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Bowl projections: One eligible team will get left out of a bowl in 2021

A wild final week of the season gave us more bowl-eligible teams than bowl spots.

With teams like North Texas and LSU pulling upsets, 83 teams finished the season at 6-6 or better. There are 82 bowl spots, so someone is going to get left out. Who will it be?

There are a couple candidates. The first is a team from the MAC like Ball State or Miami (Ohio). They finished 6-6 and the MAC has had teams left out from bowls before when there are more eligible teams than spots. The other is Liberty. The Flames finished 7-5 and don't have a bowl tie-in as an independent.

We're going with Liberty as the team left out. The MAC has eight bowl-eligible teams and has six bowl tie-ins and the ability to fill a bowl or two in other bowl games. The Quick Lane Bowl was our last game filled this week and we chose Ball State over the Flames because of Ball State's proximity to Detroit. Sorry Liberty, please hope all you want that we're wrong.

Let's get to our last round of projections before the bowl matchups are revealed on Sunday. We'll find out the playoff field first and then the New Year's Six bowls after that. The rest of the bowls will get filled in as the day goes. As always, check Yahoo Sports for everything you need to know on Sunday ahead of bowl season.

College Football Playoff

Orange Bowl

  • Georgia vs. Oklahoma State

We're going to go ahead and assume wins for both Georgia and Oklahoma State on Saturday. Georgia's win over Alabama will be enough to push Oklahoma State into the top four. The committee did itself a favor on Tuesday night by putting Oklahoma State above Notre Dame. Keeping the Irish — who are done for the season — ahead of Oklahoma State would have led to some useless consternation this week.

Cotton Bowl

  • Michigan vs. Cincinnati

The Wolverines will stay at No. 2 with a win over Iowa in the Big Ten title game. A Cincinnati win over Houston will give the Bearcats another victory over a top-25 team and bump the Bearcats up a spot too with an Alabama loss.

New Year's Six Bowls

Peach Bowl

  • Ole Miss vs. Wake Forest

We're going with Wake Forest to win the ACC over Pitt. If the Panthers win on Saturday night, they're heading to the Peach Bowl. It feels pretty certain that you can pencil in Ole Miss vs. the ACC champion in this game.

Fiesta Bowl

  • Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

With the Peach Bowl likely set on that matchup, this one is pretty certain too if the favorites win on Saturday.

Rose Bowl

  • Utah vs. Ohio State

We're going with Utah to get a second win over Oregon. Ohio State is locked into the Rose Bowl as the No. 2 Big Ten team in the rankings if Michigan makes the playoff.

Sugar Bowl

  • Baylor vs. Alabama

Baylor's head-to-head win over Oklahoma should be enough to keep the Bears above the Sooners in the rankings and into the Sugar Bowl against Alabama.

Other bowls

Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 17)

  • Middle Tennessee (confirmed) vs. Toledo (confirmed)

Cure Bowl (Dec. 17)

  • UCF vs. Appalachian State

Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 18)

  • Eastern Michigan vs. Georgia State

New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 18)

  • Wyoming vs. UTEP

Independence Bowl (Dec. 18)

  • UTSA vs. BYU

LendingTree Bowl (Dec. 18)

  • Miami (Ohio) vs. Old Dominion

L.A. Bowl (Dec. 18)

  • Oregon State vs. San Diego State

New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 18)

  • Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana

Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 20)

  • Coastal Carolina vs. Marshall

Potato Bowl (Dec. 21)

  • Fresno State vs. Northern Illinois

Frisco Bowl (Dec. 21)

  • Boise State vs. Western Michigan

Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 22)

  • Army vs. North Texas

Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 23)

  • Louisville vs. Florida

Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24)

  • Memphis (confirmed) vs. Nevada

Camellia Bowl (Dec. 25)

  • UAB vs. Central Michigan

Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 27)

  • Tulsa vs. Ball State

Military Bowl (Dec. 27)

  • Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina (confirmed)

Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 28)

  • SMU vs Auburn

First Responder Bowl (Dec. 28)

  • Missouri vs. Air Force

Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28)

  • West Virginia vs. Tennessee

Holiday Bowl (Dec. 28)

  • Pitt vs. UCLA

Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Dec. 28)

  • Texas Tech vs. Maryland

Fenway Bowl (Dec. 29)

  • Houston vs. Boston College

Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 29)

  • Virginia vs. Penn State

Cheez-It Bowl (Dec. 29)

  • NC State vs. Iowa State

Alamo Bowl (Dec. 29)

  • Oklahoma vs. Oregon

Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 30)

  • North Carolina vs. South Carolina

Music City Bowl (Dec. 30)

  • LSU vs. Purdue

Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 30)

  • Arizona State vs. Wisconsin

Gator Bowl (Dec. 31)

  • Clemson vs. Mississippi State

Sun Bowl (Dec. 31)

  • Miami vs. Washington State

Arizona Bowl (Dec. 31)

  • Utah State vs. Kent State

Outback Bowl (Jan. 1)

  • Minnesota vs. Arkansas

Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1)

  • Iowa vs. Kentucky

Texas Bowl (Jan. 4)

  • Texas A&M vs. Kansas State