting Blue Hens were transitioning, he thought that meant they were having cockadoodles sewn on.

* NIL 7, non-revenue sports nil -- This may be a marginal issue as far as a college football publication is concerned, but the College Football Czar must advise that if you enjoy other college sports, you might want to watch as much of them as possible while they last. For many decades it has been college football and men's basketball that have funded the rest of most schools' athletic budgets. Paying those football and basketball players six-figure salaries is not going to leave much money to sustain all of the non-revenue sports. Already, the University of Illinois has cited NIL as its primary reason to scuttle plans to start a Division I hockey program. Expect the elimination of already existing teams to commence shortly.

* House wins, as usual -- Well, it got a favorable settlement, anyway. As a result of the House v. NCAA class action lawsuit, in which former players sued for retroactive NIL payments, the power four conferences have agreed to a direct pay-for-play system, which at least is more honest than what they've been doing. The phony "NIL collectives," which have basically distributed booster funds to athletes without regard to name, image and likeness usage, will presumably be no more.

* Power five, minus one -- The Pac 12 is now down to two teams, which really means it doesn't exist anymore, except on paper. Those remaining members, Washington State and Oregon State, have joined the West Coast Conference for most other sports, while their football schedules are comprised mostly of Mountain West opponents. The reduction of major conferences from five to four, and the expansion of each of them to 16 schools or more, makes it almost pointless for the bowl games and playoffs to even try to avoid intraconference matchups.

* Longhorn Network no more -- With Texas joining the SEC, that school's own ESPN-affiliated channel has been discontinued. If you had LHN, you might not have even noticed, or else you never turned there because it was not even in HD on your system. Farewell to the useless-est cable channel since Spike TV.

* Beer at Badger games! -- Really? They refused to sell beer at football games until now, in Wisconsin? The College Football Czar would jump around about that, too. Who needs all that cheese, with nothing for it to soak up?

* The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl -- For the third year in a row, this game will be broadcast by the lardheads at Barstool Sports, whose five-person crew can be counted on to exhibit the combined wit of a woodchuck. This time it promises to be even more inane, because the game is sponsored by a canned cocktail called Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop. The College Football Czar can only surmise that it is because of Dr. Dre's history of violence against women that his name does not join Snoop's in the title of this NCAA-sanctioned contest.

Before anybody wastes any time sending an e-mail, the Czar is aware that Mister Dogg has been very generous in his support of youth football, but is that enough to justify this? The guy brags that, before his career took off, he actually worked for a couple years as a pimp. Not that Barstool founder Dave Portnoy has a problem with that. The Czar can just hear the sucking up when the rapper drops by the booth during the game. "Snoop, you're so cool! I have all your albums and use your hemp products! I don't care what anyone says, you are not the least bit prematurely decrepit. Can I be the dorky sidekick you insult in your next commercial?"

Not much different from the treatment Kirk Herbstreit gave Eminem a few years ago, sadly.

 

WHAT'S NOT NEW

* Pitiful postseason planning -- Well, it's not entirely new, but it is getting dramatically worse, and the ill-advised playoff expansion isn't the half of it. For starters, there is no separation between the regular season and postseason this year, with the Camellia Bowl being played just hours after the Army-Navy game on December 14th. One of the few things The Powers That Be Stupid had gotten right in recent years was starting the bowl season with a bang, with five or six games on the opening Saturday. Now, they've basically introduced a postseason Week Zero.

The end of the postseason mirrors the beginning, in that it appears to have been made anticlimactic by design. Back in the unjustly maligned BCS era, the championship game was the last blast in the grand finale of college football. Playing the CFP championship on a Monday, ten days after the semifinals and with no bowl games scattered in between, is like expecting the Fourth of July fireworks crowd to come back on the Fourteenth to watch somebody set off a few snakes. Not only will many fans have lost interest by the January 20th kickoff, but they just might be a little preoccupied with the presidential inauguration, which will have taken place earlier in the day.

As if any more evidence was needed to prove that the Communists have taken over, New Year's Day is no longer the focal point of the bowl season. That day features only three quarterfinal games, to be played at neutral sites so they can continue to masquerade as bowl games. The only early afternoon game that day is the Peach Bowl, played in one of those dastardly retractable domes that is seldom retracted. The traditional early, outdoor games in Florida have been scattered elsewhere on the bowl calendar. If any more tradition is destroyed, we might as well just end bowl games altogether and model college football after the UFL, which seems to be the plan.

* Weak Zero -- On August 24th, Florida State and Georgia Tech get the season off to a pretty good start at the Emerald Isle Classic in Dublin. That night, SMU visits Nevada in a mismatch on CBS Sports. Both Hawaii and New Mexico host lower-division opponents. That's it. It actually makes the past couple Week Zeros seem interesting by comparison. What's worse, the opening Thursday night schedule is watered down as well, with only two more contests between Division I-A opponents.

* Corso staying the course -- The 89-year-old College GameDay host is college football personified, in a far sadder way than he used to be. The former coach continues to hang in there, even though fans can't have nearly as much fun watching him as they once did. If only we could turn back the clock to a time when the outlook for both GameDay and the game it covers were less grim.

* Unrestrained unsportsmanlike conduct -- One of the many unfortunate side effects of NIL is that it incentivizes players to beg even harder for attention. What's worse, coaches absolutely won't discipline them, because they're afraid of losing them through the portal. The truth be known, a lot of the players would consider it grounds for transfer if they were disciplined for drawing penalties for taunting.

* Annoying announcer cliches -- From now on, anybody who employs the half-baked, superficial literary allusion "a tale of two halves" should be forced to read Charles Dickens until he promises never to do it again. And for the sake of humanity, will all sports announcers stop saying, "So you're telling me there's a chance"? It's only amusing in context, and even then only mildly so, and by Jim Carrey standards. If they're going to mindlessly repeat movie quotes during a Division I game, they should at least have to be Division I funny. Jim Carrey at his best was only Division III funny, if that.

The College Football Czar has complained before about the dopey phrase "throwing shade at," which somehow means disrespecting somebody. It sounds instead as if the shade-thrower only wants that other person to be cool. As far as the Czar can discern, the proper response by the shade-throwee is to "clap back at" the thrower. Well, that'll show him. Are these just sarcastic ways of talking trash? Player one: "I dispense comfort to you!" Player two: "Positive reinforcements in return!"

 

LARDHEAD OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINEES

* The College Football Playoff Committee -- After already expanding the playoff field from four teams to twelve, committee members drew up hypothetical brackets for previous seasons, and found that the system is fraught with complications. Nice of them to let us know. For starters, we can expect there to be a lot of rematches of regular season games in the playoffs. Most of the readers of this publication had probably already figured that out before seeing it explained here last season, but it comes as news to the CFP. Also, they're guessing that the top four seeds won't be happy about playing all neutral-site games, whereas the higher seeds in the first-round games will get to open the postseason at home.

In addition, it is the top four conference champions who get the first-round byes, but those are not likely to be the top four teams in the rankings. It's almost a certainty that at least three teams in the SEC will be better than anybody in the Big XII. So why should, say, a tenth-ranked Utah team get one of those top four seeds, while a third-ranked Texas team does not? Furthermore, this formula leaves Notre Dame without an opportunity for a bye. How long is that really going to be allowed to last? This is a heck of a time to start asking these questions, and the Czar knows what the answer will be. The push for playoff expansion is going to remain an annual lardhead ritual from now on. Kind of like Burning Man.

* The "Coastal" -- The Division I-AA conference formerly known as the Colonial Athletic Association has renamed itself the Coastal Athletic Association, obviously to remove the word "colonial" because they imagine it has racist connotations. The rattlenoggins responsible for the new nomenclature justified it on the basis that the name "colonial" no longer fits the geographic footprint of the conference since it expanded. In truth, the league remains every bit as colonial as it is coastal, with all 14 schools residing in the original 13 colonies.

Uncoincidentally, George Washington University had recently dropped the Colonials nickname, in favor of the more Marxist-friendly moniker "Revolutionaries." The College Football Czar can't help but observe that college administrators, in addition to being hypersensitive, are not very bright. Colonials are not colonizers. In fact, the two groups were enemies, but who cares? The important thing is to make a bunch of overschooled and undereducated future burdens on society feel as if they've accomplished something.

* "Room"-mongers -- All of a sudden, it's almost obligatory to refer to "the quarterback room," "the wide receiver room," etc., as if the players and coaches were segregating themselves by position and holding secret meetings apart from the rest of the team. If this were an accurate reflection of the way a team is structured, it would be a wonder that anybody could ever execute a play. What if a coach calls a halfback option, but the running back doesn't know what to do because he hadn't been allowed to enter the quarterback room? What if a safety identifies as a linebacker (pronouns: lbe, lbim)? Must he be allowed in the linebacker room, and if not, does that mean the ACC has to move its championship game? Any alleged journalist who uses this terminology ought to be forced to sit in a corner of the lardhead room until further notice.

* Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman -- for hiring former Razorback skipper Bobby Petrino to be his new offensive coordinator. For starters, there have got to be a lot of people at the university who aren't happy with him for bringing back the ex-coach, who was dismissed twelve years ago because of an indiscretion with a female subordinate. If the controversial move doesn't translate into on-field success, Pittman will have called his own judgment into question for more reasons than one. If it does work, he will have only succeeded in hiring his own replacement. From 2008-11, Petrino went 34-17 as head of the Hogs. Pittman is 23-25. If their offense is formidable enough to lead them on a winning campaign this season, that will surely be perceived as Petrino's doing, not Pittman's. So why stop there? As long as the administration is willing to accept Petrino back as an assistant, it shouldn't have any ethical qualms about rehiring him as head coach. This is Arkansas, after all.

* Anybody who actually enjoys the Barstool Sports broadcasts of the Arizona Bowl -- Talk about being stupid and proud of it. Why don't these people just go to Spencer Gifts and laugh at the ice cube trays while they're at it?

 

THE CZAR DECREES ...

If the College Football Czar could issue proclamations changing college football, these are some examples of what those would entail:

* Sign 'em up -- As long as schools are paying football players out in the open, they need to offer more lucrative deals for multi-year contracts, to return a little continuity to the game. If the players are going to be treated like the pros, it's got to go both ways. The ones who get the big bucks have got to make some kind of commitment in return.

* Addition by division -- The Sun Belt Conference is now the only league whose standings are still split into divisions. Every other conference is putting all of it teams in one stack, between 10 and 18 teams. The primary reason for doing this is so that the two best teams would be matched up in the conference championship game. The College Football Czar would rather see them stick to title games between division champions, rather than reward a second-place team for winning nothing. Besides, determining the division winners was relatively cut and dry, unlike having to untangle a five-way tie for second place. Moreover, stacking all the teams is a formula for creating re-rematches in the playoffs. Okay, so the Big Ten title game has stunk every year, but now what may happen is that Ohio State and Michigan end the regular season against each other, then turn around and clash again for the conference championship, and then a third time in the national tournament. That middle meeting, at a neutral site, indoors in Indianapolis, would be even less interesting than the Michigan-Iowa and OSU-Wisconsin games we're accustomed to. There would be a greater chance of having a quality Big Ten championship by keeping the divisions intact, but with presumptive contenders USC and Oregon in the West.

* Go back before 1984 -- That was when the NCAA lost control of the TV rights for all of college football, in the NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma antitrust case. At the time, it was a great development, allowing teams and conferences to negotiate their own television contracts, just as cable sports networks were proliferating. More recently, TV revenues have driven the reckless realignment that is destroying rivalries, and making it a far fan-unfriendlier game. If only we could get back to the point where all of Division I-A college football had one massive TV contract, then the conferences could settle back into their regional footprints, and visiting fans could start driving to games again.

* Teammates must make themselves useful -- At the risk of offending the players' unsportsmanlike sensibilities, the coaches need to make it a point of emphasis that when a player is accompanying a teammate downfield, he needs to fall back a step and try to pick off any pursuing defenders. At least a dozen times a year, you'll see a ball carrier on a big play get taken down short of the end zone, while another guy in the same uniform just runs alongside, probably planning to be a part of the inevitable post-TD buffoonery. It just goes to show that you don't have to cross the goal line before engaging in an act if extreme idiocy.

* Goodbye to GameDay -- Sorry, but it's just sad anymore, and sometimes irritating. We already know enough about the games that are coming up, so why bother tuning in before noon? We've got better things to do with our Saturday mornings, like making breakfast burritos, and going out to buy beer.

* Cover the coaches' cabezas -- What kind of ego is it that makes a bunch of middle-aged men want to show off the tops of their heads? Major conference coaches get paid millions of dollars a year nowadays. Surely, investing in a whole hat is not going to break the bank.

 

 

TEAM RANKINGS, 1-134

1. Georgia (SEC)

41. W. Ky. (CUSA)

81. Air Force (MW)

121. So. Miss (SB)

2. Ohio St. (B10)

42. Iowa St. (XII)

82. Purdue (B10)

122. Utah St. (MW)

3. Ole Miss (SEC)

43. Fresno St. (MW)

83. Toledo (MAC)

123. Marshall (SB)

4. Texas (SEC)

44. W. Virginia (XII)

84. Mich. St. (B10)

124. Kent St. (MAC)

5. Oregon (B10)

45. UCLA (B10)

85. Navy (AAC)

125. Ark. St. (SB)

6. Alabama (SEC)

46. N. Carolina (ACC)

86. Baylor (XII)

126. Umass (Ind)

7. Michigan (B10)

47. FL Atl. (AAC)

87. Jax St. (CUSA)

127. Akron (MAC)

8. Utah (XII)

48. Washington (B10)

88. UTSA (AAC)

128. Charlotte (AAC)

9. Memphis (AAC)

49. Ga. Tech (ACC)

89. W. Forest (ACC)

129. Nevada (MW)

10. Louisville (ACC)

50. S. Florida (AAC)

90. S. Alabama (SB)

130. Old Dom. (SB)

11. Missouri (SEC)

51. Kentucky (SEC)

91. Uconn (Ind)

131. FL Int'l (CUSA)

12. Notre Dame (Ind)

52. Duke (ACC)

92. E. Mich. (MAC)

132. Buffalo (MAC) 

13. Okla. St. (XII)

53. Oregon St. (P12)

93. S. Jose St. (MW)

133. Kenn. St. (CUSA)

14. Va. Tech (ACC)

54. Texas Tech (XII)

94. Colorado (XII)

134. ULM (SB)

15. Penn St. (B10)

55. Pitt (ACC)

95. Rice (AAC)

 

16. Clemson (ACC)

56. Rutgers (B10)

96. C. Mich. (MAC)

 

17. Tennessee (SEC)

57. Miami OH (MAC)

97. Maryland (B10)

 

18. Florida St. (ACC)

58. Arkansas (SEC)

98. Miss. St. (SEC)

 

19. USC (B10)

59. Boston Coll (ACC)

99. Hawaii (MW)

 

20. Liberty (CUSA)

60. Houston (XII)

100. ULL (SB)

 

21. Kansas (XII)

61. Bowl. Grn. (MAC)

101. Vanderbilt (SEC)

 

22. Iowa (B10)

62. Texas St. (SB)

102. Troy (SB)

 

23. Boise St. (MW)

63. California (ACC)

103. Indiana (B10)

 

24. Nc State (ACC)

64. S. Carolina (SEC)

104. S. Diego St. (MW)

 

25. LSU (SEC)

65. Virginia (ACC)

105. Ohio (MAC)

 

26. Wisconsin (B10)

66. N'western (B10)

106. Cincinnati (XII)

 

27. Kansas St. (XII)

67. UNLV (MW)

107. Tulsa (AAC)

 

28. Texas A&M (SEC)

68. Syracuse (ACC)

108. NM St. (CUSA)

 

29. Arizona (XII)

69. Illinois (B10)

109. Colo. St. (MW)

 

30. Minnesota (B10)

70. Ga. Southern (SB)

110. La Tech (CUSA)

 

31. Florida (SEC)

71. Stanford (ACC)

111. C. Carolina (SB)

 

32. Miami (ACC)

72. BYU (XII)

112. N. Mexico (MW)

 

33. Oklahoma (SEC)

73. N. Texas (AAC)

113. Ball St. (MAC)

 

34. SMU (AAC)

74. Wash. St. (P12)

114. J. Madison (SB)

 

35. App. St. (SB)

75. Arizona St. (XII)

115. UTEP (CUSA)

 

36. Tulane (AAC)

76. Army (AAC)

116. Georgia St. (SB)

 

37. Nebraska (B10)

77. W. Mich (MAC)

117. MTSU (CUSA)

 

38. C. Florida (XII)

78. Wyoming (MW)

118. E. Carolina (AAC)

 

39. Auburn (SEC)

79. UAB (AAC)

119. Sam Hstn (CUSA)

 

40. TCU (XII)

80. No. Illinois (MAC)

120. Temple (AAC)

 

 

CONFERENCE CAPSULES

American Athletic Conference

  1. Memphis Tigers -- not changing many stripes on experienced offense
  2. Tulane Green Wave -- favorable AAC schedule could help them crash the CFP
  3. Florida Atlantic Burrowing Owls -- Ex-Herd QB helps marshal their offensive forces
  4. South Florida Bulls -- became big cheese in Rat Mouth, in bowl blowout of Syracuse
  5. North Texas Mean Green -- must do a bang-up job to fix the D in Denton
  6. Army Black Knights -- They are liking life in Michie Stadium
  7. UAB Blazers -- another 4-8 finish could cause them to be a little less Dilf next year
  8. Navy Midshipmen -- toughest road assignment of any fleet since the Spanish Armada
  9. UTSA Roadrunners -- could have used One (1) Acme QB Transfer
  10. Rice Owls -- just like Ben's Original, there's really nothing new here
  11. Tulsa Golden Hurricane -- Passing game improved? Here's an INT: no
  12. East Carolina Pirates -- It's not just their eyes that need a little patchwork
  13. Temple Owls -- roster is running on an empty tank in Philly
  14. Charlotte 49ers -- Biff was a big hit last year, but his team was not

Outlook: With coach Willie Fritz gone from Tulane, Memphis becomes the prohibitive favorite, and the College Football Czar's pick to represent the group-of-five in the CFP. The West Pointers make their AAC debut, and should fare far better than they did during their previous foray into conference play in C-USA, from 1998-2004. It's year two for Tom Herman at FAU, where he faces neither the Tigers nor the Green Wave in the regular season.

Atlantic Coast Conference

  1. Louisville Cardinals -- Llllvulll! Llllvv it or lllvv it!
  2. Virginia Tech Hokies/Gobblers -- O is far from unmanned with QB Drones
  3. Clemson Tigers -- It's Dabo-doo time, or become a page right out of history
  4. Florida State Seminoles -- championship chances get the chop a lot earlier this year
  5. Nc State Wolfpack -- passing game will put on a Raleigh big show
  6. Miami Hurricanes -- Cristobal shows bleak future if they don't win opener at UF
  7. SMU Mustangs -- Fans will scream themselves horse for ACC opener vs. FSU
  8. North Carolina Tar Heels -- schedule's an answer to a prayer in Chapel Hill
  9. Georgia Tech Yellowjackets -- third-year coach has been their Key to victory
  10. Duke Blue Devils -- poor devils lose a wealth of talent through the portal
  11. Pitt Panthers -- Will Pitt's pendulum swing the other way after '23 horror show?
  12. California Golden Bears -- better Pac lots of nuts and berries for long road trips
  13. Boston College Eagles -- A BC D spells a good start for Coach Bill O'Brien
  14. Virginia Cavaliers -- don't know Hoos going to carry the ball
  15. Syracuse Orange -- Is the ex-Buckeye quarterback just plain nuts?
  16. Stanford Cardinal -- green tree-men could use a little Miracle Gro
  17. Wake Forest Demon Deacons - fans want to add a letter between the W and F

Outlook: Plenty of parity in a conference that might not deserve a playoff bid at all, let alone a first-round bye. The Cardinals' defense should carry them, with a little help from a hopefully healthy QB Tyler Shough. The College Football Czar is not letting himself get sucked into the FSU team-on-a-mission narrative. D.J. Uiagalelei cannot replace Jordan Travis, and if he gets injured, they will have to turn to shellshocked second-year scrambler Brock Glenn. A lack of offense around the league makes the Mustangs a dark horse to win the title in their first year.

Big Ten Conference

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes -- CFP expansion, weak schedule won't leave Sloopy hanging
  2. Oregon Ducks -- defensive transfers sure seem to fit the bill
  3. Michigan Wolverines -- must navigate maize of a schedule, with 3 CFP favorites
  4. Penn State Nittany Lions -- It's Allar nothing for QB who struggles on the road
  5. USC Trojans -- conquered from within last year by Trojan horse Caleb Williams
  6. Iowa Hawkeyes -- Steeler-styled team does just enough every year to get by
  7. Wisconsin Badgers -- CheddAir wasn't too sharp in first year of new offense
  8. Minnesota Golden Gophers -- air attack could make them an underground success
  9. Nebraska Cornhuskers -- on defense, the blackshirts clash with everything
  10. UCLA Bruins -- Is an upset bruin in consecutive games vs. LSU, Oregon, Penn St.?
  11. Washington Huskies -- new coach Fisch had better become a fisher of men
  12. Rutgers Scarlet Knights -- Rutger isn't a hitcher anymore; he's riding
  13. Northwestern Wildcats -- stadium renovation adds another hundred to Chi's homeless
  14. Illinois Fighting Illini -- many factors must illin to get them into a bowl game
  15. Purdue Boilermakers -- hard miles ahead for The Little Train That Could Puke
  16. Michigan State Spartans -- busy Beaver coach has his work cut out for him
  17. Maryland Terrapins -- shellbacks shall be back, but not this season
  18. Indiana Hoosiers -- Can ex-James Madison coach strengthen their constitution?

Outlook: For any readers who still don't understand why the College Football Czar has opposed playoff expansion, just look at the way it has rendered OSU's regular season almost completely irrelevant. The only question in Columbus is whether the Buckeyes get a bye, or host a first-round game. UO coach Dan Lanning has been so successful in adding talent through the portal that his greatest challenge will be melding it into a cohesive team. Penn State's path may appear at first glance to be unobstructed, but it does face four of its five most dangerous opponents on the road.

Big Twelve Conference

  1. Utah Utes -- No yoot movement here, with a veteran defense and a senior QB
  2. Oklahoma State Cowboys -- more loaded than either John Wayne or his six-gun
  3. Kansas Jayhawks -- Jalon Daniels is back, but is his back back, too?
  4. Kansas State Wildcats -- Avery Johnson is expected to be avery good passer
  5. Arizona Wildcats -- Will desert dwellers be out of water without Coach Fisch?
  6. Central Florida Knights -- New DC Roof tries to stop foes from pouring on the points
  7. Iowa State Cyclones -- Clones produce a genetic replica of last season
  8. TCU Horned Frogs -- lizards will not yet take a great leap forward
  9. West Virginia Mountaineers -- Fans on their feet, not just because they burned the seats
  10. Texas Tech Red Raiders -- depleted D will let opposing offenses TT off
  11. Houston Cougars -- Coach Fritz rides the Tulane highway to the rescue
  12. Brigham Young Cougars -- The exit must be closed on the portal to Provo
  13. Arizona State Sun Devils -- not much of a Sparky on offense this year
  14. Baylor Bears -- new QB Finn is your huckleberry, whatever that means
  15. Colorado Buffaloes -- "DO YOU BELIEVE NOW?" Not really, no.
  16. Cincinnati Bearcats -- What did Cin city do to deserve this team?

Outlook: This should be basically a two-team race, with experience separating the Utes and Pokes from the rest of the field. Both of the Sunflower Staters should remain formidable, however. UCF lacks consistency, but can certainly pull off an occasional shocker, as it did last season in a 45-3 thrashing of OSU. Arizona arrives from the Pac 12 basically intact from last year's 10-win season, but the Czar doubts new coach Brent Brennan, who went 34-48 at San Jose State, is capable of contending in the big leagues. The big question in Boulder is who will they scapegoat now that last year's disproportionately maligned offensive line has been replaced?

Conference USA

  1. Liberty Flames -- continue to spread like wildfire in Chadwell's scheme
  2. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers -- new Topper tosser will play it to the hillt
  3. Jacksonville State Gamecocks -- RichRod spared nothing in inaugural 9-win season
  4. New Mexico State Aggies -- may lose Kill's instinct, with successful coach departed
  5. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs -- looking un-LT after another sickly 3-9 finish
  6. UTEP Miners -- pickings in West Texas are slim enough to starve the buzzards
  7. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders -- have a new head MT-head for first time since 2005
  8. Sam Houston Bearkats -- K.C. Keeler's Kats usually kame klose in 2023
  9. Florida International Golden Panthers -- continue to win a fiu, lose quite a fiu more
  10. Kennesaw State Owls -- Kennesaw has got a high mountain to climb

Outlook: Liberty has little competition on its way to another C-USA championship, but the weakness of their schedule will probably require them to go undefeated for another regular season in order to represent the group-of-five in the CFP. In 2021, LTU fired Skip Holtz for one bad season after almost a decade of success. Since then, the Bulldogs have gone 3-9 twice more, while their ex-coach has gone 26-4 with three championships in professional spring ball.

Independents

  1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- With this schedule, who needs luck?
  2. Uconn Huskies -- Conn Men's running game can't get its foot in the door
  3. Umass Minutemen -- for them to compete in Division I-A is a mass delusion

Outlook: The Irish are widely assumed to be a playoff team this year, which puts a lot of pressure on third-year head coach Marcus Freeman to at least equal last year's regular season record of 9-3. This will be the last season as an Independent for the Minutemen, who have reversed course and joined the MAC as an all-sports member. Another long season in Storrs for that poor Husky program that has to contend with its own administrators, as well as the opposition.

Mid-American Conference

  1. Miami OH RedHawks -- take their TomaHawk to South Bend in Week 4
  2. Bowling Green Falcons -- BG is not just Jive Talkin this year
  3. Western Michigan Broncos -- cheers are not of the Broncs variety at the 'Zoo
  4. Northern Illinois Huskies -- Coach Hammock keeps his team hanging around
  5. Toledo Rockets -- Holey Toledo has got a few vacancies to fill
  6. Eastern Michigan Eagles -- EMU makes a good run, but never quite takes off
  7. Central Michigan Chippewas -- need a few good hands in the Big Mitten
  8. Ohio Bobcats -- the nation's second-best team from Athens
  9. Ball State Cardinals -- offense runs like Lucille Ball stomping grapes
  10. Kent State Golden Flashes -- would like to flush this season's road schedule
  11. Akron Zips -- Ohio State will zip their body bags in season opener
  12. Buffalo Bulls -- another cow flop in UB Stadium

Outlook: The end of the 85 scholarship limit and its effect on the competitive balance of college football all but ends the MAC's ability to land great quarterbacks. Big Connor Bazelak, formerly of Missouri and Indiana but now the starter at BGSU, might be the last of his kind this conference sees for a while. The Falcons are at a disadvantage, however, in that they face both Miami and WMU, while those two teams do not have to play each other in the regular season.

Mountain West Conference

  1. Boise State Broncos -- might have blue their CFP chances with tough scheduling
  2. Fresno State Bulldogs -- still Keene on their quarterback, for good reason
  3. UNLV Rebels -- What happens in Vegas usually stunk until last year
  4. Wyoming Cowboys -- Bohl games continue with ex-coach's son as DC
  5. Air Force Falcons -- 'AFA loaf is better than what they 'ave left
  6. San Jose State Spartans -- "spread and shred" offense sounds too cheesy
  7. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors -- Hawaii Five-O-O would be an improvement
  8. San Diego State Aztecs -- new head coach Sean Lewis installs a new pyramid scheme
  9. Colorado State Rams -- butt heads with another butthead in Week 3 vs. Colorado
  10. New Mexico Lobos -- another low-speed chase for Coach Bronco
  11. Utah State Aggies -- coach's Rocky Mountain ouster leaves a bad taste behind
  12. Nevada Wolf Pack -- Any win will be a big earn in Reno this year.

Outlook: BSU opens with a pair of cross country road games at Georgia Southern and Oregon, and also faces a tough road schedule in the MWC. Add games against the two remaining Pac 12 schools, and the Broncos could easily win the MWC with four overall losses. Jeff Tedford's sudden, health-related retirement leaves the Bulldog program in the hands of defensive coach Tim Skipper, who guided FSU to a win over New Mexico State in last year's New Mexico Bowl.

Pac 12 Conference

  1. Oregon State Beavers -- must be gnawty, because they won't be very nice to watch
  2. Washington State Cougars -- Wazzu gonna do without Cam Ward at quarterback?

Outlook: These tough luck teams, which were left behind by power conference realignment, have predictably been perforated by departures through the transfer portal. The Beavs have even lost kicker Atticus Sappington to arch rival Oregon. Even before having its roster picked over, WSU had lost its last seven games against teams that are not coached by Deion Sanders.

Southeastern Conference

  1. Georgia Bulldogs -- could go astray in road games vs. Bama, Texas, Ole Miss
  2. Ole Miss Rebels -- good thing the Confederates didn't have a transfer portal
  3. Texas Longhorns -- driving a harder trail than they ever did in the Big XII
  4. Alabama Crimson Tide -- the Tuscaloosa, but new staff is still running a tight ship
  5. Missouri Tigers -- Brady Cook has got a bunch of receivers to feed
  6. Tennessee Volunteers -- Can Heupel's new QB possibly live up to the Heup?
  7. LSU Tigers -- Bayou Bengals could stand to buy them a defense
  8. Texas A&M Aggies -- Oh, deer. Is Elko really the answer?
  9. Florida Gators -- improving team will take time to scale the SEC standings
  10. Oklahoma Sooners -- new QB is Jackson Arnold? Whachoo talkin bout?
  11. Auburn Tigers -- Freeze won't stand still during his second year at AU
  12. Kentucky Wildcats -- Commonwealth Cats could find themselves in a sorry state
  13. Arkansas Razorbacks -- re-cycling former head coach Petrino as OC
  14. South Carolina Gamecocks -- cocks of the walk are learning to run again
  15. Mississippi State Bulldogs -- mud puppies are ready to take a dirt nap
  16. Vanderbilt Commodores -- not much talent in Nashville; what else is new?

Outlook: The College Football Czar is projecting the Bulldogs to win their third national championship in four years. The fact that they face their three closest competitors on the road is the only thing that adds an element of suspense to this year's SEC race. The Czar expects the Longhorns to have trouble adapting to a more competitive conference, even though they don't face Alabama, Ole Miss or Missouri this season. The Rebels should roll out to a 6-0 start before things get serious with a visit to Baton Rouge in Week 7. There's no doubt about new Bama coach Kalen DeBoer's credentials, but it's impossible to believe the Tide won't recede a bit with the retirement of 7-time national champion Nick Saban.

Sun Belt Conference (east division)

  1. Appalachian State Mountaineers* -- a CFP appearance is not just a corncob pipe dream
  2. Georgia Southern Eagles -- Statesboro blues are jazzed to still have RB Jalen White
  3. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers -- not at all cleer they're still a contender
  4. James Madison Dukes -- changes to roster amount to worst amendment since prohibition
  5. Georgia State Panthers -- Coach Elliott picked an ell of a time to leave them
  6. Marshall Thundering Herd -- plenty of discouraging words left over from last season
  7. Old Dominion Monarchs -- offense stung like a butterfly in 2023

Sun Belt Conference (west division)

  1. Texas State Bobcats -- Everything's bigger in TX, including both sides of the scoreboard
  2. South Alabama Jaguars -- Coach Applewhite comes back for a second bite at it
  3. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns -- 6-win seasons are just neaux good anymore at ULL
  4. Troy Trojans -- Blitzers had better watch their step around QB Goose Crowder
  5. Southern Miss Golden Eagles -- Favre U is not so mavrelous these days
  6. Arkansas State Red Wolves -- defense remains in A-State of upheaval
  7. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks -- finding themselves all alone in Malone Stadium

* projected conference champion

Outlook: The defensive downside of this conference creates conditions for chaos, with almost any team in the league being capable of blowing out almost any other one, with the exceptions of App State at the top of the league and ULM at the bottom. For the Mountaineers to capture the group-of-five CFP bid, they will have to at least be competitive in a Week 2 clash with Clemson.

 

BOOBY-TRAP BALLGAMES

The College Football Czar has no idea who he will end up picking to win the following games, but he highlights them now as possible upsets which threaten to ensnare some of the nation's most prominent programs. The favored teams appear in bold face.

Aug. 31

Boise State at Georgia Southern -- Before the Broncos' anticipated battle at Oregon in Week 2, they face a dangerous opponent a long way from home. Including last year's loss at Memphis, BSU has dropped 6 of its last 8 nonconference road games. The Eagles, who discarded the wishbone a few seasons ago, could be bringing elements of the option game back into their playbook with a gaggle of dual-threat QBs contending for the starting job.

Sept. 7

Boise State at Oregon -- The Fighting Ducks enter this game with an all-time record of 0-3 against the Tater-Staters, having lost to them at home, on the road, and at a neutral site in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl. For that reason, one might not think it possible for the webfoots to look past this opponent, but a week later they must battle the OSU Beavers in Corvallis, in an early iteration of the game that should still be called the Civil War.

Sept. 14

Memphis at Florida State -- The conventional wisdom is that the Seminoles are going to prove a point this year, after last season's snub from the CFP. The most obvious problem with that expectation is that what doomed them in 2023 was the loss of dynamic quarterback Travis Jordan, and the difference between him and lumbering journeyman D.J. Uiagalelei is more than noticeable. The former Clemson QB, by way of Oregon State, would have been a great portal pickup for lots of other teams, but not one that has any national championship aspirations. On the other sideline stands fourth-year starter Seth Henigan, who has thrown for over 10,000 yards, and all of those for this experienced Tiger offense which will already be in midseason form.

Alabama at Wisconsin -- The Gers are not as big and bad as they used to be, but if coach Luke Fickell has a second season in Madison like he did in Cincinnati, that is about to change. SEC teams seldom stray from the South, or play tougher-than-necessary September games in general, which could make Camp Randall Stadium a tough environment for the Tide as they transition from the Saban era to new coach Kalen DeBoer.

Oct . 12

Florida at Tennessee -- Even though the Gators are no longer the superior program, they have continued to dominate this series, winning 17 of the last 19 games. Even in a 38-33 defeat on their last trip to Knoxville, a UF team that finished with a losing record riddled the eventual Orange Bowl winners for just under 600 total yards. This game could be a tough lesson at the School of Hard Knox for wildly hyped Volunteer QB Nico Iamaleava, who will have enjoyed a considerable amount of celebrity and NIL riches before even playing his first regular season game.

Oct. 26

West Virginia at Arizona -- A week after a potentially explosive battle with former Pac 12 foe Colorado, the Wildcats could get waylaid by this WVU team, which brings more bang than that previous opponent in spite of lacking the flash. The Mountaineer ground game, which surprisingly ranked fourth nationally in 2023, could keep Cat QB Noah Fifita of the field for well over fifita percent of the time in this game.

Nov. 23

Penn State at Minnesota -- You didn't see Golden Gopher coach P.J. Fleck in this year's "Rolling Head Watch," but his noggin looks like it might roll pretty well, and there are those who would like to see it do so. For that reason, this battle against a big-time opponent in his final home game of the season could prove important. This powerhouse PSU program is only 10-6 all-time against the radiant rodents, and have had four losses and an overtime win in their past six trips to Minneapolis. The Nittany Lion defense was dominant last season, but it isn't often challenged in the tentative Big Ten, and could be facing a tough test against an opponent that is expecting an offensive outburst this year.

Nov. 29

Utah at Central Florida -- These unlikely conference opponents end the regular season in Orlando, possibly with Big XII championship implications. In the Pac 12, the Utes sometimes dominated games, but lacked the offensive power to put them away, only to be burned for an upset on one or two big plays. That's the danger they face against a UCF offense that should only improve on last year's 31.3 ppg average with former Arkansas scrambler K.J. Jefferson at the helm. Last November, the Knights notched the unlikeliest blowout victory of the season, when they ambushed Oklahoma State 45-3.

Nov. 30

Notre Dame at USC -- A surprisingly soft schedule could stop the Fighting Irish from reaching the CFP, if they don't defeat their ancient rivals in the Coliseum to end the regular season. Last year's 48-20 slobberknocking sent the Trojans into a tailspin, dropping 5 of 6 after a 6-0 start. They are no longer burdened by embarrassing quarterback Caleb Williams, however, and thus are not destined for another late-season sulk.

 

Texas at Texas A&M -- These traditional rivals collide for the first time since 2011, when a favored Longhorn team struggled to a 27-25 victory in College Station. If the Conjunction Boys can keep QB Connor Weigman healthy, they might join the Horns in contention for an SEC title. Yes, Steve Sarkisian's team upended Alabama last season, but will they have worn down by this point, after playing their first entire SEC schedule?

 

POSTSEASON PROJECTIONS

Just for fun, here are the Czar's projections for this season's bowl and playoff matchups.

Game ..... Location ..... Date ..... Projection

Camellia Bowl ..... Montgomery, AL ..... Dec. 14 ..... Rutgers vs. Georgia Southern

Frisco Bowl ..... Frisco, TX ..... Dec. 17 ..... Louisiana-Lafayette vs. North Texas

Boca Raton Bowl ..... Boca Raton, FL ..... Dec. 18 ..... San Jose State vs. Florida Atlantic

LA Bowl ..... Inglewood, CA ..... Dec. 18 ..... Boise State vs. California

New Orleans Bowl ..... New Orleans, LA ..... Dec. 19 ..... Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama

Cure Bowl ..... Orlando, FL ..... Dec. 20..... Central Michigan vs. James Madison

Gasparilla Bowl ..... Tampa, FL ..... Dec. 20 ..... Duke vs. South Florida

CFP First Round ..... Oxford, MS ..... Dec. 20 ..... Memphis at Ole Miss

CFP First Round ..... Austin, TX ..... Dec. 21 ..... Oklahoma State at Texas

CFP First Round ..... Eugene, OR ..... Dec. 21 ..... Notre Dame at Oregon

CFP First Round ..... Tuscaloosa, AL ..... Dec. 21 ..... Michigan at Alabama

Myrtle Beach Bowl ..... Myrtle Beach, SC ..... Dec. 23 ..... Western Michigan vs. Coastal Carolina

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl ..... Boise, ID ..... Dec. 23 ..... Toledo vs. Wyoming

Hawaii Bowl ..... Honolulu, HI ..... Dec. 24 ..... Liberty vs. UTSA

Detroit Bowl (name TBA) ..... Detroit, MI ..... Dec. 26 ..... Nebraska vs. Bowling Green

Guaranteed Rate Bowl ..... Phoenix, AZ ..... Dec. 26 ..... UCLA vs. Arizona

68 Ventures Bowl ..... Mobile, AL ..... Dec. 26 ..... Miami OH vs. Appalachian State

Birmingham Bowl ..... Birmingham, AL ..... Dec. 27 ..... Miami vs. Tulane

Armed Forces Bowl ..... Fort Worth, TX ..... Dec. 27 ..... Rice vs. Texas State

Liberty Bowl ..... Memphis, TN ..... Dec. 27 ..... Florida vs. Iowa State

Las Vegas Bowl ..... Las Vegas, NV ..... Dec 27 ..... Texas A&M vs. Fresno State

Fenway Bowl ..... Boston, MA ..... Dec. 28 ..... UAB vs. Uconn

Pinstripe Bowl ..... Bronx, NY ..... Dec. 28 ..... Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech

New Mexico Bowl ..... Albuquerque, NM ..... Dec. 28 ..... Air Force vs. New Mexico State

Pop Tarts Bowl ..... Orlando, FL ..... Dec. 28 ..... Kansas State vs. Florida State

Arizona Bowl ..... Tucson, AZ ..... Dec. 28 ..... Eastern Michigan vs. UNLV

Military Bowl ..... Annapolis, MD ..... Dec. 28 ..... North Carolina vs. Navy

Holiday Bowl ..... San Diego, CA ..... Dec.28 ..... Nc State vs. Washington

Independence Bowl ..... Shreveport, LA ..... Dec. 28 ..... Army vs. Central Florida

Music City Bowl ..... Nashville, TN ..... Dec. 30 ..... USC vs. Auburn

ReliaQuest Bowl ..... Tampa, FL ..... Dec 31 ..... Iowa vs. LSU

Sun Bowl ..... El Paso, TX ..... Dec. 31 ..... West Virginia vs. SMU

Citrus Bowl ..... Orlando, FL ..... Dec. 31 ..... Missouri vs. Penn State

Texas Bowl ..... Houston, TX ..... Dec 31 ..... Oklahoma vs. TCU

Fiesta Bowl (CFP QF) ..... Glendale, AZ ..... Dec. 31 ..... Texas vs. Utah

Peach Bowl (CFP QF) ..... Atlanta, GA ..... Jan. 1 ..... Ole Miss vs. Louisville

Rose Bowl (CFP QF) ..... Pasadena, CA ..... Jan. 1 ..... Oregon vs. Ohio State

Sugar Bowl (CFP QF) ..... New Orleans, LA ..... Jan. 1 ..... Alabama vs. Georgia

Gator Bowl ..... Jacksonville, FL ..... Jan. 2 ..... Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

First Responder Bowl ..... Dallas, TX ..... Jan. 3 ..... Pitt vs. Texas Tech

Duke's Mayo Bowl ..... Charlotte, NC ..... Jan. 3 ..... Wisconsin vs. Clemson

Bahamas Bowl ..... Nassau, Bahamas ..... Jan. 4 ..... Northern Illinois vs. Jacksonville State

Orange Bowl (CFP SF) ..... Miami Gardens, FL ..... Jan. 9 ..... Texas vs. Ohio State

Cotton Bowl (CFP SF) ..... Arlington, TX ..... Jan. 10 ..... Ole Miss vs. Georgia

CFP Championship ..... Atlanta, GA ..... Jan. 20 .... Ohio State vs. Georgia

 

The College Football Czar