Week 13 of the college football season is here, and the first set of College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled Tuesday.
Sporting News will release bowl projections every week leading up to the final pairings on Dec. 20. Our playoff picks remain the same for another week, and two programs are moving up in the rankings.
Northwestern (4-0) moved up to No. 11 in the AP Poll after beating Wisconsin 17-7. USC (3-0) is No. 20 in the latest poll. Those teams are matched up in the Fiesta Bowl for now.
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 13:
Week 13 bowl projections
| DATE | BOWL | TEAMS |
| Dec. 19 | Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl | UTSA vs. Nevada |
| Dec. 21 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Memphis vs. Appalachian State |
| Dec. 22 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Buffalo vs. San Diego State |
| Dec. 22 | Boca Raton Bowl | UCF vs. FAU |
| Dec. 23 | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Marshall vs. Coastal Carolina |
| Dec. 23 | Montgomery Bowl* | Toledo vs. Fresno State |
| Dec. 24 | New Mexico Bowl | Houston vs. Hawaii |
| Dec. 25 | Camellia Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Troy |
| Dec. 26 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | BYU vs. Tulane |
| Dec. 26 | Cure Bowl | Louisiana vs. Western Michigan |
| 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. Maryland |
| Dec. 28 | Military Bowl Presented by Perspecta | SMU vs. Virginia |
| Dec. 29 | New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Iowa vs. Boston College |
| Dec. 29 | Cheez-It Bowl | Kansas State vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 29 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Iowa State vs. Washington |
| Dec. 30 | Duke’s Mayo Bowl | Purdue vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 30 | TransPerfect Music City Bowl | Ole Miss vs. Michigan |
| Dec. 30 | LA Bowl | Colorado vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 31 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Navy vs. Louisiana Tech |
| Dec. 31 | Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Utah vs. N.C. State |
| Dec. 31 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Kentucky |
| Dec. 31 | Arizona Bowl | Kent State vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 31 | Texas Bowl | Texas vs. Missouri |
| Jan. 1 | TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl | Tulsa vs. North Texas |
| Jan. 1 | Vrbo Citrus Bowl | Auburn vs. Indiana |
| Jan. 2 | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | LSU vs. North Carolina |
| Jan. 2 | Outback Bowl | Georgia vs. Wisconsin |
Week 13 New Year's Day 6 projections
| Date | Bowl | Matchup |
| Dec. 30 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M |
| Jan. 1 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Cincinnati vs. Miami |
| Jan. 2 | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | USC vs. Northwestern |
| Jan. 2 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Florida vs. Clemson |
Week 13 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 |
