By Jeremy Hillman
SouthernPigskin.com

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Alabama played its way back to a projected spot in the College Football Playoff.

Every week, in this column, I predict the bowl location and opponent for each program in the SEC, ACC and Sun Belt Conference. Surprises and upsets are becoming the norm in college football these days and this past weekend was no exception. Each thrilling victory and each painful loss alters the postseason outlook for each conference and leaves us with new teams and exciting new matchups across the bowl schedule. Here are my week eight bowl game projections:

THE ELITE BOWLS:

Rose Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal): 2 Ole Miss Vs. 3 Alabama

Sugar Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal): 1 Florida State Vs. 4 Oregon

Orange Bowl: Notre Dame Vs. Clemson

Fiesta Bowl: Michigan State Vs. Arizona State

Peach Bowl: Mississippi State Vs. Ohio State

Cotton Bowl: Auburn Vs. Baylor

THE REMAINING SEC BOWLS:

It was a weekend of blowouts in the SEC. Alabama routed Texas A&M, Ole Miss destroyed Tennessee, and LSU beat Kentucky by 38 points. The big wins send the Tide and Rebels into my College Football Playoff projections. Elsewhere, Missouri all but ended Floridas bowl hopes and Georgia staved off Arkansas, as both SEC East teams stayed in the SEC Championship mix. After all this action, here are my latest Southeastern Conference bowl projections:

Capital One Bowl: Georgia Vs. Nebraska

Outback Bowl: Texas A&M Vs. Minnesota

Belk Bowl: South Carolina Vs. Virginia Tech

Taxslayer Bowl: LSU Vs. Maryland

Texas Bowl: Missouri Vs. Oklahoma State

Music City Bowl: Tennessee Vs. Louisville

Liberty Bowl: Kentucky Vs. West Virginia

THE ACC BOWL PICTURE:

After a Thursday night thriller where Pittsburgh defeated Virginia Tech, there was a big day of ACC games on Saturday as well. In those matchups, Duke edged Virginia, North Carolina surprised Georgia Tech, Clemson outlasted Boston College, and Louisville crushed N.C. State. All these matchups helped shape this weeks Atlantic Coast Conference postseason outlook:

Russell Athletic Bowl: Duke Vs. Oklahoma

Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech Vs. South Carolina

Music City Bowl: Louisville Vs. Tennessee

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Georgia Tech Vs. Stanford

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Miami Vs. Wisconsin

Military Bowl: Virginia Vs. Temple

Duck Commander Independence Bowl: N.C. State Vs. Oregon State

BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl: Boston College Vs. UCF

Detroit Bowl: Pittsburgh Vs. Rutgers

THE SUN BELT BOWL PICTURE

In a Tuesday night matchup, Louisiana solidified its record and bowl aspirations with a lopsided victory over a good Texas State team. With conference leader Arkansas State on a bye week, South Alabama held on to beat Georgia State on Saturday, giving the Jaguars a realistic shot to earn enough wins to receive a bowl invite.

New Orleans Bowl: Arkansas State Vs. Fresno State

Camellia Bowl: Louisiana Vs. Akron

GoDaddy Bowl: South Alabama Vs. Toledo

Expect plenty of drama around playoff and bowl selection time in this first year under a new system. Should be fun to see unfold. Check back each week to see where teams rise in fall in the bowl pecking order.