College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections After Week 6: UCLA, Wake Forest Into Bracket

A number of shocking losses impacted the postseason picture, and the playoff has a dramatically new feel.

Wake Forest running back Deuce Lawrence (22) celebrates a touchdown with offensive lineman Tolu Olajide against NC State. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Conference races and College Football Playoff bids were turned on their head in Week 6 as a number of big-name programs who had designs on doing damage in the postseason took some downright shocking losses. That impacted the projected bracket significantly (prepare yourselves for Iowa and UCLA and … uh, Wake Forest as CFP teams) and had a similar cascading effect across the rest of the bowl system.  

That’s reflected in the Sports Illustrated latest bowl projections going into Week 7, which sees some fascinating CFP games (the Steve Sarkisian Bowl in the first round among them), some fun Group of 6 matchups like the New Orleans Bowl and Potato Bowl, plus plenty of intriguing games heading into late December like the Sun Bowl, Citrus Bowl and Gator Bowl.

PREVIOUS: Projections After Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

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College Football Playoff Projected Rankings After Week 6

1. Georgia 
2. Ohio State
3. Notre Dame
4. Miami
5. Alabama
6. Indiana
7. Texas
8. UCLA
9. Iowa
10. BYU
11. Wake Forest
12. Boise State

First Round

• No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
• No. 11 Wake Forest at No. 6 Indiana
• No. 10 BYU at No. 7 Texas
• No. 9 Iowa at No. 8 UCLA

Quarterfinals

• Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Alabama
• Cotton Bowl: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Indiana
• Rose Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas
• Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 UCLA

Semifinals

• Orange Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
• Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 5 Alabama

National Championship

• At Las Vegas: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame

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Bowl Projections After Week 6

Bowl Game	Date	Matchup
Salute to Veterans Bowl	Dec. 15	Toledo vs. Jacksonville State
Frisco Football Classic	Dec. 15	Appalachian State vs. Ohio
Boca Raton Bowl	Dec. 18	Georgia State vs. East Carolina
Gasparilla Bowl	Dec. 18	Florida State vs. Texas A&M
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Dec. 21	FAU vs. Central Michigan
Potato Bowl	Dec. 21	Western Michigan vs. New Mexico
Puerto Rico Bowl	Dec. 22	Louisiana Tech vs. Army
Cure Bowl	Dec. 22	South Alabama vs. USF
Independence Bowl	Dec. 22	UCF vs. Air Force
New Orleans Bowl	Dec. 23	Liberty vs. James Madison
Armed Forces Bowl	Dec. 23	North Texas vs. Delaware
Frisco Bowl	Dec. 23	Washington vs. Cincinnati
Poinsettia Bowl	Dec. 23	Oregon State vs. Arizona State
New Mexico Bowl	Dec. 24	Tulsa vs. Texas State
Hawai’i Bowl	Dec. 24	Fresno State vs. UNLV
Pinstripe Bowl	Dec. 26	Pitt vs. Minnesota
Fenway Bowl	Dec. 26	NC State vs. Memphis
Mayo Bowl	Dec. 26	North Carolina vs. Northwestern
68 Ventures Bowl	Dec. 26	Troy vs. FIU
Cactus Bowl	Dec. 26	Kansas State vs. Wisconsin
Military Bowl	Dec. 26	Virginia Tech vs. Arizona
Holiday Bowl	Dec. 28	Virginia Tech vs. Arizona
Birmingham Bowl	Dec. 29	Mississippi State vs. Duke
Pop-Tarts Bowl	Dec. 29	Houston vs. SMU
Alamo Bowl	Dec. 29	Texas Tech vs. Oregon
Gator Bowl	Dec. 30	Louisville vs. LSU
Music City Bowl	Dec. 30	Michigan vs. Kentucky
ReliaQuest Bowl	Dec. 31	Penn State vs. Florida
Sun Bowl	Dec. 31	Clemson vs. USC
Las Vegas Bowl	Dec. 31	Missouri vs. Utah
Texas Bowl	Dec. 31	Baylor vs. Oklahoma
Citrus Bowl	Jan. 2	Nebraska vs. Ole Miss
First Responder Bowl	Jan. 2	Colorado State vs. Louisiana
Liberty Bowl	Jan. 2	Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee
Arizona Bowl	Jan. 2	UMass vs. North Dakota State

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