College football bowl projections for championship week: Michigan, Notre Dame move in CFP

Bill Bender

College football bowl projections for championship week: Michigan, Notre Dame move in CFP image

Conference championship weekend is here.

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled on Sunday, and there are several intriguing scenarios for the final week. Georgia appears to be the only sure bet heading into the SEC championship game, and we still have the Bulldogs beating Alabama on Saturday.

MORE: College football coaching carousel: Every FBS coaching change in 2021

Michigan also moves into our projection after finally beating Ohio State. The Wolverines can clinch their first playoff berth with a win against Iowa on Saturday.

Cincinnati will be the first Group of 5 team to make the playoff if it beats Houston in the American Athletic Conference championship game. (We think that's the case, anyway). That leaves a fourth spot and a debate among Notre Dame, Oklahoma State if it wins the Big 12 championship game and a potential two-loss Alabama team. We think the Irish win that debate by a small margin.

With that, here are our championship week bowl projections. SN has projections for all 42 bowl games here, and they will be updated throughout the season:

MORE: College football picks, predictions against the spread for every conference championship game

College football bowl projections for championship week

DateBowlMatchup
Dec. 17Bahamas BowlMiami (Ohio) vs. UTEP
Dec. 17Cure BowlBall State vs. East Carolina
Dec. 18RoofClaim.com Boca Raton BowlEastern Michigan vs. Liberty*
Dec. 18New Mexico BowlAir Force vs. Old Dominion
Dec. 18Radiance Technologies Independence BowlBYU vs. UTSA
Dec. 18Lendingtree BowlKent State vs. Georgia State
Dec. 18Los Angeles BowlSan Diego State vs. Washington State
Dec. 18R&L Carriers New Orleans BowlLouisiana vs. UAB
Dec. 20Myrtle Beach BowlCoastal Carolina vs. Tulsa
Dec. 21Famous Idaho Potato BowlWestern Michigan vs. Boise State
Dec. 21Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco BowlToledo vs. North Texas
Dec. 22Armed Forces BowlArmy* vs. Western Kentucky
Dec. 23Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla BowlFlorida* vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 24Hawai'i BowlUtah State vs. Memphis**
Dec. 25Camellia BowlNorthern Illinois vs. App State
Dec. 27Quick Lane BowlUCF vs. Marshall*
Dec. 27Military BowlFresno State* vs. Missouri*
Dec. 28TicketSmarter Birmingham BowlHouston vs. Mississippi State
Dec. 28First Responder BowlFAU vs. Virginia Tech*
Dec. 28AutoZone Liberty BowlKansas State vs. Auburn
Dec. 28Holiday BowlArizona State vs. Miami
Dec. 28Guaranteed Rate BowlLouisville vs. LSU*
Dec. 29Fenway BowlSMU vs. Virginia
Dec. 29Pinstripe BowlMaryland vs. Boston College
Dec. 29Cheez-It BowlWest Virginia vs. North Carolina
Dec. 29Valero Alamo BowlOregon vs. Oklahoma
Dec. 30Duke's Mayo BowlMinnesota vs. Clemson
Dec. 30Transperfect Music City BowlPenn State vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 30SRS Las Vegas BowlOregon State vs. Purdue
Dec. 31TaxSlayer Gator BowlSouth Carolina vs. Wake Forest
Dec. 31Tony the Tiger Sun BowlUCLA vs. N.C. State
Dec. 31Arizona BowlCentral Michigan vs. Nevada
Jan. 1Outback BowlWisconsin vs. Tennessee
Jan. 1Vrbo Citrus BowlIowa vs. Kentucky
Jan. 4Texas BowlIowa State vs. Arkansas
*Denotes not tied to bowl game

MORE: College football polls: Updated AP Top 25, Coaches Poll rankings after Week 13

College Football New Year's Day 6 projections

DateBowlMatchup
Dec. 30Chick-Fil-A Peach BowlOle Miss vs. Pitt
Jan. 1PlayStation Fiesta BowlBaylor vs. Michigan State
Jan. 1Rose Bowl GameUtah vs. Ohio State
Jan. 1Allstate Sugar BowlOklahoma State vs. Alabama
Dec. 31Capital One Orange Bowl (semifinal)Notre Dame vs. Georgia
Dec. 31Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (semifinal)Cincinnati vs. Michigan

College Football Playoff championship projection

DateBowlMatchup
Jan. 10College Football Playoff championshipGeorgia vs. Michigan

Bill Bender

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.