That will be the question. No. 2 Michigan replaces No. 5 Ohio State in our playoff picks after a 45-23 victory against the Buckeyes. Now, Ohio State must hope for a loss from either No. 3 TCU or No. 4 USC to get into the CFP.
No. 1 Georgia is a lock no matter what happens in the SEC championship game against No. 11 LSU. Playoff regulars Ohio State and No. 6 Alabama are the ones hoping for chaos on a championship weekend they will not participate in.
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For now, our CFP picks consist of the three unbeatens plus USC. We have Georgia and USC in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Michigan and TCU meeting in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. No. 7 Penn State and No. 9 Washington moved into our New Year’s Day Six projections.
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.
College football bowl projections for championship week
*Denotes accepted bowl bid
College football New Year’s Day Six picks
College Football Playoff championship pick
