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



MORE: 14 September games we can't wait for