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Preseason Bowl Projections: Louisville and Kansas State Lead the Way

The 2017 college football season is around the corner. Even though the 28th Camping World Bowl is a full season away, it’s never too early to start predicting which ACC and Big 12 teams might be headed to Orlando. Here’s a round-up of preseason projections from around the college football media world.

Mark Schlabach (ESPN): TCU vs. Louisville
Eric Single (Sports Illustrated): West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Jerry Palm (CBSSports.com): Texas vs. Louisville
Bill Bender (Sporting News): Oklahoma State vs. Louisville
Jason Kirk (SB Nation): Kansas State vs. Louisville
David Kenyon (Bleacher Report): Kansas State vs. Louisville
Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel): Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech
Steve Lassan (Athlon Sports): Oklahoma State vs. Notre Dame
Matt Brown (Sports on Earth): Kansas State vs. Louisville
CollegeFootballNews.com: TCU vs. Miami
Erick Smith (USA Today): Kansas State vs. Virginia Tech

  • 55% (6 of 11) of the media projections have Louisville returning to Orlando for a second consecutive bowl season after playing in the Citrus Bowl last season.
    • The Cardinals have made one prior appearance in the Camping World Bowl as a member of the American Athletic Conference, defeating Miami 36-9 in 2013. Current Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater led the Cardinals and was named Bowl MVP.
  • Kansas State is the media’s most popular Big 12 pick. An appearance would not only be their first Camping World Bowl, but also their first bowl in the state of Florida.
    • Three of the four projections featuring the Wildcats had them squaring off against Louisville. Kansas State and Louisville have only met twice before, in 2006 and 2008, with the Cardinals leaving victorious both times.
  • Oklahoma State was the second-most-popular selection from the Big 12It would mark the Cowboys first appearance in the Camping World Bowl. The Cowboys did play in the 1976 Citrus Bowl (then-Tangerine Bowl) in Orlando, defeating BYU, 49-21.
  • TCU was matched against Louisville and Miami in a pair of projections. The Horned Frogs hold a 3-1 advantage over the Cardinals in their all-time series, but are 3-6 all-time against the Hurricanes. TCU has never played in the Camping World Bowl.
  • 2012 bowl champion Virginia Tech also found itself in a pair of projections, squaring off against the two popular Big 12 picks, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. The Hokies haven’t played the Cowboys (1972) or the Wildcats (1968) in almost a half-century and both series are knotted at 1-1.
  • Past bowl participants Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame and West Virginia each appeared in one bowl projection.
    • 2016 bowl champion Miami leads the way with three prior Camping World Bowl appearances, picking up their first victory last season.
    • West Virginia has played in the game three previous times but are still looking for their first victory.
    • North Carolina has appeared in the game twice before while Notre Dame has only participated in the bowl once.