Final college football bowl projections: Updated picks for CFP, every bowl game in 2025-26
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Final college football bowl projections: Updated picks for CFP, every bowl game in 2025-26 originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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It's all about the College Football Playoff now.
There are 41 bowls involving FBS teams in 2025-26. There are 80 bowl eligible teams, and Missouri State and Delaware should also get to play in the postseason. The College Football Playoff pairings will be determined Sunday December 7, and there is more than enough intrigue heading into the final week of the season.
The first round of the new CFP will have one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three on Saturday, Dec. 20.
LIVE:Updated College Football Playoff bracket revealed in final rankings
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:SN's final College Football Playoff bracket predictions
College football bowl predictions 2025
There are 35 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 |
| Dec. 16 | IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl | Utah State vs. Miami, Ohio |
| Dec. 17 | StaffDNA Cure Bowl* | USF vs. Old Dominion |
| Dec. 17 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Delaware vs. Louisiana |
| Dec. 18 | X-Box Bowl* | Missouri State vs. Arkansas State |
| Dec. 19 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Coastal Carolina vs. FIU |
| Dec. 19 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Western Kentucky vs. Kansas State |
| 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. Troy |
| Dec. 23 | Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl | Southern Miss vs. San Diego State |
| Dec. 24 | Sheraton Hawaii Bowl* | Cal vs. Hawaii |
| Dec. 26 | GameAbove Sports Bowl | Ohio vs. Northwestern |
| Dec. 26 | Rate Bowl | Minnesota vs. Cincinnati |
| Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | East Carolina vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 27 | Go Bowling Military Bowl | UTSA vs. Georgia Southern |
| Dec. 27 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Penn State vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 27 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Navy vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 27 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | TCU vs. Georgia Tech |
| 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 | Vanderbilt vs. Duke |
| Dec. 27 | Kinder's Texas Bowl | North Texas vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 29 | JLab Birmingham Bowl | Memphis vs. Louisville |
| Dec. 30 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | UConn vs. Iowa State |
| Dec. 30 | Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl | Illinois vs. LSU |
| Dec. 30 | Valero Alamo Bowl | USC vs. BYU |
| Dec. 31 | Reliaquest Bowl | Alabama vs. Iowa |
| Dec. 31 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | Arizona State vs. NC State |
| Dec. 31 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. Texas |
| Dec. 31 | SDS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Nebraska vs. Utah |
| Jan. 2 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Army |
| Jan. 2 | Autozone Liberty Bowl | Houston vs. Tennessee |
| Jan. 2 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Missouri vs. Virginia |
| Jan. 2 | DirecTV Holiday Bowl | Arizona vs. SMU |
*Denotes accepted bowl bid
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. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Oregon |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma |
MORE:5 things to know about college football playoff bracket seeding
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. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon |
| Jan. 1 | Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Ole Miss |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal) | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Notre Dame |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 10 Miami, Fla. |
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 Ohio State |
| Jan. 9 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 4 Texas Tech |
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 Indiana vs. No. 2 Georgia |
MORE:CFB Picks, predictions for every conference championship game
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