Who are the best teams in the country right now?
An acceptable answer in most cases would be Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Alabama. Sure, the Crimson Tide lost to Texas 34-24 on Sept. 9, but we’re talking about the present tense. It checks out.
Just don't count on the Big Ten or SEC getting two College Football Playoff teams this season. That is reflected in our Week 12 bowl projections. Those teams need a little chaos to happen within the other Power 5 conferences. A total of nine Power 5 teams have one loss or less, and this is the weekly reminder that no two-loss team has made the CFP.
MORE: Projecting the CFP committee's rankings after Week 11
The two biggest games left on the schedule – including conference championship weekend – are the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 25 and the SEC championship game between Alabama and Georgia on Dec. 2. The winner between the Buckeyes and Wolverines will be in. The Bulldogs would be in. The Crimson Tide, however, might still need some help with a win.
Power 5 teams with one loss or less
| SCHOOL | RECORD |
| Georgia | 10-0 |
| Ohio State | 10-0 |
| Michigan | 10-0 |
| Florida State | 10-0 |
| Washington | 10-0 |
| Oregon | 9-1 |
| Texas | 9-1 |
| Alabama | 9-1 |
| Louisville | 9-1 |
That means a Texas loss. The Pac-12 has Washington and Oregon on the collision course for a rematch, and if both teams stay at one loss or less the next two weeks then the conference will have a strong argument for a spot. Florida State looks to have a spot, too, unless they lose before the ACC Championship Game, likely against Louisville. All of those teams, however, could have what the Ohio State-Michigan and Alabama-Georgia losers will not.
That is a one-loss team with a conference championship. The committee will not pass those up, and it will make it hard for two teams from one conference to squeeze in unless there is chaos the next two weeks.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Jan. 1, 2024. Those semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif., and the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Those locations were the sites of the first four-team playoff in 2014.
The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
SN has projections for every bowl game here, and they will be updated each week for the remainder of the season:
Week 12 college football bowl predictions
A look at Sporting News bowl projections heading into Week 12 of the 2023 college football season:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Dec. 16 | HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl | Northern Illinois vs. Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 16 | R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Liberty vs. Georgia State |
| Dec. 16 | Cure Bowl | Rice vs. Texas State |
| Dec. 16 | New Mexico Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State |
| Dec. 16 | LA Bowl | Arizona vs. Air Force |
| Dec. 16 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | BYU vs. Colorado State |
| Dec. 18 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | SMU vs. South Alabama |
| Dec. 19 | Frisco Bowl | Marshall vs. South Florida |
| Dec. 21 | RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl | New Mexico State vs. Georgia Southern |
| Dec. 22 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | UCF vs. Louisiana |
| Dec. 23 | Birmingham Bowl | Appalachian State* vs. Georgia Tech |
| Dec. 23 | Camellia Bowl | Toledo vs. Troy |
| Dec. 23 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | West Virginia vs. Utah State |
| Dec. 23 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Wyoming |
| Dec. 23 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Ohio vs. Coastal Carolina |
| Dec. 23 | SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Illinois vs. Utah |
| Dec. 23 | Easypost Hawai'i Bowl | UTSA vs. UNLV |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Northwestern vs. Miami, Ohio |
| Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | Iowa State vs. Maryland |
| Dec. 26 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Fresno State vs. Wisconsin |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | Boston College vs. Navy |
| Dec. 27 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Auburn vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 27 | TaxAct Texas Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M |
| Dec. 28 | Fenway Bowl | Syracuse vs. Memphis |
| Dec. 28 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 28 | San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl | USC vs. Miami |
| Dec. 28 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Kansas vs. Duke |
| Dec. 28 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma vs. Oregon State |
| Dec. 29 | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Florida vs. North Carolina |
| Dec. 29 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | UCLA vs. NC State |
| Dec. 29 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Kentucky vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Tennessee vs. Rutgers |
| Dec. 30 | Barstool Arizona Bowl | Bowling Green vs. Boise State |
| Jan. 1 | Reliaquest Bowl | LSU vs. Notre Dame |
| Jan. 1 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Ole Miss vs. Iowa |
New Year's Day Six predictions
A look at our New Year's Day Six predictions for Week 12:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Dec. 29 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Alabama vs. Oregon |
| Dec. 30 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Missouri vs. Texas |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Louisville vs. Ohio State |
| Jan. 1 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | Tulane vs. Penn State |
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Alabama vs. Oregon
Bo Nix gets one more shot at Alabama in this bowl game between teams that are still in the mix for the College Football Playoff. This would be another show-case game for second-year coach Dan Lanning. Jalen Milroe has become a midseason breakout quarterback for the Crimson Tide.
MORE: Top candidates to replace Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Missouri vs. Texas
A classic Big 12 matchup between future SEC rivals. Makes sense, right? Quinn Ewers (162.1) and Brady Cook (160.7) have nearly identical passer efficiency ratings, and Steve Sarkisian and Eli Drinkwitz both could use this game to build momentum for 2024.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Ohio State vs. Louisville
Louisville has enjoyed a break-through season under Jeff Brohm, and the Cardinals would get a program-building opportunity against the Buckeyes here. Ohio State is 4-0 in bowl games when it does not make the CFP since 2014. Ryan Day would have the Buckeyes ready for this one.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: Tulane vs. Penn State
Tulane remains the pick for the Group of 5 bid to the New Year’s Day Six bid, but that is a fluid situation in a tight American Athletic Conference race with SMU, UTSA and Memphis. Penn State would be making its fifth New Year’s Day Six appearance under James Franklin, and the Nittany Lions are 3-1 in those bowl games.
College Football Playoff predictions
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game (National semifinal) | Michigan vs. Florida State |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (National semifinal) | Georgia vs. Washington |
Rose Bowl Game: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Florida State
The Seminoles’ playoff path is wide open if they take care of business against North Alabama, rival Florida and the ACC championship game. One slip-up, however, opens the door. Remember the wild 2016 Orange Bowl these teams played, which the Seminoles won 33-32? This would be a fun matchup.
BENDER: Michigan will need Jim Harbaugh against Ohio State
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Washington
The Huskies would be the perfect Pac-12 sendoff team if they can keep winning, and Michael Penix Jr. remains among the betting favorites for the Heisman Trophy. How would that offense fare against an SEC heavyweight? The pressure is on the Huskies to stay unbeaten, and they might have to go through Oregon again in the Pac-12 championship game.
College Football Playoff championship pick
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTED MATCHUP |
| Jan. 8 | CFP championship game | Georgia vs. Michigan |
CFP championship game (Houston): No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 2 Michigan
This has been our championship matchup since the preseason, and it’s by the same metric. Georgia averages 40.6 points and allows 15.6 points. Michigan scores 39 points and allows seven points. These are the only two teams that rank in the top 10 in scoring offense and defense. They just have to knock off Alabama and Ohio State, respectively, to get to the CFP.