Is there room in the New Year's Day Six for USC and UCLA?
The Trojans and Bruins – at least for now – are representing the Pac-12 in those bowl games in Sporting News' Week 7 bowl projections.
No. 7 USC (6-0) averages 40.2 points per game under first-year coach Lincoln Riley, and quarterback Caleb Williams is among the Heisman frontrunners. The Trojans have stayed outside the fringe of the top four of the College Football Playoff conversation, but that could change with a victory at No. 20 Utah.
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No. 11 UCLA (6-0) accomplished that feat last week in a 42-32 victory against the Utes. The Bruins average 41.5 points per game. Chip Kelly's offense is back, and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is getting into the Heisman conversation. A bye week precedes a Week 8 matchup at No. 12 Oregon.
Right now we have USC in the Rose Bowl against No. 5 Michigan and UCLA in the Cotton Bowl against Coastal Carolina. That is good news for the Pac-12, at least until the Trojans and Bruins head to the Big Ten.
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The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Dec. 31 this season. Those semifinals will be played at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Week 7 College Football Bowl Projections
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 16 | Bahamas Bowl | North Texas vs. Miami, Ohio |
| Dec. 16 | Cure Bowl | Marshall vs. Kent State |
| Dec. 17 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Cincinnati vs. South Carolina* |
| Dec. 17 | New Mexico Bowl | BYU vs. Air Force |
| Dec. 17 | Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl | UNLV vs. Washington |
| Dec. 17 | Lending Tree Bowl | Toledo vs. South Alabama |
| Dec. 17 | Las Vegas Bowl | Arizona vs. Arkansas |
| Dec. 17 | Frisco Bowl | MTSU vs. East Carolina |
| Dec. 19 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | UAB vs. Appalachian State |
| Dec. 20 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Buffalo vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 20 | Boca Raton Bowl | Houston vs. Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 21 | New Orleans Bowl | UTSA vs. Troy |
| Dec. 22 | Armed Forces Bowl | Texas Tech vs. Liberty |
| Dec. 23 | Independence Bowl | Georgia Tech* vs. UCF |
| Dec. 23 | Gasparilla Bowl | Navy vs. Wyoming |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | Rice vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Nebraska |
| Dec. 27 | Camellia Bowl | Ohio vs. Old Dominion |
| Dec. 27 | First Responder Bowl | Oklahoma vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 27 | Birmingham Bowl | Tulane vs. Miami, Fla. |
| Dec. 27 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Kansas vs. Wisconsin |
| Dec. 28 | Military Bowl | Duke vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 28 | Liberty Bowl | Kansas State vs. Texas A&M |
| Dec. 28 | Holiday Bowl | Oregon vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 28 | Texas Bowl | Texas vs. Florida |
| Dec. 29 | Pinstripe Bowl | Maryland vs. Syracuse |
| Dec. 29 | Cheez-It Bowl | Baylor vs. Florida State |
| Dec. 29 | Alamo Bowl | TCU vs. Utah |
| Dec. 30 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Iowa vs. Notre Dame |
| Dec. 30 | Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Oregon State vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 30 | Gator Bowl | North Carolina vs. Kentucky |
| Dec. 30 | Arizona Bowl | Ball State vs. San Diego State |
| Dec. 31 | Music City Bowl | Minnesota vs. LSU |
| Jan. 2 | ReliaQuest Bowl | Purdue vs. Mississippi State |
| Jan. 2 | Citrus Bowl | Illinois vs. Ole Miss |
College football New Year's Day Six picks
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | NC State vs. Penn State |
| Dec. 31 | Allstate Sugar Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee |
| Jan. 2 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | Coastal Carolina vs. UCLA |
| Jan. 2 | Rose Bowl Game | Michigan vs. USC |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) | Georgia vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 31 | Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | Alabama vs. Ohio State |
College Football Playoff championship pick
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 11 | CFP championship game | Georgia vs. Ohio State |