Week 10 bowl projections – Playoff, New Year’s Six

First, Tennessee got thumped by Georgia, with the Vols suffering their first defeat of the season. Then Clemson also fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing at Notre Dame, and Alabama was knocked off by LSU. Just like that, three of the top six teams in the initial College Football Playoff rankings had lost, turning the playoff hunt upside down.

What does it all mean for the bowl picture? ESPN college football reporters Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach break it all down with their latest projections for all the games, including their analysis of the CFP matchups, which teams helped and hurt their causes the most, and which matchup they’d most like to see.

All times Eastern

College Football Playoff

CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
Jan. 9, time TBD, ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Georgia vs. Michigan
Schlabach: Georgia vs. Ohio State

CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Georgia vs. TCU
Schlabach: Georgia vs. Michigan

CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
Dec. 31, 4 or 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Oregon
Schlabach: Ohio State vs. TCU

CFP breakdown

Bonagura: Well, that was quite the college football Saturday. All it took was the first batch of CFP rankings to get released to see a bunch of results that will reshape the playoff picture. There’s one thing everyone should be able to agree on: Georgia is the unquestioned No. 1 team in the country, so let’s go ahead and peg them in at the top.

For bowl projection purposes, we’ll take one team from the Big Ten. I’ve gone back and forth for weeks between Michigan and Ohio State, but after the Buckeyes’ disinterested performance against a very bad Northwestern team, Michigan gets the nod this week. After Clemson’s loss to Notre Dame, the ACC is, for all intents and purposes, out of the playoff mix. Clemson was suspect anyway and only was in the conversation because of its brand and undefeated record. No more. That leaves two spots for three contenders — 1. TCU (easy selection right now with its undefeated record); 2. a Pac-12 team (Oregon, UCLA or USC);…