College football bowl projections for Week 11: Clemson out of Playoff for now

Bill Bender

College football bowl projections for Week 11: Clemson out of Playoff for now image

There are two weeks left until the first set of College Football Playoff rankings are unveiled, but the four-team picture is starting to come into focus.

Notre Dame jumps into our College Football Playoff after a thrilling 47-40 double-overtime victory against Clemson on Saturday. The Tigers are squeezed out for the time being, but a potential rematch in the ACC championship with Trevor Lawrence still looms. Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon remain in our four-team Playoff.

Florida replaced Georgia in our New Year’s Day Six after beating the Bulldogs 44-28.

MORE: College Football Playoff Picture

This season's semifinals are Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl. The Playoff championship game will be Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

With that in mind, here are Sporting News' picks for the College Football Playoff and New Year's Day Six heading into Week 11:

Week 11 Bowl projections 

DATE BOWL TEAMS
Dec. 19 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl UTSA vs. Nevada
Dec. 21 Myrtle Beach Bowl UCF vs. Appalachian State
Dec. 22 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Buffalo vs. San Diego State
Dec. 22 Boca Raton Bowl Memphis vs. FAU
Dec. 23 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Tech vs. Coastal Carolina
Dec. 23 Montgomery Bowl* Toledo vs. Iowa
Dec. 24 New Mexico Bowl Hawaii vs. Washington State
Dec. 25 Camellia Bowl Central Michigan vs. Troy
Dec. 26 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl BYU vs. Tulane
Dec. 26 Cure Bowl Louisiana vs. Miami, Ohio
Dec. 26 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl TCU vs. Liberty
Dec. 26 LendingTree Bowl UAB vs. Georgia Southern
Dec. 26 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Army vs. Arizona State
Dec. 26 Guaranteed Rate Bowl West Virginia vs. Penn State
Dec. 28 Military Bowl Presented by Perspecta Navy vs. Boston College
Dec. 29 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Michigan vs. Virginia Tech
Dec. 29 Cheez-It Bowl Texas vs. Wake Forest
Dec. 29 Valero Alamo Bowl Iowa State vs. Washington
Dec. 30 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Maryland vs. Pitt
Dec. 30 TransPerfect Music City Bowl Kentucky vs. Purdue
Dec. 30 LA Bowl Cal vs. Boise State
Dec. 31 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl SMU vs. Marshall
Dec. 31 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Utah vs. N.C. State
Dec. 31 AutoZone Liberty Bowl Oklahoma vs. Missouri
Dec. 31 Arizona Bowl Kent State vs. San Jose State
Dec. 31 Texas Bowl Kansas State vs. LSU
Jan. 1 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Tulsa vs. Tennessee
Jan. 1 Vrbo Citrus Bowl Georgia vs. Indiana
Jan. 2 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Arkansas vs. North Carolina
Jan. 2 Outback Bowl Auburn vs. Northwestern

Week 11 New Year's Day Six projections

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Dec. 30 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Jan. 1 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Cincinnati vs. Miami (Fla.)
Jan. 2 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl USC vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 2 Capital One Orange Bowl Florida vs. Clemson 

Week 11 College Football Playoff projections 

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Jan. 1 Rose Bowl Game (semifinal) Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
Jan. 1 Allstate Sugar Bowl (semifinal) Alabama vs. Oregon
Jan. 11 CFP Championship Game Ohio State vs. Alabama

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.