Bowl Projections for Louisville After Week 13

While we didn’t get the result we wanted this past Saturday, the good news is that there’s still football to be played! With nothing left but conference championships and the Army-Navy game, the Bowl Season’s slate is almost set.

Unfortunately, Louisville’s road loss at UK caused them to lose their CFP ranking. The Cardinals also found themselves outside of the composite computer rankings’ Top-25 again, most notably #39 in SP+ and #25 in FPI.:

And while Conference championships and the final CFP rankings are really the only thing that stand in the way of bowl games being set in stone, there still seems to be an awful lot of uncertainty going into this weekend:

ESPN:

Military Bowl Presented by Peraton (Schlabach) – Louisville vs. Cincinnati

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland

Dec. 28, 2:00PM, ESPN

Military Bowl Presented by Peraton (Bonagura) – Louisville vs. SMU

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland

Dec. 28, 2:00PM, ESPN

Action Network (Brett McMurphy):

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl – Louisville vs. Florida

Protective Life Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

Dec. 27, Time TBD, ESPN

CBS (Jerry Palm):

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl – Louisville vs. Oregon State

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Dec. 30, 2:00PM, CBS

The Athletic:

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl – Louisville vs. Oregon State

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Dec. 30, 2:00PM, CBS

USA Today:

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl – Louisville vs. Memphis State

Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)

Dec. 23, 6:30PM., ESPN

247 Sports:

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl - Louisville vs. Wisconsin

Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

Dec. 29, 2:00PM, ESPN

Athlon:

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl – Louisville vs. Oregon State

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Dec. 30, 2:00PM, CBS

Bleacher Report:

Wasabi Fenway Bowl – Louisville vs. Cincinnati

Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

Dec. 17, 11:00AM, ESPN

Pro Football Network:

Wasabi Fenway Bowl – Louisville vs. Houston

Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

Dec. 17, 11:00AM, ESPN

Yahoo!:

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl – Louisville vs. Oregon State

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Dec. 30, 2:00PM, CBS

Sporting News:

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – SMU

Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas

Dec. 27, Time TBD, ESPN

College Football News:

Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl – Louisville vs. Oregon State

Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Dec. 30, 2:00PM, CBS

Tally: Sun Bowl (5), Fenway (2), Military (2), First Responder (1), Pinstripe (1), Gasparilla (1), Birmingham (1)

For the second week in a row the Sun Bowl* leads the pack with 5 predictions. That’s probably the best bowl game Louisville can get an invite to at this point. If not Sun Bowl, then the Cards likely find themselves playing an AAC opponent in a not so warm location.

*Fun fact: did you know the Sun Bowl is one of the oldest bowls in the rotation, having been founded in 1935, the same year as the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl? Neato!

I’ve had a lovely time following these bowl projections with you all. Unless something crazy happens this weekend, we’ll likely have our bowl destination early next week. See you next year, folks.