Sporting News' Week 8 bowl projections are here, and there are a few newcomers in the New Year's Day 6.
Baylor and North Carolina are in. Texas and Virginia are out (for now). The undefeated Bears join the New Year's Day 6 after another victory against Texas Tech, and right now the Tar Heels are our best guess to win the ACC Coastal and slip into the Orange Bowl. Our playoff picks of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma remain intact.
MORE: Week 8 Playoff picture
The 2019 college postseason schedule features 40 bowl games between FBS teams, with the finale at the national title game on Jan. 13 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This year's semifinal games will be on Dec. 28. The first College Football Playoff Rankings will be released on Nov. 5.
Sporting News has projections for all 40 bowl games here, and they will be updated each week during the college football season. Our projections heading into Week 8 of the college football season:
Week 8 college football bowl projections
| Date | Bowl | Matchup |
| Dec. 20 | Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl | Toledo vs. Southern Miss |
| Dec. 20 | DXL Frisco Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Cincinnati |
| Dec. 21 | Gildan New Mexico Bowl | Louisiana Tech vs. Nevada |
| Dec. 21 | AutoNation Cure Bowl | Georgia State vs. UCF |
| Dec. 21 | Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl | FAU vs. Temple |
| Dec. 21 | Raycom Media Camellia Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Troy |
| Dec. 21 | Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl | San Diego State vs. USC |
| Dec. 21 | R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Western Kentucky vs. Appalachian State |
| Dec. 23 | Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl | UAB vs. Tulane |
| Dec. 24 | SoFi Hawai'i Bowl | BYU vs. Hawaii |
| Dec. 26 | Walk-On's Independence Bowl | Cal* vs. Miami |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Indiana vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman | Army* vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 27 | New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Michigan State vs. Louisville |
| Dec. 27 | Academy Sports and Outdoors Texas Bowl | West Virginia vs. Mississippi State |
| Dec. 27 | SDCU Holiday Bowl | Arizona vs. Iowa |
| Dec. 27 | Cheez-It Bowl | Washington State vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 28 | Camping World Bowl | Iowa State vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 30 | SERVPRO First Responders Bowl | TCU vs. Duke* |
| Dec. 30 | Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | Stanford* vs. Virginia |
| Dec. 30 | Redbox Bowl | Arizona State vs. Nebraska |
| Dec. 31 | Belk Bowl | Ole Miss vs. Florida State |
| Dec. 31 | Hyundai Sun Bowl | Washington vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 31 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. South Carolina |
| Dec. 31 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Utah vs. Texas |
| Dec. 31 | NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl | Louisiana vs. Air Force |
| Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | Auburn vs. Minnesota |
| Jan. 1 | Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl | Florida vs. Penn State |
| Jan. 2 | Birmingham Bowl | SMU vs. Liberty* |
| Jan. 2 | TaxSlayer Bowl | Texas A&M vs. Michigan |
| Jan. 3 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Miami (Ohio) vs. Utah State |
| Jan. 4 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Texas Tech vs. Navy |
| Jan. 6 | Mobile Alabama Bowl | Kent State vs. UL-Monroe |
MORE: LSU surging, Big Ten reckonings
College Football Playoff/New Year’s Day Six projections
| Dec. 28 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | Notre Dame vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | North Carolina vs. LSU |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Oregon vs. Wisconsin |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl | Georgia vs. Baylor |
| Dec. 28 | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | Clemson vs. Ohio State |
| Dec. 28 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) | Alabama vs. Oklahoma |
College Football Playoff championship projection
| Jan. 13 | College Football Playoff championship | Clemson vs. Alabama |