Pictured: Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

College football bowl projections: Brett McMurphy’s Week 3 bowl picks, College Football Playoff predictions

Originally posted on Action Network | By Brett McMurphy | Last updated Sep 9, 2024 10:43 PM ET

With the SEC’s stranglehold at the top of this week’s Associated Press rankings, here’s a quick refresher on the new expanded College Football Playoff.

As much as it would like, the SEC cannot get 12 teams into the 12-team playoff. The maximum number of teams one conference can get in the playoff is eight teams — its league champion and seven at-large teams.

Of course, the SEC will never get eight teams into the playoff. Will it?

At least not in my bowl projections this week. I only have five SEC teams in my projected College Football Playoff.

No matter what game you're looking for, Action Network goes deep on ALL the key matchups in College Football at their NCAAF betting hub, where you'll find the odds, picks and predictions you need to win!

Joining the five SEC teams in my playoff projections is a new Group of Five representative: Northern Illinois, courtesy of the Huskies’ upset at Notre Dame.

Included in my bowl projections is the projected point spread of each matchup from Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson’s betting power ratings.

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*Conference champions projected to receive automatic bids

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