College football bowl projections for Week 6: Penn State, Oklahoma can bolster playoff case

Sporting News will have bowl projections each week from now until the CFP Selection Show on Dec. 5.

Bowl season returns in 2021-22 with a schedule that includes 42 bowl games between FBS teams. This year's College Football Playoff championship game is Jan. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The semifinals are Dec. 31 at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

These matchups are projections of how SN sees the regular season shaking out. This differs from our weekly College Football Playoff Picture, which is based on how the playoff field would look if bids were handed out after each week. SN's projected playoff bowl picks heading into Week 6 include two SEC teams in Alabama and Georgia. It’s a race for the other two spots, with Oklahoma and Penn State holding those spots for now. The Sooners and Nittany Lions can bolster those cases this week. Oklahoma faces rival Texas in the Red River Showdown, and the Nittany Lions have a top-five Big Ten showcase game at Iowa. 

Cincinnati, which beat Notre Dame 24-13 in Week 5, remains a strong contender out of the American Athletic Conference.

MORE: Winners and losers from Week 5 | Bearcats need to start rooting for Notre Dame

SN has projections for all 42 bowl games here, and they will be updated throughout the season:

College football bowl projections for Week 6 

*Denotes not tied to bowl game

College Football New Year's Six projections

College Football Playoff championship projection