ESPN predicts score of every College Football Playoff game, New Year’s Six bowl
With the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six bowls set, predictions have started to come in left and right when it comes to the potential winners for those primetime games. That includes those from ESPN as they made their selections for each of those games, including in the playoff and for the national championship.
Adam Rittenberg released the article with his predictions on Monday. He started with the massive ones in the playoff and worked his way down to the bowls that will end 2023 and open 2024.
Let’s take a look at his projections for all seven contests below:
Rose Bowl – No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama (CFP Semifinal)
ESPN Prediction: Alabama 31, Michigan 23
The committee’s decision to put Alabama in at No. 4 is a significant one in Rittenberg’s analysis at ESPN. That’s because, in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, he has the Crimson Tide pulling the upset on the top-ranked Wolverines in the Rose Bowl.
His reasoning fell on historical success as the “disparity among the two teams in the postseason (was) too much to ignore”. With some late success from ‘Bama, he has Nick Saban being the next coach to keep Michigan out of the final while the Tide will move on to Houston.
Sugar Bowl – No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas (CFP Semifinal)
ESPN Prediction: Washington 37, Texas 33
368 days after they met in last year’s Alamo Bowl, Washington and Texas will play once again with far more stakes on the line. However, ESPN’s prediction has the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans playing out similarly as the one in San Antonio did last year.
After both teams survived their respective conferences, Rittenberg has Washington pushing their win streak to 21 games. That would deny the Longhorns a potential rematch with Alabama while it would send the Huskies to NRG Stadium for a shot at their program’s second national title.
CFP National Championship – No. 2 Washington vs. No. 4 Alabama
ESPN Prediction: Alabama 29, Washington 27
This matchup would pit one of the sport’s staples, Saban and Alabama, against a new contender on the block in the form of Kalen DeBoer and the Huskies. It would also be a clash between two high-quality quarterbacks with talent littered across both rosters.
Still, in the end, ESPN went on to predict that Saban would go on to win his seventh, and “most improbable”, title during his him in Tuscaloosa in H-Town on December 8th. Rittenberg has them eking out a two-point win over Washington and securing a 16th national championship, including their fourth in the playoff era.
Cotton Bowl – No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Missouri
ESPN Prediction: Ohio State 33, Missouri 27
Ohio State is going to have to pull themselves up in order to be ready for this matchup. Missouri, coming off their first double-digit win campaign in nearly a decade, is going to be more than ready to seal their season with a victory over a quality opponent like the Buckeyes.
Still, after falling short of expectations, Rittenberg believes the Buckeyes will muster enough to defeat the Tigers. They may have to do so with a different looking roster but, in the end, he has them taking this Top-10 contest by six in Arlington.
Peach Bowl – No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss
ESPN Prediction: Penn State 30, Ole Miss 24
Another Big Ten vs. SEC meeting will feature two top-dozen teams in Penn State and Ole Miss. For the second time, it’s also one that Rittenberg has going to the Big Ten.
The Rebels will be in it with his final margin inside Mercedes-Benz coming by only six points. It’s just that, with a top-five defense, he has the Nittany Lions finding a way to get enough stops in order to secure yet another bowl win as a consolation prize.
Orange Bowl – No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Georgia
ESPN Prediction: Georgia 28, Florida State 17
No bowl during this postseason will feature two more frustrated teams than Orange Bowl. Even so, one program is going to have to win it and Rittenberg has it going to the Bulldogs.
With roster and health questions on both sides, this matchup is going to come down to resolve and desire. All in all, though, ESPN placed a little more faith in the two-time defending champions over the Seminoles as they have Georgia taking this one by double digits.
Fiesta Bowl – No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty
ESPN Prediction: Oregon 43, Liberty 28
Oregon could find themselves in a sneaky matchup with the Flames. Liberty is undefeated for a reason and is going to take a shot at the Ducks after they were unable to win the Pac-12 Championship with a playoff spot on the line.
With that said, Rittenberg believes the talent gap will be too great for Liberty to overcome. That led to his prediction of the 15-point margin, his largest gap of the seven predictions, by the time the Ducks and Flames are done in Glendale on New Year’s Day.