It’s all about the College Football Playoff now.
We accept that. The 12-team field will be completed on Dec. 7, and perhaps no team has a more interesting path than Duke. The Blue Devils could win the ACC championship on Saturday and still play in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, where we have them projected to face Penn State – the preseason No. 2 that squeaked out bowl eligibility last week.
Outside of the College Football Playoff, we have three very-enticing bowl matchups that lend credence to the fact that there should probably be 16 teams in the College Football Playoff. What are those matchups?
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31): Michigan-Texas feels like the blockbuster watch outside the College Football Playoff in a matchup between Bryce Underwood and Arch Manning. Which QB starts the hype machine for 2026?
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Jan. 2): We have Vanderbilt against Miami – a battle of teams that probably should be in the 12-team field. Will Diego Pavia – a potential Heisman finalist – play in this one?
DirecTV Holiday Bowl (Jan. 2): Washington-Georgia Tech would be a springboard for two programs looking to the next step with respective coaches Jedd Fisch and Brent Key, and it’s one more chance to watch Haynes King with the Yellow Jackets.
The penultimate set of College Football Playoff rankings was unveiled Tuesday. Sporting News will have weekly bowl projections leading up to the unveiling of the 12-team field on Dec. 7.
The first round of the new CFP will have one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three on Saturday, Dec. 20.
The quarterfinals will be played at the Cotton Bowl Classic (Dec. 31), Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 1), Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
The semifinals will be played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 8) and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 9). The CFP national championship is Jan. 19 in Miami.
Here are our bowl projections for championship week:
MORE: Projected College Football playoff bracket for conference championship week
College football bowl predictions 2025
There are 34 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at our projections for those matchups:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTION |
| Dec. 13 | Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk | Boise State vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 16 | IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl* | USF vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 17 | StaffDNA Cure Bowl | Utah State vs. Miami, Ohio |
| Dec. 17 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Troy |
| Dec. 19 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss |
| Dec. 19 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Coastal Carolina vs. FIU |
| Dec. 22 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Toledo vs. Fresno State |
| Dec. 23 | Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl | Texas State vs. Louisiana Tech |
| Dec. 23 | New Orleans Bowl | Jacksonville State vs. James Madison |
| Dec. 23 | Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl | Old Dominion vs. San Diego State |
| Dec. 24 | Sheraton Hawaii Bowl | North Texas vs. Hawai’i |
| Dec. 26 | GameAbove Sports Bowl | Ohio vs. Northwestern |
| Dec. 26 | Rate Bowl | Nebraska vs. Arizona State |
| Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | UTSA vs. TCU |
| Dec. 27 | Go Bowling Military Bowl | East Carolina vs. Georgia Southern |
| Dec. 27 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Penn State vs. Duke |
| Dec. 27 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Navy vs. UConn |
| Dec. 27 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Arizona vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 27 | Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice | Central Michigan vs. UNLV |
| Dec. 27 | Isleta New Mexico Bowl | Kennesaw State vs. New Mexico |
| Dec. 27 | Taxslayer Gator Bowl | Minnesota vs. NC State |
| Dec. 27 | Kinder’s Texas Bowl | Cincinnati vs. SMU |
| Dec. 29 | JLab Birmingham Bowl | Memphis vs. Louisiana |
| Dec. 30 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Wake Forest vs. Iowa State |
| Dec. 30 | Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl | Illinois vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 30 | Valero Alamo Bowl | USC vs. BYU |
| Dec. 31 | Reliaquest Bowl | LSU vs. Iowa |
| Dec. 31 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | Utah vs. Louisville |
| Dec. 31 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. Texas |
| Dec. 31 | SDS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Missouri vs. Cal |
| Jan. 2 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Arkansas State vs. Army |
| Jan. 2 | Autozone Liberty Bowl | Houston vs. Tennessee |
| Jan. 2 | Duke’s Mayo Bowl | Vanderbilt vs. Miami, Fla. |
| Jan. 2 | DirecTV Holiday Bowl | Washington vs. Georgia Tech |
College Football Playoff first-round predictions
A look at the four College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those first-round games will be played on campus:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTION |
| Dec. 19 | First-Round CFP game | No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Texas A&M |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Oregon |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Ole Miss |
The SEC gets to host three first-round playoff games after having just one last year. We believe the Rebels will still get a home game based on their one-loss record, and as of now their opponent would be Alabama. What a surreal scene that would be at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. We also get first-round home games at Kyle Field, Autzen Stadium and Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Those are already three of the best environments in college football. Notre Dame and Oklahoma last played in a home-and-home series in 2012-13.
MORE: A closer look at the sizable gap at QB between Ohio State and Michigan
College Football Playoff quarterfinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year’s Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTION |
| Dec. 31 | Cotton Bowl Classic (quarterfinal) | No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 6 Texas A&M |
| Jan. 1 | Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Oregon |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal) | No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Notre Dame |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 10 Alabama |
Texas Tech vs. Texas A&M at the Cotton Bowl? Yes, please. That would be a chance for the Red Raiders – our projected Big 12 champion – to flex a defense that allows 12.3 points per game against an SEC opponent. This would mean we get Georgia-Alabama III, a rematch between Oregon and Indiana from the regular season and a replay of last year’s CFP championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame. That’s part of the deal in this new setup. There will be more rematches. Texas A&M is the only team on here that allows more than 17 points per game. These could be defensive struggles across the board.
College Football Playoff semifinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year’s Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTION |
| Jan. 8 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Texas Tech |
| Jan. 9 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) | No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Oregon |
This scenario says Oregon beats Indiana in the rematch and plays Ohio State in a College Football Playoff semifinal. The Ducks continue to trend in the right direction with Dante Moore and a strong defense. Georgia-Texas Tech would be a fun matchup, too. Substitute Oregon for Indiana, and you have the teams that likely would have been in the four-team College Football Playoff if we were still in that format.
MORE: Will Lane Kiffin’s departure to LSU impact Ole Miss’ CFP ranking?
College Football Playoff championship pick
A look at the College Football Playoff championship matchup for the 2025-26 season. That game is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
| DATE | BOWL | PROJECTION |
| Jan. 19 | CFP National championship | No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Georgia |
We have had this pick for three weeks. The Buckeyes have never won back-to-back national championships. Georgia would have a chance to win its third national title in five years. Kirby Smart and Ryan Day are the best two coaches in the sport right now. A rematch has been in order since the 42-41 thriller on Dec. 31, 2022.
