The 2021 college football season is just about ready to kick off, and while there are sure to be innumerable twists, turns, thrills and chills along the way, we’re going to skip the main course and head right to the dessert table by predicting all 44 bowl matchups, including the College Football Playoff semifinals and CFP National Championship game.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have dusted off their crystal balls and made their preseason picks, and will continue to hone their bowl forecasts as the season progresses. But for now, here’s how they see bowl season shaping up.
All times Eastern
College Football Playoff
CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) Jan. 10, 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Alabama vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Alabama vs. Georgia
CFP Semifinal at Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Alabama vs. Ohio State Schlabach: Alabama vs. Clemson
CFP Semifinal at Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Dec. 31, 3:30 or 7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Clemson vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Georgia vs. Oklahoma
Bowl Season
Dec. 17
Bahamas Bowl Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (Nassau, Bahamas) Noon on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Toledo vs. FAU Schlabach: Ball State vs. FAU
Cure Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 6 p.m. on ESPN2 and the ESPN App Bonagura: Charlotte vs. Houston Schlabach: Tulane vs. Western Kentucky
Dec. 18
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl FAU Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: East Carolina vs. Miami (Ohio) Schlabach: Appalachian State vs. Memphis
Cricket Celebration Bowl Mercedes Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Alcorn State vs. South Carolina State Schlabach: Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T
New Mexico Bowl University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 2:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Wyoming vs. Eastern Michigan Schlabach: San Jose State vs. Kent State
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 3:30 p.m. on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Marshall vs. BYU Schlabach: Louisiana Tech vs. BYU
LendingTree Bowl Ladd-Peebles Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 5:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Arkansas State vs. Western Michigan Schlabach: Georgia State vs. Western Michigan
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) 7:30 p.m. on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Colorado vs. San Jose State Schlabach: UCLA vs. Boise State
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) 9:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina Schlabach: Louisiana vs. Marshall
Dec. 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) 2:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Louisiana Tech vs. Kent State Schlabach: Tulsa vs. Coastal Carolina
Dec. 21
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Buffalo vs. San Diego State Schlabach: Toledo vs. San Diego State
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas) 7:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: SMU vs. North Texas Schlabach: SMU vs. Wyoming
Dec. 22
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas) 8 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Army vs. Middle Tennessee Schlabach: Army vs. UTEP
Dec. 23
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) 7 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: South Carolina vs. Louisville Schlabach: Virginia vs. Troy
Dec. 24
EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu) 8 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Nevada vs. Stanford Schlabach: Fresno State vs. California
Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 2:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Southern Miss. vs. Fresno State Schlabach: Southern Miss. vs. Liberty
Dec. 27
Quick Lane Bowl Ford Field (Detroit) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Purdue vs. Ball State Schlabach: Maryland vs. Ohio
Military Bowl presented by Peraton Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland) 2:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: NC State vs. UCF Schlabach: Navy vs. Louisville
Dec. 28
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Legion Field (Birmingham, Alabama) Noon on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Mississippi State vs. Tulsa Schlabach: Mississippi State vs. UAB
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 3:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: West Virginia vs. Tulane Schlabach: Houston vs. Air Force
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee) 6:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Arkansas vs. Texas Tech Schlabach: Arkansas vs. West Virginia
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl Petco Park (San Diego) 8 p.m. on Fox Bonagura: Arizona State vs. Pitt Schlabach: Stanford vs. NC State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix) 10:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Baylor vs. Michigan State Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Minnesota
Dec. 29
Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Virginia vs. Memphis Schlabach: Florida State vs. UCF
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (New York) 2:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Michigan vs. Boston College Schlabach: Northwestern vs. Virginia Tech
Cheez-It Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Oklahoma State vs. Miami Schlabach: Oklahoma State vs. North Carolina
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Texas vs. Washington Schlabach: Texas vs. Washington
Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina) 11:30 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech Schlabach: Kentucky vs. Pittsburgh
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 3 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Auburn vs. Northwestern Schlabach: Auburn vs. Indiana
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 7 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Notre Dame vs. Cincinnati Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) 10:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Utah vs. Indiana Schlabach: Michigan vs. Arizona State
Dec. 31
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Florida) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Ole Miss vs. North Carolina Schlabach: Ole Miss vs. Miami
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas) 12:30 p.m. on CBS Bonagura: UCLA vs. Wake Forest Schlabach: Utah vs. Boston College
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 5:30 p.m. Bonagura: Central Michigan vs. Boise State Schlabach: Miami (Ohio) vs. Nevada
Jan. 1
Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Noon on ESPN2 and the ESPN App Bonagura: LSU vs. Iowa Schlabach: LSU vs. Penn State
Vrbo Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 1 p.m. on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Florida vs. Penn State Schlabach: Florida vs. Iowa
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 1 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: USC vs. Texas A&M Schlabach: Oregon vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl Game Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 5 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Wisconsin vs. Oregon Schlabach: Ohio State vs. USC
Allstate Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) 8:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Georgia Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Texas A&M
Jan. 4
Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) Time TBD on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: TCU vs. Missouri Schlabach: TCU vs. Missouri
Date TBD
Redbox Bowl Site TBD Bonagura: Minnesota vs. California Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Colorado
After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”
Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.
It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.
“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”
Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.
“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”
Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.
“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”
In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.
“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”
The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.
He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.
He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.
It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.
“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”
He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.
Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.
“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”
Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.
Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.
Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.
Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.
Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.
Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.
Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.
Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.
BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.
Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”
Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.
Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.
“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”
Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.
“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”
Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.
“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”