The 2017-18 college football schedule features 40 bowl games between FBS teams, which culminates with the College Football Playoff Championship on Jan. 8 in Atlanta. This year’s semifinals will be played on Jan. 1 for the first time since 2014 at the Rose and Sugar Bowls.
So, who makes the 2018 College Football Playoff? Sporting News likes the chalk picks of Alabama, Ohio State, USC and Florida State, and we are going with a matchup that features the Crimson Tide and the Trojans in the championship game.
Sporting News has preseason projections for every bowl game, and a few familiar teams are back in the semifinals with a new matchup in the national championship game.
MORE: 17 questions for the 2017 season
College football bowl projections
| DATE | BOWL GAME | PROJECTED TEAMS |
| Dec. 16 | R+L Carrier New Orleans Bowl | Appalachian State vs. Old Dominion |
| Dec. 16 | AutoNation Cure Bowl | East Carolina vs. Arkansas State |
| Dec. 16 | Las Vegas Bowl | Oregon State vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 16 | Gildan New Mexico Bowl | New Mexico vs. Middle Tennessee State |
| Dec. 16 | Raycom Media Camellia Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Georgia Southern |
| Dec. 19 | Boca Raton Bowl | Temple vs. Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 20 | Frisco Bowl | Memphis vs. Ohio |
| Dec. 21 | St. Petersburg Bowl | UCF vs. Louisiana Tech |
| Dec. 22 | Bahamas Bowl | Bowling Green vs. UTSA |
| Dec. 22 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Miami, Ohio vs. San Diego State |
| Dec. 23 | Birmingham Bowl | Tulsa vs. Kentucky |
| Dec. 23 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | UCLA vs. Army |
| Dec. 23 | Dollar General Bowl | Toledo vs. Idaho |
| Dec. 24 | Hawai'i Bowl | Houston vs. Hawaii |
| Dec. 26 | Cactus Bowl | TCU vs. Air Force |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Minnesota vs. North Carolina |
| Dec. 26 | Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl | Baylor vs. Southern Miss |
| Dec. 27 | Independence Bowl | Pittsburgh vs. BYU |
| Dec. 27 | New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Maryland vs. Georgia Tech |
| Dec. 27 | Texas Bowl | West Virginia vs. Mississippi State |
| Dec. 27 | Foster Farms Bowl | Washington State vs. Michigan State |
| Dec. 28 | Military Bowl by Northrop Grumman | Navy vs. N.C. State |
| Dec. 28 | Camping World Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Louisville |
| Dec. 28 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Kansas State vs. Stanford |
| Dec. 28 | SDCCU Holiday Bowl | Utah vs. Northwestern |
| Dec. 29 | Belk Bowl | South Carolina vs. Notre Dame |
| Dec. 29 | Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | Virginia Tech vs. Texas A&M |
| Dec. 29 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | Oklahoma vs. Michigan |
| Dec. 30 | TaxSlayer Bowl | Iowa vs. Arkansas |
| Dec. 30 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Texas vs. Tennessee |
| Dec. 30 | Hyundai Sun Bowl | Colorado vs. Miami, Fla. |
| Dec. 30 | Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl | San Jose State vs. Troy |
| Dec. 30 | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | Washington vs. Penn State |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Clemson vs. LSU |
| Jan. 1 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl | South Florida vs. Auburn |
| Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | Nebraska vs. Georgia |
| Jan. 1 | Citrus Bowl | Wisconsin vs. Florida |
MORE: SN's preseason Top 25 rankings | Composite Top 25
College Football Playoff
| DATE | BOWL GAME | PROJECTED TEAMS |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game (Playoff semifinal) | USC vs. Florida State |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (Playoff semifinal) | Ohio State vs. Alabama |
| Jan. 8 | College Football Championship Game | Alabama vs. USC |
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