Sports
Here are the bowl games Ohio Football is predicted to play in ahead of MAC Championship week
By: Grant Kiefer
Posted on:
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Fourteen long, yet short, weeks of regular season action have come to a close for Ohio Football.
Exactly 82 bowl-eligible teams have qualified for Bowl Season’s 82 bowl game slots. The Ohio Bobcats (9-3, 7-1 MAC) are one of them.
However, the Bobcats are going for something more than just a third-straight bowl win: a MAC title.
As WOUB Sports has done all season, we’re tracking 12 national media outlets’ predictions ahead of Bowl Season. A wide variety of games are projected for the Bobcats, but whether they win the MAC Championship will be a telling tale of where they end up come late December.
NOTE: An * means the specific outlet’s projection can not happen because that particular bowl game has already been filled by other teams.
247Sports: Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl vs San Jose State, Dec. 28
Action Network: Boca Raton Bowl vs UConn, Dec. 18
Athlon Sports: Bahamas Bowl vs Jacksonville State, Jan. 4
Bleacher Report: Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl vs Fresno State, Dec. 28
CBS Sports: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs Fresno State, Dec. 23
College Football News: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs Fresno State, Dec. 23
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: GameAbove Sports Bowl vs Vanderbilt, Dec. 26
*ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: Hawai’i Bowl vs Liberty, Dec. 24
Sports Illustrated: GameAbove Sports Bowl vs North Texas, Dec. 26
The Athletic: Isleta New Mexico Bowl vs UTSA, Dec. 28
*The Sporting News: IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl vs James Madison, Dec. 14
USA Today: GameAbove Sports Bowl vs North Carolina, Dec. 26
With realignment changing bowl game tie-ins, here are the four games the MAC is affiliated with.
Bahamas Bowl vs Conference USA
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl vs Mountain West
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs Mountain West
GameAbove Sports Bowl vs Big Ten (NOTE: it is widely expected the Big Ten won’t fill this slot, leaving it for an at-large team)
68 Ventures Bowl vs Conference USA or Sun Belt
Boca Raton Bowl vs Group of Five
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl vs Sun Belt (NOTE: Western Michigan has already accepted the MAC’s slot in this game)
StaffDNA Cure Bowl vs Group of Five
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl vs Group of Five (NOTE: West Virginia and Memphis have accepted this game’s two slots)
Myrtle Beach Bowl vs Group of Five
Isleta New Mexico Bowl vs Mountain West
The MAC is also eligible for an automatic bid in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The top-ranked Group of Five conference champion receives the bid.
Ohio Football goes for its first MAC Championship since 1968 against the Miami RedHawks on Saturday, with the game airing nationally on ESPN at noon.