Kyle BonaguraCloseKyle BonaguraESPN Staff WriterCovers college football.Joined ESPN in 2014.Attended Washington State University.Follow on XMark SchlabachCloseMark SchlabachESPN Senior WriterSenior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of GeorgiaFollow on XOct 5, 2025, 12:00 PM ET
Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State Seminoles: Full Highlights (1:10)Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State Seminoles: Full Highlights (1:10)
The overriding trend of the 2025 college football season — anything goes — continued in Week 6 with two sure-fire preseason College Football Playoff contenders losing to opponents who (up to that point) had disappointed.
Penn State’s loss to winless UCLA was the big shocker, with Texas’ defeat at Florida not far behind. Other key results for the postseason picture included Alabama handing Vanderbilt its first loss, Cincinnati doing the same to Iowa State and Miami winning at Florida State.
As with last season’s inaugural 12-team CFP, the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, will make the field. Unlike last year, the four highest-ranked teams (not necessarily conference champions) will be awarded first-round byes. The other eight teams will meet in first-round games at the campus sites of seeds Nos. 5 through 8.
From there, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played in what had been the New Year’s Six bowls, with this season’s national championship game scheduled for Jan. 19 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
All of that is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Apart from the playoff is the 35-game slate of bowl games, beginning with the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 13.
ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are projecting every postseason matchup, including their breakdowns of how the playoff will play out, and we’ll be back every week of the season until the actual matchups are set.
Bonagura: The monster result of the week was Penn State falling at UCLA, which came into the game looking like a team that might go winless. But Penn State’s shocking loss wasn’t the only significant setback among playoff hopefuls, with Texas (to Florida), Iowa State (to Cincinnati) and Vanderbilt (to Alabama) all falling.
This leaves the field with distinct SEC flavor in my bracket, with all four first-round games featuring a team from the conference. From my perspective, that is not good for the sport, but nine SEC teams are a combined 41-5, and only one of those losses came in nonconference. It has been a dominant run so far.
Schlabach: Penn State’s stunning 42-37 loss at previously winless UCLA shook up my 12-team bracket. I’d already dropped the Nittany Lions to No. 11 after last week’s 30-24 loss in two overtimes to Oregon, and now they’re out of my bracket altogether. It’s a stunning fall for James Franklin’s program.
LSU replaces Penn State, although I strongly considered Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and even two-loss Notre Dame for the final spot. I’m still not completely sold on LSU as a CFP team because of its inconsistent offense.
Two of the most intriguing first-round matchups in this scenario would be Georgia traveling to Indiana, where it could be quite cold, and LSU facing Oklahoma in an all-SEC game.
CFP quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 2 Oregon Schlabach: No. 10 Georgia vs. No. 2 Oregon
CFP quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 3 Miami Schlabach: No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Miami
CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 4 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 9 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Bonagura: The byes in my bracket went to the same four teams as last week: Ohio State, Oregon, Miami and Ole Miss. You can make the case for any of them at No. 1, so splitting hairs this early in the season doesn’t accomplish much.
Of the four, Miami feels like the closest to a sure thing to reach the playoff with the schedule it has remaining, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a hiccup somewhere along the way. The other three should also be part of the field in the end, but by no means do their places in the top four feel permanent.
Schlabach: My top three teams remained unchanged after Ohio State routed Minnesota 42-3 and Miami beat another ranked team, this time on the road with a 28-22 victory at rival Florida State.
Oklahoma plays struggling Texas in the Red River Rivalry in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, and it seems doubtful the Sooners will have star quarterback John Mateer, who is recovering from hand surgery.
Bonagura: Ohio State’s defense continues to dominate at a championship level, and until somebody — anybody — cracks the code and manages to reach the elusive land of double-digit points against the Buckeyes, they are the favorite to repeat. This week’s trip to Illinois could be interesting, but the Illini are only a few weeks removed from a 53-point loss to Indiana, and the stain of that game is hard to forget.
Schlabach: I have my top four seeds advancing to the semifinals, and the odds of that happening probably aren’t good. Ohio State, Oregon and Miami look like the top three teams in the FBS. After that, it’s anyone’s guess as to who the No. 4 team might end up being.
Cricket Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Alabama State vs. North Carolina Central Schlabach: Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central
LA Bowl SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Arizona vs. UNLV Schlabach: Washington vs. Boise State
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UConn vs. Troy Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Coastal Carolina
StaffDNA Cure Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Ball State vs. Appalachian State Schlabach: Western Michigan vs. Troy
68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 8:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Louisiana-Monroe vs. New Mexico State Schlabach: Old Dominion vs. Buffalo
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State Schlabach: East Carolina vs. James Madison
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Toledo vs. Fresno State Schlabach: Ohio vs. Utah State
Boca Raton Bowl Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Florida Atlantic vs. Southern Miss Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Toledo
New Orleans Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: James Madison vs. Louisiana Tech Schlabach: Louisiana-Monroe vs. Louisiana Tech
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Utah State vs. California Schlabach: North Texas vs. Kennesaw State
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Hawai’i vs. Washington State Schlabach: Hawai’i vs. Tulane
GameAbove Sports Bowl Ford Field (Detroit) 1 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Minnesota vs. Western Michigan Schlabach: Minnesota vs. Central Michigan
Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix) 4:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Kansas vs. Iowa Schlabach: Baylor vs. Maryland
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Temple vs. Old Dominion Schlabach: SMU vs. UNLV
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Louisville vs. Maryland Schlabach: Louisville vs. Iowa
Wasabi Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 2:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Tulane Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Memphis
Pop-Tarts Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 3:30 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Virginia vs. TCU Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. BYU
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 4:30 p.m., CW Network Bonagura: Buffalo vs. San Diego State Schlabach: Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 5:45 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Boise State vs. Kansas State Schlabach: San Diego State vs. Texas State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) 7:30 p.m. ABC Bonagura: Florida State vs. LSU Schlabach: Virginia vs. South Carolina
Kinder’s Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) 9:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Houston vs. Vanderbilt Schlabach: TCU vs. Texas
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Baylor vs. Western Kentucky Schlabach: Houston vs. Western Kentucky
Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Penn State vs. South Carolina Schlabach: Illinois vs. Mississippi State
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: BYU vs. Washington Schlabach: Utah vs. USC
ReliaQuest Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Michigan vs. Texas Schlabach: Penn State vs. Missouri
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas) 2 p.m., CBS Bonagura: Duke vs. USC Schlabach: Clemson vs. Arizona
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 3 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Illinois vs. Missouri Schlabach: Michigan vs. Tennessee
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) 3:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Utah Schlabach: Nebraska vs. California
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas) 1 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UCF vs. South Florida Schlabach: Kansas vs. Temple
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee) 4:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. Auburn Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Auburn
Duke’s Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: NC State vs. Tennessee Schlabach: Florida State vs. Vanderbilt
Holiday Bowl Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego) 8 p.m., Fox Bonagura: Notre Dame vs. Arizona State Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Arizona State