What would it take for No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Tennessee to make the College Football Playoff?
Not as much as it seems. Sporting News left the Bulldogs and Volunteers in the CFP in our Week 9 bowl projections knowing that the two schools meet Nov. 5. A two-SEC-team playoff scenario isn’t all that far-fetched, even if No. 5 Clemson does not lose.
It would require a loss for No. 7 TCU and the Pac-12 to cannibalize itself out of the playoff with a series of two-loss teams. The committee also would have to leave out the loser of the other huge divisional game that is coming in November between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan. This scenario also has the Bulldogs-Vols winner beating No. 7 Alabama in the SEC championship game. All of that is possible, and that is why for now we have Georgia and Tennessee in the CFP for now.
MORE: What a 12-team College Football Playoff field would look like after Week 8
In our latest bowl projections, UCLA dropped out and USC moved back in.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Dec. 31 this season. Those semifinals will be played at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Week 8 College Football Bowl Projections
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 16 | Bahamas Bowl | North Texas vs. Bowling Green |
| Dec. 16 | Cure Bowl | Georgia Southern vs. UTEP |
| Dec. 17 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Houston vs. Miami, Fla. |
| Dec. 17 | New Mexico Bowl | BYU vs. Air Force |
| Dec. 17 | Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl | Fresno State vs. Tulsa |
| Dec. 17 | Lending Tree Bowl | Buffalo vs. South Alabama |
| Dec. 17 | Las Vegas Bowl | Washington State vs. Arkansas |
| Dec. 17 | Frisco Bowl | MTSU vs. UCF |
| Dec. 19 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | UAB vs. Appalachian State |
| Dec. 20 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Ball State vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 20 | Boca Raton Bowl | East Carolina vs. Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 21 | New Orleans Bowl | UTSA vs. Louisiana |
| Dec. 22 | Armed Forces Bowl | Baylor vs. Liberty |
| Dec. 23 | Independence Bowl | UNLV* vs. Army |
| Dec. 23 | Gasparilla Bowl | Troy vs Wyoming |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | Rice vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Michigan State |
| Dec. 27 | Camellia Bowl | Toledo vs. Coastal Carolina |
| Dec. 27 | First Responder Bowl | Kansas vs. Washington |
| Dec. 27 | Birmingham Bowl | Tulane vs. Texas A&M |
| Dec. 27 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Texas Tech vs. Iowa |
| Dec. 28 | Military Bowl | Pitt vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 28 | Liberty Bowl | Texas vs. Florida |
| Dec. 28 | Holiday Bowl | Utah vs. Florida State |
| Dec. 28 | Texas Bowl | Oklahoma vs. South Carolina |
| Dec. 29 | Pinstripe Bowl | Purdue vs. NC State |
| Dec. 29 | Cheez-It Bowl | Kansas State vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 29 | Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. UCLA |
| Dec. 30 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Minnesota vs. Notre Dame |
| Dec. 30 | Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Oregon State vs. Duke |
| Dec. 30 | Gator Bowl | North Carolina vs. Mississippi State |
| Dec. 30 | Arizona Bowl | Ohio vs. San Diego State |
| Dec. 31 | Music City Bowl | Wisconsin vs. Ole Miss |
| Jan. 2 | ReliaQuest Bowl | Maryland vs. LSU |
| Jan. 2 | Citrus Bowl | Illinois vs. Kentucky |
College football New Year's Day Six picks
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Syracuse vs. Penn State |
| Dec. 31 | Allstate Sugar Bowl | TCU vs. Alabama |
| Jan. 2 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | Cincinnati vs. USC |
| Jan. 2 | Rose Bowl Game | Michigan vs. Oregon |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) | Georgia vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 31 | Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | Ohio State vs. Tennessee |
College Football Playoff championship pick
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 11 | CFP championship game | Ohio State vs. Georgia |
