Bowl Projections: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Preseason Prediction, Breakdown and History

Before the season gets underway, what's the first guess on what the 2024 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl might be? Why did we make this call, who else should be in the mix, and what's the history of the bowl?

This will all change throughout the season with its twists and turns, but in the preseason, the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl projection is ...

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Projection

NOTE: The Quarterfinal locations for the 1-4 teams won’t be decided until after the final rankings

Predictions for Every Game
AAC | ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | CUSA
IND | MAC | MWest | SEC | Sun Belt
CFN Preview of All 134 Teams

Tuesday, December 31
7:30, ESPN
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Last Season: Oregon 45, Liberty 6
Preseason CFP Bowl Projection
3 Utah (11-2) vs 6 vs 11 winner (6 Alabama)

CFN Preview of All 134 Teams

Why this is the preseason College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Projection

- The seeds might not matter too much here. The top four conference champions get the top four seeds, and the 3 and 4 seeds might be ranked lower in the final College Football Playoff rankings than teams seeded lower, if that makes any sense.

In other words, congratulations, 3 seed. We think you’ll probably play Alabama.

- The call is that Georgia and Ohio State will get the top two seeds in some form, and it’ll come down to Utah as the Big 12 Champion and Florida State as the ACC champ.

However, the CFP will rank Notre Dame higher than the Noles - projecting here an Irish win over FSU in South Bend. In the preseason, we think Utah will slot into the 3, and …

- Our call is that it’ll be either Notre Dame or Alabama at the 6 seed. We’re projecting the Tide to beat Texas A&M in the 6 vs 11 game - it’ll be a home game for Bama - and then will overcome the Utah-crazed crowd in Glendale to move on to yet another College Football Playoff semifinal.

5 teams also in the mix for the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

1. Florida State
2. Kansas State
3. Clemson
4. Oklahoma State
5. NC State

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl History

Jan. 1, 2024 Oregon 45, Liberty 6
Dec. 31, 2022 TCU 51, Michigan 45
Jan. 1, 2022 Oklahoma State 37, Notre Dame 35
Jan. 2, 2021 Iowa State 34, Oregon 17
Dec. 28, 2019 CFP Clemson 29, Ohio State 23
Jan. 1, 2019 LSU 40, UCF 32
Dec. 30, 2017 Penn State 35, Washington 28
Dec. 31, 2016 CFP Clemson 31, Ohio State 0
Dec. 31, 2014 Boise State 38 Arizona 30
Jan. 3, 2013 Oregon 35 Kansas State 17
Jan. 2, 2012 Oklahoma State 41 Stanford 38 (OT)
Jan. 1, 2011 Oklahoma 48 Connecticut 20
Jan. 4, 2010 Boise State 17 TCU 10
Jan. 5, 2009 Texas 24 Ohio State 21
Jan. 2, 2008 West Virginia 48 Oklahoma 28
Jan. 1, 2007 Boise State 43 Oklahoma 42 (OT)
Jan. 2, 2006 Ohio State 34 Notre Dame 20
Jan. 1, 2005 Utah 35 Pittsburgh 7
Jan. 2, 2004 Ohio State 35 Kansas State 28
Jan. 3, 2003 Ohio State 31 Miami 24
Jan. 1, 2002 Oregon 38 Colorado 16
Jan. 1, 2001 Oregon State 41 Notre Dame 9
Jan. 2, 2000 Nebraska 31 Tennessee 21
Jan. 4, 1999 Tennessee 23 Florida State 16
Dec. 31, 1997 Kansas State 35 Syracuse 18
Jan. 1, 1997 Penn State 38 Texas 15
Jan. 2, 1996 Nebraska 62 Florida 24
Jan. 2, 1995 Colorado 41 Notre Dame 24
Jan. 1, 1994 Arizona 29 Miami 0
Jan. 1, 1993 Syracuse 26 Colorado 22
Jan. 1, 1992 Penn State 42 Tennessee 17
Jan. 1, 1991 Louisville 24 Alabama 7
Jan. 1, 1990 Florida State 41 Nebraska 17
Jan. 2, 1989 Notre Dame 34 West Virginia 21
Jan. 1, 1988 Florida State 31 Nebraska 28
Jan. 2, 1987 Penn State 14 Miami 10
Jan. 1, 1986 Michigan 27 Nebraska 23
Jan. 1, 1985 UCLA 39 Miami 37
Jan. 2, 1984 Ohio State 28 Pittsburgh 23
Jan. 1, 1983 Arizona State 32 Oklahoma 21
Jan. 1, 1982 Penn State 26 USC 10
Dec. 26, 1980 Penn State 31 Ohio State 19
Dec. 25, 1979 Pittsburgh 16 Arizona 10
Dec. 25, 1978 Arkansas 10 UCLA 10
Dec. 25, 1977 Penn State 42 Arizona State 30
Dec. 25, 1976 Oklahoma 41 Wyoming 7
Dec. 26, 1975 Arizona State 17 Nebraska 14
Dec. 28, 1974 Oklahoma State 16 BYU 6
Dec. 21, 1973 Arizona State 28 Pittsburgh 7
Dec. 23, 1972 Arizona State 49 Missouri 35
Dec. 27, 1971 Arizona State 45 Florida State 38