With last week’s Big 12 Media Days and Pac 12 Media Days beginning Thursday, preparation and predictions for the 2015-2016 college football season are in full swing. While the college football regular season doesn’t kick off until Thursday, September 3, projections for the 2015-2016 season are rolling in already.
ESPN college football writers Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy have already released their 2015-2016 bowl projections, including their predictions on who will be playing in the Alamodome Saturday January, 2. Schlabach slotted Oklahoma and Stanford as this year’s Valero Alamo Bowl squads while McMurphy predicts a rematch of the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl between Arizona and Oklahoma State. If McMurphy’s prediction holds up, it would mark the third rematch in Valero Alamo Bowl history (Penn State vs. Texas A&M [1999, 2007] and Iowa vs. Texas Tech [1996, 2001]).
Schlabach and McMurphy also predict big things for the Big 12 in the second ever College Football Playoff, both banking on TCU to make the National Championship. Shlabach predicts the Horned Frogs will face off against last year’s College Football Playoff champion, the Ohio State Buckeyes, while McMurphy believes the Auburn Tigers will vie for the trophy.
Big 12 Media Days were held in Dallas, TX and offered plenty of headlines. TCU enters the year as one of the favorites to not only win the conference, but represent the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff starting December 31, 2015. Oklahoma, Baylor, and Oklahoma State also look to be in the mix by the time bowl season rolls around.
Thursday will mark the beginning of Pac 12 Media Days, taking place in Burbank, California. Oregon once again enters the year as the top dog out west, but USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, and Stanford will look to upend the Ducks and climb their way up the postseason ladder.
However it shakes out, this year’s top-25 Valero Alamo Bowl showdown, featuring the #1 Pac-12 team and #1 Big 12 team after the College Football Playoff selections, will have the Alamodome rocking once again.
A full list of Schlabach and McMurphy’s 2015-2016 bowl projections:
Cure Bowl
MS: East Carolina vs. Appalachian State
BM: East Carolina vs. Appalachian State
R+L Carriers New Orleans
MS: Air Force vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
BM: Southern Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
MS: Louisiana Tech vs. New Mexico
BM: Louisiana Tech vs. Wyoming
Royal Purple Las Vegas
MS: Washington vs. Utah State
BM: Stanford vs. Boise State
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
MS: Bowling Green vs. San Jose State
BM: Central Michigan vs. Fresno State
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
MS: Akron vs. South Alabama
BM: Western Michigan vs. Georgia Southern
Miami Beach Bowl
MS: UCF vs. Middle Tennessee
BM: UCF vs. Western Kentucky
Boca Raton Bowl
MS: Memphis vs. Western Michigan
BM: Tulane vs. Toledo
S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
MS: San Diego State vs. Ball State
BM: San Diego State vs. North Carolina
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
MS: Marshall vs. Toledo
BM: Middle Tennessee vs. Bowling Green
Hawaii Bowl
MS: Houston vs. BYU
BM: Houston vs. BYU
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl
MS: Texas Tech vs. Rice
BM: Rutgers vs. Rice
Quick Lane Bowl
MS: Duke vs. Maryland
BM: Pitt vs. Indiana
St. Petersburg Bowl
MS: Cincinnati vs. Western Kentucky
BM: Cincinnati vs. Marshall
Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman
MS: North Carolina vs. Navy
BM: NC State vs. Navy
Independence Bowl
MS: Miami vs. Florida
BM: Duke vs. Florida
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
MS: NC State vs. Minnesota
BM: Miami vs. Iowa
National University Holiday Bowl
MS: UCLA vs. Michigan
BM: UCLA vs. Penn State
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
MS: Kansas State vs. Mississippi State
BM: Kansas State vs. Arkansas
Russell Athletic Bowl
MS: Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma State
BM: Florida State vs. Texas
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl
MS: Texas vs. Texas A&M
BM: Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
MS: Louisville vs. Ole Miss
BM: Michigan vs. Mississippi State
Belk Bowl
MS: Virginia Tech vs. Missouri
BM: Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee
Foster Farms Bowl
MS: Iowa vs. Arizona State
BM: Minnesota vs. Arizona State
Outback Bowl
MS: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
BM: Missouri vs. Nebraska
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
MS: Rutgers vs. Colorado State
BM: Maryland vs. New Mexico
Cactus Bowl
MS: West Virginia vs. Utah
BM: West Virginia vs. Washington
Birmingham Bowl
MS: South Carolina vs. Temple
BM: South Carolina vs. Memphis
GoDaddy Bowl
MS: Northern Illinois vs. Georgia Southern
BM: Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State
Hyundai Sun Bowl
MS: Florida State vs. Arizona
BM: Virginia Tech vs. Utah
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
MS: Clemson vs. Alabama
BM: Clemson vs. Georgia
VIZIO Fiesta Bowl
MS: Boise State vs. Notre Dame
BM: Utah State vs. Notre Dame
Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual
MS: Michigan State vs. USC
BM: Michigan State vs. Oregon
Allstate Sugar Bowl
MS: Georgia vs. Baylor
BM: Alabama vs. Baylor
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
MS: Penn State vs. LSU
BM: Wisconsin vs. LSU
TaxSlayer Bowl
MS: Arkansas vs. Nebraska
BM: Ole Miss vs. Louisville
Valero Alamo Bowl
MS: Oklahoma vs. Stanford
BM: Oklahoma State vs. Arizona
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
MS: TCU vs. Oregon
BM: TCU vs. USC
Capital One Orange Bowl
MS: Ohio State vs. Auburn
BM: Ohio State vs. Auburn
College Football Playoff National Championship
MS: Ohio State vs. TCU
BM: Auburn vs. TCU
