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How would the SEC teams do in our place?
That's the question that's been asked during Bowl Season for years. In Sporting News Week 13 Bowl Projections, we have three SEC teams hit the road in the first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff. Georgia coach Kirby Smart might not like that. Consider his post-game interview with Laura Rutledge after the Bulldogs beat Tennessee 31-17 on Saturday.
"I would welcome anybody in the committee to come to this league and play in this environment," Smart said. "It's a tough place to play."
But how would Georgia – fresh off a 31-17 victory against Tennessee – fare at Penn State? What about Ole Miss at Indiana? Alabama at Notre Dame? Would the cold weather play a factor? Or would the SEC – which is poised to have four or five playoff teams – simply take the show on the road?
The second set of College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled Tuesday. Sporting News will have weekly bowl projections leading up to the unveiling of the first 12-team playoff field on Dec. 8.
The first round of the new CFP will have one game on Friday, Dec. 20, and three on Saturday, Dec. 21. The quarterfinals will be played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
The semifinals will be played at the Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 9) and Cotton Bowl Classic (Jan. 10). The CFP national championship is Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
Here are our bowl projections for Week 13.
MORE: Updated ACC tiebreakers | Big 12 tiebreakers | SEC tiebreakers
College football bowl predictions 2024
There are 35 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at our projections for those matchups:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 14 | Camellia Bowl | Buffalo vs. UL-Monroe |
| Dec. 17 | Boca Raton Bowl | James Madison vs. South Florida |
| Dec. 18 | Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl | Marshall vs. Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 18 | LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk | UNLV vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 19 | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State |
| Dec. 20 | Staffdna Cure Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Coastal Carolina |
| Dec. 20 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | UConn vs. Arkansas |
| Dec. 23 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Toledo vs. South Alabama |
| Dec. 23 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Miami, Ohio vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | Tulane vs. Colorado State |
| Dec. 26 | Detroit Bowl | Ohio vs. Rutgers |
| Dec. 26 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 26 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Georgia Southern vs. Western Michigan |
| Dec. 27 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Army vs. Cincinnati |
| Dec. 27 | Birmingham Bowl | Texas Tech vs. Florida |
| Dec. 27 | Autozone Liberty Bowl | Iowa State vs. Vanderbilt |
| Dec. 27 | SDS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Arizona State vs. Michigan |
| Dec. 27 | DirecTV Holiday Bowl | Georgia Tech vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 28 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | North Texas vs. Syracuse |
| Dec. 28 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | North Carolina vs. Wisconsin |
| Dec. 28 | Isleta New Mexico Bowl | Liberty vs. Arkansas State |
| Dec. 28 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Pitt vs. Baylor |
| Dec. 28 | Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice | Bowling Green vs. Fresno State |
| Dec. 28 | Go Bowling Military Bowl | Navy vs. Cal |
| Dec. 28 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Colorado vs. USC |
| Dec. 28 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Memphis vs. Oregon State |
| Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Duke vs. LSU |
| Dec. 31 | Reliaquest Bowl | Minnesota vs. Missouri |
| Dec. 31 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | Louisville vs. Washington |
| Dec. 31 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Illinois vs. Tennessee |
| Dec. 31 | Texas Bowl | TCU vs. Texas A&M |
| Jan. 2 | Taxslayer Gator Bowl | SMU vs. South Carolina |
| Jan. 3 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | East Carolina vs. Texas State |
| Jan. 3 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Clemson vs. Iowa |
| Jan. 4 | Bahamas Bowl | Northern Illinois vs. Sam Houston |
College Football Playoff first-round predictions
A look at the four College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the 2024-25 season. Those first-round games will be played on campus:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Notre Dame |
| Dec. 21 | First-Round CFP game | No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State |
| Dec. 21 | First-Round CFP game | No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 6 Penn State |
| Dec. 21 | First-Round CFP game | No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Indiana |
We harp on this every week, but these games might not be shootouts. Alabama-Notre Dame and Ole Miss-Indiana would be battles between teams that rank in the top-10 in the FBS in scoring defense. Georgia and Penn State have never played on campus, and the hope would be to have that game in prime time on Dec. 21 for the atmosphere alone. The Ohio State-Boise State matchup has been constant in our projections for the last three weeks. The Buckeyes allow 90.7 rushing yards per game – which ranks fourth in the FBS. How would Ashton Jeanty fare against Ohio State?
College Football Playoff quarterfinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups for the 2024-25 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 31 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 4 BYU vs. No. 5 Ohio State |
| Jan. 1 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 3 Miami vs. No. 11 Georgia |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal) | No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 9 Alabama |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 2 Texas vs. No. 10 Ole Miss |
We have all three SEC teams getting through in the first round, and we are least confident in Alabama at Notre Dame in that draw. Imagine the pandering if the SEC gets five teams in the quarterfinals. Miami and BYU would be on the spot here against playoff blue bloods, and Oregon would get their swing at the Crimson Tide in a fantastic quarterback matchup between Dillon Gabriel and Jalen Milroe. Those schools have never met. That is why we love this format.
College Football Playoff semifinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups for the 2024-25 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 9 | Capital One Orange Bowl (semifinal) | No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 5 Ohio State |
| Jan. 10 | Cotton Bowl Classic (semifinal) | No. 2 Texas vs. No. 11 Georgia |
Three SEC teams in the final four? Maybe Kirby Smart is right after all. Kalen DeBoer is in position to take Alabama on a deep playoff run, and a Texas-Georgia rematch would be a huge draw at the Cotton Bowl Classic. Ohio State remains the easiest pick out of the Big Ten in this format, and a matchup with Alabama would be fitting considering that was a semifinal in the first College Football Playoff in 2014.
College Football Playoff championship pick
A look at the College Football Playoff championship matchup for the 2024-25 season. That game is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 20 | CFP National championship | No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Georgia |
Hey, this was our preseason projection. Georgia – which likely will not make the SEC championship game – beats Texas in the rematch. Ohio State – which will use that No. 5 seed path to its advantage – will use their defense to make a championship run. The last time these teams met in Atlanta it was a 42-41 instant classic.
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