College Football Playoff and bowl projections after Week 6

As we hit the halfway point of the season, here are our first College Football Playoff and bowl projections of 2021.

There’s still an enormous amount of jockeying that will ensue, but for this week at least, we have — in projected order of CFP ranking — Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Cincinnati as the four teams in the Playoff field.

The rationale: Georgia and Oklahoma as unbeaten SEC and Big 12 champs, respectively (truthfully, the confidence level of OU finishing unbeaten is hovering around 50 percent); Ohio State as the one-loss Big Ten champ; and Cincinnati as the unbeaten AAC champ (and the first Group of 5 representative to make the field). Yes, Cincinnati is ranked higher than the Buckeyes now, but Ohio State has numerous “big” games left (Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and, presumably, Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game) and the Bearcats have just one more ranked team on their schedule (SMU, which they could play twice).

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday, November 2.

This week’s participants in the four other New Year’s Six bowls: Alabama, Arizona State (Pac-12 champ), Iowa, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, NC State (ACC champ), Notre Dame and Penn State. Iowa’s win over Penn State this past Saturday has us thinking Iowa will be the Big Ten rep in the Rose Bowl.

On to the projections.

College Football Playoff projections

DECEMBER 30

ORANGE BOWL
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
TV/time: ESPN, time TBA
Matchup: CFP semifinal
Projection: Cincinnati vs. Georgia

COTTON BOWL
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV/time: ESPN, time TBA
Matchup: CFP semifinal
Projection: Ohio State vs. Oklahoma

JANUARY 10

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV/time: ESPN, 8 p.m.
Matchup: CFP semifinal winners

The rest of the bowls

DECEMBER 17

BAHAMAS BOWL
Thomas Robinson Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
TV/time: ESPN, noon
Conference matchup: Conference USA vs. MAC
Projection: FAU vs. Ball State

CURE BOWL
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
TV/time: ESPN2, 6 p.m.
Conference matchup: Group of 5 vs. Group of 5
Projection: Charlotte vs. Eastern Michigan

DECEMBER 18

BOCA RATON BOWL
FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Fla.
TV/time: ESPN, 11 am
Conference matchup: Group of 5 vs. Group of 5
Projection: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois

NEW MEXICO BOWL
Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque
TV/time: ESPN, 2:15 p.m.
Conference matchup: Conference USA vs. Mountain West
Projection: UTEP vs. Air Force

LendingTree BOWL
Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.
TV/time: ABC, 3:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Projection: Buffalo vs. South Alabama

INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.
TV/time: ESPN, 5:45 p.m.
Conference matchup: BYU vs. C-USA
Projection: BYU vs. UTSA
(NOTE: BYU is eligible for a New Year’s Six bowl as an at-large selection; it isn’t eligible for the Group of 5 slot. BYU .)

L.A. BOWL
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
TV/time: ABC, 7:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: Mountain West vs. Pac-12
Projection: Nevada vs. USC

NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Superdome, New Orleans
TV/time: ESPN, 9:15 p.m.
Conference matchup: C-USA vs. Sun Belt
Projection: UAB vs. Louisiana

DECEMBER 20

MYRTLE BEACH BOWL
Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.
TV/time: ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: AAC or MAC vs. Sun Belt
Projection: East Carolina vs. Troy

DECEMBER 21

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
TV/time: ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Kent State at Boise State

FRISCO BOWL
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
TV/time: ESPN, 7:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: Group of 5 vs. Group of 5
Projection: Coastal Carolina vs. San Diego State

DECEMBER 22

ARMED FORCES BOWL
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
TV/time: ESPN, 7:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: Group of 5 vs. C-USA or Army
Projection: Utah State vs. Army

DECEMBER 23

GASPARILLA BOWL
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV/time: ESPN, 7 p.m.
Conference matchup: AAC or ACC or SEC or open
Projection: Liberty vs. Louisiana Tech

DECEMBER 24

HAWAII BOWL
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu
TV/time: ESPN, 8 p.m.
Conference matchup: AAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Memphis vs. Wyoming

DECEMBER 25

CAMELLIA BOWL
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.
TV/time: ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: MAC vs. C-USA or Sun Belt
Projection: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

DECEMBER 27

QUICK LANE BOWL
Ford Field, Detroit
TV/time: ESPN, 11 a.m.
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. MAC
Projection: Minnesota vs. Toledo

MILITARY BOWL
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.
TV/time: ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: AAC vs. ACC
Projection: Houston vs. Virginia Tech

DECEMBER 28

BIRMINGHAM BOWL
Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Ala.
TV/time: ESPN, noon
Conference matchup: AAC vs. ACC or SEC
Projection: UCF vs. Mississippi State

FIRST RESPONDER BOWL
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas
TV/time: ESPN, 3:15 p.m.
Conference matchup: AAC or ACC or Big 12 or Pac-12
Projection: Texas Tech vs. Tulsa

LIBERTY BOWL
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis
TV/time: ESPN, 6:45 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: Baylor vs. Ole Miss

HOLIDAY BOWL
Petco Park, San Diego
TV/time: Fox, 8 p.m.
Conference matchup: ACC vs. Pac-12
Projection: Virginia vs. Oregon State

GUARANTEED RATE BOWL
Chase Field, Phoenix
TV/time: ESPN, 10:15 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. Big 12
Projection: Rutgers vs. Kansas State

DECEMBER 29

FENWAY BOWL
Fenway Park, Boston
TV/time: ESPN, 11 a.m.
Conference matchup: AAC vs. ACC
Projection: SMU vs. North Carolina

PINSTRIPE BOWL
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
TV/time: ESPN, 2:15 p.m.
Conference matchup: ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection: Pitt vs. Maryland

CHEEZ-IT BOWL
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
TV/time: ESPN, 5:45 p.m.
Conference matchup: ACC vs. Big 12
Projection: Clemson vs. Iowa State

ALAMO BOWL
Alamodome, San Antonio
TV/time: ESPN, 9:15 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Projection: Texas vs. Oregon

DECEMBER 30

DUKE’S MAYO BOWL
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
TV/time: ESPN, 11:30 a.m.
Conference matchup: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M

MUSIC CITY BOWL
Nissan Stadium, Nashville
TV/time: ESPN, 3 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Purdue vs. Tennessee

PEACH BOWL
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
TV/time: ESPN, 7 p.m.
Conference matchup: New Year’s Six at-large teams
Projection: NC State vs. Penn State

LAS VEGAS BOWL
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
TV/time: ESPN, 10:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Projection: Nebraska vs. Utah

DECEMBER 31

GATOR BOWL
TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville
TV/time: ESPN, 11 a.m.
Conference matchup: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Louisville vs. Auburn

SUN BOWL
Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
TV/time: CBS, 12:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: ACC vs. Pac-12
Projection: Boston College vs. Stanford

ARIZONA BOWL
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.
TV/time: TBA, 4:30 p.m.
Conference matchup: MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Western Michigan vs. Fresno State

JANUARY 1

OUTBACK BOWL
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV/time: ESPN2, Noon
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Wisconsin vs. Florida

CITRUS BOWL
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
TV/time: ESPN2, 1 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Michigan vs. Kentucky

FIESTA BOWL
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
TV/time: ESPN, 1 p.m.
Conference matchup: New Year’s Six at-large teams
Projection: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

ROSE BOWL
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
TV/time: ESPN, 5 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Projection: Iowa vs. Arizona State

SUGAR BOWL
Superdome, New Orleans
TV/time: ESPN, 8:45 p.m.
Conference matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama

JANUARY 4

TEXAS BOWL
NRG Stadium, Houston
TV/time: ESPN, time TBA
Conference matchup: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: TCU vs. Arkansas