The College Football Playoff can make teams play a little tighter.
We saw that with a few unbeaten teams in Week 8. Washington needed a pick-six to take a fourth-quarter lead and hold off Arizona State 15-7. Oklahoma prevented UCF from converting a game-tying two-point conversion in a 31-29 Big 12 thriller.
The Huskies and Sooners survived, however, and it a toss up between those two teams for the final CFP spot in our Week 9 Bowl Projections. Which team has a better CFP path? Oklahoma has the easier path, but Washington has the better resume for now. Florida State is on pace for an unbeaten season and would get the No. 4 seed in that scenario.
MORE: Ranking all 133 CFB teams through Week 8
It is an interesting game as to which of the Power 5 conferences blinks first. There still remains a scenario where each conference could have an unbeaten team considering Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Florida State all remain unbeaten in addition to Washington and Oklahoma. The Big Ten remains the best bet to get two CFP teams given the Buckeyes and Wolverines could be headed toward another battle of unbeatens.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Jan. 1, 2024 Those semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif., and the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Those locations were the sites of the first four-team playoff in 2014.
The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 9 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
SN has projections for every bowl game here, and they will be updated each week for the remainder of the season:
Week 9 college football bowl predictions
A look at Sporting News bowl projections heading into Week 9 of the 2023 college football season:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Dec. 16 | HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee |
| Dec. 16 | R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State |
| Dec. 16 | Cure Bowl | Navy* vs. Texas State |
| Dec. 16 | New Mexico Bowl | New Mexico State vs. SMU |
| Dec. 16 | LA Bowl | Arizona vs. Fresno State |
| Dec. 16 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Baylor vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 18 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | South Florida vs. Georgia Southern |
| Dec. 19 | Frisco Bowl | Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA |
| Dec. 21 | RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl | Liberty vs. Troy |
| Dec. 22 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | BYU* vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 23 | Birmingham Bowl | Auburn vs. Georgia Tech |
| Dec. 23 | Camellia Bowl | Toledo vs. South Alabama |
| Dec. 23 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | West Virginia vs. Rice |
| Dec. 23 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 23 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Miami, Ohio vs. Marshall |
| Dec. 23 | SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Iowa vs. UCLA |
| Dec. 23 | Easypost Hawai'i Bowl | Tulane vs. UNLV |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Nebraska vs. Ohio |
| Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | Iowa State vs. Boston College |
| Dec. 26 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Wyoming vs. TCU |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | Wake Forest vs. FAU |
| Dec. 27 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Kentucky vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 27 | TaxAct Texas Bowl | Kansas vs. Mississippi State |
| Dec. 28 | Fenway Bowl | NC State vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 28 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Rutgers vs. Syracuse |
| Dec. 28 | San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl | Utah vs. Notre Dame |
| Dec. 28 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Texas vs. Miami |
| Dec. 28 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Oregon State |
| Dec. 29 | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Tennessee vs. Minnesota |
| Dec. 29 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | USC vs. North Carolina |
| Dec. 29 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Texas A&M vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Florida vs. Maryland |
| Dec. 30 | Barstool Arizona Bowl | Northern Illinois vs. Colorado State |
| Jan. 1 | Reliaquest Bowl | Ole Miss vs. Duke |
| Jan. 1 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Missouri vs. Wisconsin |
* - bowl does not have conference tie-in
New Year's Day Six predictions
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Dec. 29 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Oklahoma vs. Alabama |
| Dec. 30 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | LSU vs. Ohio State |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Penn State vs. Louisville |
| Jan. 1 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | Air Force vs. Oregon |
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Oklahoma vs. Alabama
This is the same spot for these schools as last week. The Sooners do not have a ranked team left on the schedule, but the road schedule against Kansas, Oklahoma State and BYU is more hazardous than it appears. The Crimson Tide continue to grind out close games in the SEC. Alabama are averaging 27.5 points per game and allowing 15.1 ppg through six straight victories.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: LSU vs. Ohio State
There is a strong argument to put the Buckeyes in the CFP as the second Big Ten team in the CFP, but they could just as easily win the conference outright. Marvin Harrison has 25 catches for 430 yards – an average of 17.2 yards per catch – in the Buckeyes' last three games. With the Quinn Ewers' injury, we slid LSU here in their place. Jayden Daniels and the high-powered Tigers' offense would be an excellent matchup for the Buckeyes.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Penn State vs. Louisville
Louisville still has Duke, Miami and Kentucky on the schedule, but there is a path to the ACC championship game for first-year coach Jeff Brohm. This also could be Notre Dame if the Irish finish 10-2. Penn State – which is coming off a disappointing 20-12 loss at Ohio State – might have to fend off another SEC at-large bid here.
BENDER: Penn State takes accountability after failure at Ohio St.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: Air Force vs. Oregon
The Falcons remain our pick to get the Group of 5 spot in the New Year's Day Six. Air Force leads the nation with 306 rushing yards per game and ranks fourth in scoring defense at 13.4 points per game. Oregon ranks sixth in rushing offense (225.4) and 11th in rushing defense (95.1). The difference in schemes would be fascinating.
College Football Playoff predictions
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game (National semifinal) | Michigan vs. Washington |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (National semifinal) | Georgia vs. Florida State |
Rose Bowl Game: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Washington
Will the Big Ten and NCAA investigation into sign-stealing allegations against Michigan affect this projection? For now, we're assuming that will not impact this season. The Huskies showed a little vulnerability against Arizona State – particularly against the blitz. Washington faces Stanford this week before a three-week wringer against USC, Utah and Oregon State. For now, however, the Huskies have earned this spot.
MORE: If Michigan cheated, what should be the punishment?
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Florida State
Georgia had a bye week, and this week's matchup against Florida is the first look at the offense without All-American tight end Brock Bowers. Florida State will need to avoid the upset bug against Pitt, but the Seminoles have a top-four resume that looks even better with the Week 1 victory against LSU.
College Football Playoff championship pick
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Jan. 9 | CFP championship game | Georgia vs. Michigan |
CFP championship game (Houston): Georgia vs. Michigan
This remains our choice, and the Bulldogs and Wolverines have created a little separation in the polls. These are the only two teams in the FBS that score 40–plus points and allow 14 points or less. Both teams will have a challenging November, but we still see this as the inevitable final matchup for now.