Sporting News will have bowl projections each week from now until the CFP Selection Show on Dec. 5.
Bowl season returns in 2021-22 with a schedule that includes 42 bowl games between FBS teams. This year's College Football Playoff championship game is Jan. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The semifinals are Dec. 31 at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
These projections are for how we think the rest of the regular season will play out.
For now, Alabama is out of the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide could work their way back, of course, but that would require winning out and beating Georgia in the SEC championship game. We project the Dawgs as the SEC champs.
In the Big Ten, we like Ohio State. Sure, Iowa is ranked No. 2 and unbeaten. But we believe the Buckeyes will win the Big Ten championship game in Indy and slide into the CFP again.
All of this, of course, benefits Cincinnati, which needs help to break into the field. The Alabama loss was a start.
MORE: Winners and losers from Week 6 | Week 7 picks against spread | Week 6's wonderous chaos
SN has projections for all 42 bowl games here, and they will be updated throughout the season:
College football bowl projections for Week 7
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 17 | Bahamas Bowl | Northern Illinois vs. FAU |
| Dec. 17 | Cure Bowl | Troy vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 18 | RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl | Fresno State vs. Liberty* |
| Dec. 18 | New Mexico Bowl | Nevada vs. UTEP |
| Dec. 18 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | BYU vs. UTSA |
| Dec. 18 | Lendingtree Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Coastal Carolina |
| Dec. 18 | Los Angeles Bowl | San Diego State vs. UCLA |
| Dec. 18 | R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Texas State vs. Charlotte |
| Dec. 20 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Appalachian State vs. UCF |
| Dec. 21 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Toledo vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 21 | Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 22 | Armed Forces Bowl | Army* vs. Marshall |
| Dec. 23 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Washington State vs. UAB |
| Dec. 24 | Hawai'i Bowl | Air Force vs. SMU |
| Dec. 25 | Camellia Bowl | Kent State vs. Louisiana |
| Dec. 27 | Quick Lane Bowl | Temple vs. Maryland |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | North Carolina vs. Utah* |
| Dec. 28 | TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl | Houston vs. Auburn |
| Dec. 28 | First Responder Bowl | TCU vs. Virginia |
| Dec. 28 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Kansas State vs. Mississippi State |
| Dec. 28 | Holiday Bowl | USC vs. Louisville |
| Dec. 28 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Georgia Tech* vs. Texas Tech |
| Dec. 29 | Fenway Bowl | East Carolina vs. Boston College |
| Dec. 29 | Pinstripe Bowl | Rutgers vs. N.C. State |
| Dec. 29 | Cheez-It Bowl | Iowa State vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 29 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Arizona State vs. Baylor |
| Dec. 30 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Nebraska vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Minnesota vs. Tennessee |
| Dec. 30 | SRS Las Vegas Bowl | Stanford vs. Wisconsin |
| Dec. 31 | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Florida vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 31 | Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Oregon State vs. Miami |
| Dec. 31 | Arizona Bowl | Ball State vs. Wyoming |
| Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | Michigan State vs. Kentucky |
| Jan. 1 | Vrbo Citrus Bowl | Penn State vs. Arkansas |
| Jan. 4 | Texas Bowl | Texas vs. Texas A&M |
*Denotes not tied to bowl game
College Football New Year's Six projections
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 30 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl | Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest |
| Jan. 1 | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | Ole Miss vs. Michigan |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game | Oregon vs. Iowa |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Alabama |
| Dec. 31 | Capital One Orange Bowl (semifinal) | Georgia vs. Cincinnati |
| Dec. 31 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (semifinal) | Oklahoma vs. Ohio State |
College Football Playoff championship projection
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 10 | College Football Playoff championship | Georgia vs. Ohio State |
