2026 Bowl Projections After Week Seven

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our weekly picks of who’s in the playoffs and all the bowl games. This past week was circled on calendars since the schedules were revealed, with several top-25 matchups. However, it’s doubtful anyone could have predicted what we saw, where five of the top seven teams in the AP poll lost. Furthermore, it was the first time Alabama, Georgia, and Texas all lost on the same day since October 26, 1996. In addition, it’s the first time both the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs lost on the same day since November 4, 2006. The result of all this made us redo our picks like a giant Etch-A-Sketch with changes all around. Let’s get to why you are here with our 2026 bowl projections after week seven. As always, if you’d like to see how much things changed, click here.

Once again this year, we have a 12-team playoff with the top four still getting a first-round bye. However, the winners of the Power Four conferences don’t automatically get slots 1-4. In addition, the highest-ranked Group of Five team receives a bid. That leaves seven at-large teams. Once again, seeds 5-8 host first-round games on campus. The New Year’s Six bowls are introduced for the next round and the semifinals. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas hosts the title game on January 25th. With the formalities out of the way, let’s get to our 2026 bowl projections after Week Six.

Friday, December 18th- South Bend, Indiana- (9) Tennessee at (8) Notre Dame- The Fighting Irish lost to BYU in Provo on Saturday. Of course, there was a little bit of controversy. Even if Marcus Freeman’s squad falls to Miami, they should still make the playoff. On the other side, Josh Heupel’s Volunteers rocket into the rankings after taking down Alabama. They are the first of two new SEC squads.

Saturday, December 19th- Oxford, Mississippi- (11) Texas Tech (6) Ole Miss– Another week and another win for the Red Raiders, this time a blowout win over Arizona State. Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels move up a spot this week after drubbing Missouri by 28.

Saturday, December 19th- Los Angeles, California- (10) Kentucky at (7) UCLA–There’s no more surprising story in college football than Will Stein’s Wildcats. Picked to finish 14th in the preseason, the Cats are tied for first in the SEC after their third straight league road win, this time at Oklahoma. Bob Chesney’s Bruins passed their first test without Nico Iamaleava, beating Wisconsin by 10. These two have never met before.

Saturday, December 19th- Bloomington, Indiana- (12) Boise St at (5) Indiana– We didn’t drop the Hoosiers that much after losing to Ohio State. Boise remains our Group of Six team and faces Washington State on Saturday.

Wednesday, December 30th- VRBO Fiesta Bowl- (5) Indiana vs. (4) BYU- We’re picking the Hoosiers to get past Boise State and set up a date with the Cougars. At this point, we project BYU as the Big 12 champ.

Friday, January 1st- Rose Bowl Presented By Prudential- (7) UCLA vs. (2) Ohio State- The Bruins get past Kentucky and play a second playoff home game against our projected Big Ten Champion Buckeyes. As mentioned earlier, Ryan Day’s club beat Indiana but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to injury.

Friday, January 1st- Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic- (6) Ole Miss vs. (3) Georgia– Despite their shocking loss to Auburn, the Bulldogs remain our projected SEC champion.

That’s a lot to digest, but there’s still plenty more to come as we roll on with our 2026 bowl projections after week seven.

Thursday, January 14th- Capital One Orange Bowl- (5) Indiana vs. (1) Miami– We are projecting a national championship rematch in the semi-finals.

Friday, January 15th- Allstate Sugar Bowl- (3) Georgia vs. (2) Ohio State– The two have met twice in history with the Bulldogs winning in 1992 and 2022.

Monday, January 25th- College Football National Championship- (2) Ohio State vs. (1) Miami–After having the same matchup since the summer, we’ve now got a different title game in consecutive weeks.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: January 2nd- Big Ten vs. SEC- Iowa vs. Alabama- Back to back losses move the Crimson Tide out of the playoff and to Orlando.

Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl: December 30th- Big Ten vs. SEC- Auburn vs. Northwestern- The Tigers now head to Nashville after their big win over Georgia.

Reliaquest Bowl: December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Texas vs. Nebraska- Much like Alabama, two straight losses knock the Longhorns out of the playoff and now head to Tampa.

Old El Paso Sun Bowl: December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- Virginia Tech vs. Washington*- The Huskies go to El Paso as a legacy Pac-12 squad.

Las Vegas Bowl: December 31st- SEC vs. Pac-12- LSU vs. Arizona*- The Wildcats go to Vegas as a legacy Pac-12 squad.

Kinder’s Texas Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big 12- Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State- They don’t play in the regular season so why not in a bowl game.

That’s our first group of picks. As we move along with our 2026 bowl projections after week seven, let’s move to the contests after the big holiday.

Trust & Will Holiday Bowl- December 28th: ACC vs. Pac-12- Wake Forest vs. USC*- Is it time to start talking about the Demon Deacons as a playoff team? It was another impressive blowout win, this time over California. The Trojans go to San Diego as a legacy Pac-12 team.

Valero Alamo Bowl: December 29th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Utah vs. Oregon*– Right now we have the Utes out of the playoff and heading to San Antonio. The Ducks go to San Antonio as a legacy Pac-12 squad.

We are moving right along with our 2026 bowl projections after week seven. Time now for the opening contests of bowl season.

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl- December 22nd- Big 12 vs. Conference USA/Pac 12- Central Florida vs. Georgia State+- With no Conference USA team available, we are sending the Panthers to Shreveport.

New Orleans Bowl: December 23rd- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt– Jacksonville State vs. James Madison- Not only are the Dukes hot on the heels of being the Group of Six team, but they made news by announcing they are leaving the Sun Belt for the American Conference by July of 2028.

Thanks for checking out our 2026 bowl projections after week seven here at Last Word On College Football.