It's Week 11, and there are 11 teams with a legitimate chance at the College Football Playoff.
That is the list of Power 5 teams with one loss or less, and there are some complications for each conference worth watching through conference championship weekend. Will one or two conferences be left out? A quick breakdown of each conference
ACC: Florida State (9-0) and Louisville (8-1) would be the best conference championship game. The Cardinals likely will not be forgiven for the 38-21 loss to Pitt if they beat the Seminoles.
Big 12: This one is simple. Texas (8-1) is the lone one-loss team standing, and they need to avoid spoilers through the Big 12 championship game. That head-to-head victory against Alabama is huge.
MORE: Week 11 slate features two Top 10 showdowns
Big Ten: Ohio State (9-0) and Michigan (9-0) could both get in the playoff again, but Penn State (8-1) could end that thought with a victory against the Wolverines on Saturday.
Pac-12: Washington (9-0) and Oregon (8-1) could be headed toward a Pac-12 championship rematch. Given the Huskies are on the outside looking in now, will a win here be enough?
SEC: Georgia (9-0) and Alabama (8-1) appear headed toward another SEC championship matchup. Is there room for both in the CFP again if the Crimson Tide win? Or will Ole Miss (8-1) spoil that party with an upset of the Bulldogs.
Our picks have not changed yet. We have Ohio State taking on Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl and Michigan and Florida State squaring off in the Rose Bowl.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Jan. 1, 2024. Those semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif., and the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Those locations were the sites of the first four-team playoff in 2014.
The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 9 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
SN has projections for every bowl game here, and they will be updated each week for the remainder of the season:
Week 11 college football bowl predictions
A look at Sporting News bowl projections heading into Week 10 of the 2023 college football season:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Dec. 16 | HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl | Northern Illinois vs. Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 16 | R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Liberty vs. Georgia State |
| Dec. 16 | Cure Bowl | FAU vs. Texas State |
| Dec. 16 | New Mexico Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 16 | LA Bowl | Arizona vs. Air Force |
| Dec. 16 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Houston vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 18 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | SMU vs. Georgia Southern |
| Dec. 19 | Frisco Bowl | Louisiana vs. South Florida |
| Dec. 21 | RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl | New Mexico State vs. Arkansas State |
| Dec. 22 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | BYU vs. Appalachian State |
| Dec. 23 | Birmingham Bowl | Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 23 | Camellia Bowl | Toledo vs. Troy |
| Dec. 23 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | West Virginia vs. UTSA |
| Dec. 23 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Wyoming |
| Dec. 23 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Ohio vs. Coastal Carolina |
| Dec. 23 | SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Nebraska vs. USC |
| Dec. 23 | Easypost Hawai'i Bowl | Rice vs. Fresno State |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Maryland vs. Miami, Ohio |
| Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | Iowa State vs. Northwestern |
| Dec. 26 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | UNLV vs. Wisconsin |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | Boston College vs. Navy |
| Dec. 27 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Auburn vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 27 | TaxAct Texas Bowl | Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M |
| Dec. 28 | Fenway Bowl | Duke vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 28 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech |
| Dec. 28 | San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl | Utah vs. Miami |
| Dec. 28 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Kansas vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 28 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Oregon State |
| Dec. 29 | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Florida vs. North Carolina |
| Dec. 29 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | UCLA vs. NC State |
| Dec. 29 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Kentucky vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Tennessee vs. Minnesota |
| Dec. 30 | Barstool Arizona Bowl | Bowling Green vs. Boise State |
| Jan. 1 | Reliaquest Bowl | LSU vs. Notre Dame |
| Jan. 1 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Missouri vs. Iowa |
New Year's Day Six predictions
A look at our New Year's Day Six predictions for Week 11:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Dec. 29 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Texas vs. Oregon |
| Dec. 30 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Alabama vs. Penn State |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Ole Miss vs. Louisville |
| Jan. 1 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | Tulane vs. Washington |
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Texas vs. Oregon
This is the same matchup as last week. The Longhorns side-stepped an upset bid from Kansas State with a 33-30 overtime win. The Ducks are barreling toward a rematch with Washington in the Pac-12 championship game. Former Nick Saban assistant Steve Sarkisian vs. former Kirby Smart assistant Dan Lanning. This matchup would be fun.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Alabama vs. Penn State
An all-time classic uniform matchup. Will the Crimson Tide be the highest-ranked one-loss team in the next CFP rankings? Saban continues to win, and seeing Jalen Milroe and Drew Allar against the tough defenses in this matchup would be intriguing. The Crimson Tide and Nittany Lions still have good shots at the CFP, too.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Louisville
The Rebels continue to win in the SEC West, and Lane Kiffin has this program on pace for a second New Year's Day Six appearance in three seasons. Louisville has been the most-surprising one-loss team in the FBS under first-year coach Jeff Brohm. Jawhar Jordan and Quinshon Judkins on the same field would be fun, too.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: Tulane vs. Washington
The Green Wave was the highest-ranked team in the initial CFP rankings, but Liberty would be a candidate to get to this bowl if the Flames stay unbeaten in Conference-USA. Michael Pratt ranks fifth in the FBS in passer efficiency (175.8). The Huskies remain unbeaten in Pac-12 play, and Michael Penix Jr. remains in the Heisman Trophy conversation.
MORE: Breaking down the Michael Penix-Caleb Williams shootout
College Football Playoff predictions
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game (National semifinal) | Michigan vs. Florida State |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (National semifinal) | Georgia vs. Ohio State |
Rose Bowl Game: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Florida State
The Wolverines are still facing scrutiny for a sign-stealing scandal, but they have outscored Michigan State and Purdue by a combined total of 90-13 the last two weeks. Florida State continues to cruise in the ACC. The Wolverines and Seminoles are both in the top five in the FBS in fewest turnovers. The quarterback matchup between J.J. McCarthy and Jordan Travis would be as advertised.
MORE: What to know about fired Michigan staffer Connor Stalions
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Ohio State
Wait, aren't the Buckeyes the No. 1 team in the latest rankings? True, but that also makes them a good bet to slip in the CFP even if they lose the regular-season finale against Michigan. The Wolverines do not have the same safety net. Georgia is inching toward the No. 1 ranking – and victories against Ole Miss and Tennessee the next two weeks would make that happen. This would be a fantastic rematch of last year's CFP semifinal.
College Football Playoff championship pick
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Jan. 9 | CFP championship game | Georgia vs. Michigan |
CFP championship game (Houston): Georgia vs. Michigan
Despite the CFP rankings, there is no reason to adjust this yet. Georgia and Michigan are two of the three teams in the FBS that rank in the top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense. Both teams have top-10 opponents in Week 11, and the Wolverines face Penn State, the other team with a top-10 scoring offense and defense.
