College football bowl projections for Week 11: Oregon, Georgia make first 12-team CFP title game

How far has Oregon come in three seasons with Dan Lanning? 

On Sept. 3, 2022, No. 3 Georgia beat No. 11 Oregon 49-3 in Lanning’s debut as the Ducks’ coach. In our Week 11 Bowl Projections, we have Oregon and Georgia in the College Football Playoff championship game. In this scenario, the Ducks are the higher seed. 

A lot can change through the next five weeks, but that is the pick for now. 

The first set of College Football Playoff rankings have been unveiled. Sporting News will have weekly bowl projections leading up to the unveiling of the first 12-team playoff field on Dec. 8. 

The first round of the new CFP will have one game on Friday, Dec. 20, and three on Saturday, Dec. 21. The quarterfinals will be played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1). 

The semifinals will be played at the Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 9) and Cotton Bowl Classic (Jan. 10). The CFP national championship is Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

Here are our bowl projections for Week 11.

MORE: Picks against the spread for Week 11 Top 25 games

College football bowl predictions 2024

There are 35 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at our projections for those matchups: 

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Dec. 14 Camellia Bowl Western Michigan vs. James Madison
Dec. 17 Boca Raton Bowl Sam Houston vs. East Carolina
Dec. 18 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Texas State vs. Fresno State
Dec. 18 LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk UNLV vs. Washington State
Dec. 19 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Louisiana vs. Western Kentucky
Dec. 20 Staffdna Cure Bowl Buffalo vs. Coastal Carolina
Dec. 20 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl UConn vs. Virginia Tech
Dec. 23 Myrtle Beach Bowl Miami, Ohio vs. Arkansas State
Dec. 23 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Toledo vs. Colorado State
Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl Tulane vs. Hawaii
Dec. 26 Detroit Bowl Ohio vs. Michigan State
Dec. 26 Guaranteed Rate Bowl West Virginia vs Nebraska
Dec. 26 68 Ventures Bowl Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan
Dec. 27 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Army vs. Cincinnati
Dec. 27 Birmingham Bowl Baylor vs. Arkansas
Dec. 27 Autozone Liberty Bowl Kansas State vs. South Carolina
Dec. 27 SDS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Colorado vs. Wisconsin
Dec. 27 DirecTV Holiday Bowl Wake Forest vs. Arizona State
Dec. 28 Wasabi Fenway Bowl Memphis vs. Syracuse
Dec. 28 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Georgia Tech vs. Michigan
Dec. 28 Isleta New Mexico Bowl Liberty vs. San Diego State
Dec. 28 Pop-Tarts Bowl Pitt vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 28 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice Bowling Green vs. San Jose State
Dec. 28 Go Bowling Military Bowl Navy vs. North Carolina
Dec. 28 Valero Alamo Bowl Iowa State vs. Washington
Dec. 28 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl North Texas vs. Oregon State
Dec. 30 Transperfect Music City Bowl SMU vs. Vanderbilt
Dec. 31 Reliaquest Bowl Illinois vs. Ole Miss
Dec. 31 Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl Duke vs. USC
Dec. 31 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Iowa vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 31 Texas Bowl TCU vs. Missouri
Jan. 2 Taxslayer Gator Bowl Louisville vs. LSU
Jan. 3 Servpro First Responder Bowl South Florida vs. Marshall
Jan. 3 Duke’s Mayo Bowl Clemson vs. Minnesota
Jan. 4 Bahamas Bowl Northern Illinois vs. Jacksonville State

College Football Playoff first-round predictions 

A look at the four College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the 2024-25 season. Those first-round games will be played on campus: 

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Dec. 20 First-Round CFP game No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee
Dec. 21 First-Round CFP game No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
Dec. 21 First-Round CFP game No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 6 Texas
Dec. 21 First-Round CFP game No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Penn State

The first round features three Big Ten at-large teams. Ohio State hosts Boise State, and Penn State hosts Notre Dame in what would be unbelievable atmospheres. An all-SEC matchup between Alabama and Texas would be the third meeting in as many years between the schools, and Indiana would round out the first round with a trip to Knoxville. The Hoosiers and Volunteers rank third and fourth, respectively in total defense this season. 

BENDER: Breaking down the first bubble, with Notre Dame, Alabama last teams in

College Football Playoff quarterfinal predictions

A look at the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups for the 2024-25 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year’s Day Six bowl sites: 

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Dec. 31 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl No. 4 BYU vs. No. 5 Ohio State
Jan. 1 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl No. 3 Miami vs. No. 6 Texas
Jan. 1 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 Tennessee
Jan. 1 Allstate Sugar Bowl No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 10 Notre Dame

Would Notre Dame really be the only team to pull off a first-round upset? That is our projection for now, and it is worth knowing that six of the eight teams here are in the top 12 in total defense. Miami and BYU – the projected ACC and Big 12 champions – are the exception. Miami has not played Texas since the legendary 46-3 blowout in the 1991 Cotton Bowl. Ohio State hasn’t played BYU since the 1993 Holiday Bowl. Oregon and Tennessee last played in 2013, and Georgia and Notre Dame did a home-and-home in 2017 and 2019. Can we put this round on campus, too? 

College Football Playoff semifinal predictions

A look at the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups for the 2024-25 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year’s Day Six bowl sites: 

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Jan. 9 Capital One Orange Bowl (semifinal) No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 6 Texas
Jan. 10 Cotton Bowl Classic (semifinal) No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 5 Ohio State

These are potential three-matches given the seeding. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 on Oct. 12, and the Buckeyes and Ducks are still on a course to meet in the Big Ten championship game. Georgia beat Texas 30-15 on Oct. 19, and those teams are on a more complicated path toward the SEC championship game given five teams have one loss in conference play. 

College Football Playoff championship pick 

A look at the College Football Playoff championship matchup for the 2024-25 season. That game is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

DATE BOWL MATCHUP
Jan. 20 CFP National championship No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Georgia

Lanning was an assistant under Kirby Smart from 2018-21. This would be a chance for Smart to win a third national championship. The quarterback matchup between Dillon Gabriel and Carson Beck is a contrast of styles, and we would get a chance to see if the Ducks can break through and win the program’s first national title. 

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