College football Week 11 bowl projections: Alabama, LSU aim to reserve Playoff spot

Bill Bender

College football Week 11 bowl projections: Alabama, LSU aim to reserve Playoff spot image

Sporting News' Week 11 bowl projections are here in time for the first set of College Football Playoff rankings, which will be unveiled Tuesday.

There isn't much movement in anticipation of the No. 1-vs. No.-2 showdown between LSU and Alabama in Week 11. The Tigers and Crimson Tide both have Playoff spots for now, though Oregon is on a surge in the Pac-12 after a 56-24 victory against USC. Memphis moved into our New Year's Day 6 projections after a 54-48 victory against SMU.

MORE: Week 11 Playoff picture

The 2019 college football postseason schedule features 40 bowl games between FBS teams, with the finale at the national title game on Jan. 13 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This year's semifinal games will be on Dec. 28. The first College Football Playoff Rankings will be released on Nov. 5.

Sporting News has projections for all 40 bowl games here, and they will be updated each week during the college football season. Our projections heading into Week 10 of the college football season:

Week 11 college football bowl projections

DateBowlTeams
Dec. 20Makers Wanted Bahamas BowlBall State vs. Louisiana Tech
Dec. 20DXL Frisco BowlCentral Michigan vs. Temple
Dec. 21Gildan New Mexico BowlWestern Kentucky vs. Utah State
Dec. 21AutoNation Cure BowlAppalachian State vs. UCF
Dec. 21Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton BowlFAU vs. Tulane
Dec. 21Raycom Media Camellia BowlToledo vs. Georgia Southern
Dec. 21Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas BowlBoise State vs. Oregon State
Dec. 21R&L Carriers New Orleans BowlSouthern Miss vs. Louisiana
Dec. 23Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla BowlUAB vs. SMU
Dec. 24SoFi Hawai'i BowlBYU vs. Hawaii
Dec. 26Walk-On's Independence BowlStanford* vs. North Carolina
Dec. 26Quick Lane BowlIllinois vs. Louisville
Dec. 27Military Bowl Presented by Northr0p GrummanMarshall* vs. Cincinnati
Dec. 27New Era Pinstripe BowlMichigan State vs. Virginia Tech
Dec. 27Academy Sports and Outdoors Texas BowlTCU vs. N.C. State*
Dec. 27SDCU Holiday BowlUSC vs. Michigan
Dec. 27Cheez-It BowlArizona State vs. Iowa State
Dec. 28Camping World BowlTexas vs. Miami
Dec. 30SERVPRO First Responders BowlOklahoma State vs. Wyoming*
Dec. 30Franklin American Mortgage Music City BowlWashington State vs. Pitt
Dec. 30Redbox BowlWashington vs. Indiana
Dec. 31Belk BowlKentucky vs. Florida State
Dec. 31Hyundai Sun BowlCal vs. Virginia
Dec. 31AutoZone Liberty BowlKansas State vs. Tennessee
Dec. 31Valero Alamo BowlUtah vs. Baylor
Dec. 31NOVA Home Loans Arizona BowlArkansas State vs. Air Force
Jan. 1Outback BowlMississippi State vs. Minnesota
Jan. 1Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus BowlAuburn vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 2Birmingham BowlBoston College* vs. Liberty*
Jan. 2TaxSlayer BowlTexas A&M vs. Iowa
Jan. 3Famous Idaho Potato BowlMiami (Ohio) vs. San Diego State
Jan. 4Lockheed Martin Armed Forces BowlNevada* vs. Navy
Jan. 6Mobile Alabama BowlOhio vs. Georgia State
*No conference tie-in to bowl

BAMA-LSU: Who should other contenders root for?

College Football Playoff/New Year's Day 6 projections

Dec. 28Goodyear Cotton BowlNotre Dame vs. Memphis
Dec. 30Capital One Orange BowlWake Forest vs. Florida
Jan. 1Rose BowlOregon vs. Penn State
Jan. 1Allstate Sugar BowlGeorgia vs. Oklahoma
Dec. 28PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (semifinal)LSU vs. Ohio State
Dec. 28Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal)Alabama vs. Clemson

College Football Playoff championship projection

Jan. 13College Football Playoff championshipOhio State vs. Alabama

Bill Bender

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.