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 12, 2025, 12:45 PM ET
Why Paul Finebaum still thinks OU can make the playoffs (0:41)Paul Finebaum explains why Oklahoma can still make the playoffs even with a loss to Texas. (0:41)
The biggest results from Week 7 were Indiana’s impressive road win at Oregon and Texas’ sound victory over Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, but there were other games that impacted the postseason picture.
Texas A&M continued its strong start by routing Florida, Texas Tech wiped out Kansas to keep its hold on the Big 12, Georgia Tech remained unbeaten and SEC contenders Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia all came away with wins.
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: These things have a way of being settled with time, but there is a strong case for the SEC to send five teams to the playoff, and who those five teams should be is still up for debate.
For now, I settled on Texas A&M (bye), Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia and LSU, but there are nine teams in the conference with zero or one loss, plus two-loss teams in Texas and Mississippi State. What this means is there will likely be some SEC vs. SEC first-round games. In this case, they are 10. Georgia at No. 7 Alabama and No. 11 LSU at No. 6 Ole Miss.
Georgia Tech is a new inclusion on my playoff pairings this week with the Yellow Jackets 6-0 at the midway point of the season.
Schlabach: I’ve got two new teams in my top four after Indiana’s stunning 30-20 upset of Oregon on the road. The Hoosiers are a legitimate CFP title contender, regardless of their nonconference schedule, and coach Curt Cignetti is going to be one of the hottest commodities in the coaching market this offseason.
Georgia Tech is also in my bracket for the first time this season after its 35-20 win against Virginia Tech, which moved the Yellow Jackets to 6-0 for the first time since 2011. I love the physical football team Brent Key has built on the Flats, and Georgia Tech faces a tricky road trip to Duke this week. Oklahoma fell out of my bracket following its 23-6 loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry in Dallas. I also considered USC, Tennessee and BYU for the final at-large spot.
South Florida continues to be impressive — the Bulls overcame some early turnovers to rout North Texas 63-36 on the road Friday night — to keep the fifth conference champion spot. I also considered Memphis.
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 Indiana Schlabach: No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 3 Indiana
CFP quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Miami Schlabach: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 2 Miami
CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 4 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State
CFP quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Texas A&M Schlabach: No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Texas A&M
Bonagura: Texas Tech continues to look like the class of the Big 12 and a possible meeting with Texas A&M in the quarterfinals would be one of several interesting games in the quarterfinals. Another Oregon vs. Ohio State playoff game would give the Ducks a chance to avenge last year’s exit at the hands of Buckeyes. Indiana and Miami are jockeying for the No. 2 seed.
Schlabach: I have the favorites advancing out of the first-round games, although the potential Georgia-Oregon game in Athens, Georgia, would be a tightly contested one with Kirby Smart facing his former defensive coordinator, Dan Lanning. The Bulldogs have some obvious flaws in the offensive and defensive lines, but they keep finding ways to win on the road. I’m not sure they’d be able to handle Ohio State’s menacing defense in the Rose Bowl.
Texas Tech continues to play like the class of the Big 12, and Alabama has regrouped nicely after losing at Florida State in its opener. The potential Orange Bowl would feature two of the best quarterbacks in the FBS: Miami’s Carson Beck and Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
CFP semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 3 Indiana vs. No. 2 Miami
Bonagura: After Indiana went to Autzen and beat Oregon, the Hoosiers can claim the best win in college football this season. But that was also the case for Oregon after it won at Penn State — and it only took a week for that result to be framed much differently.
It’s hard to think of many turnarounds that can even be compared to the one Curt Cignetti is executing in Bloomington. There are shades of Kalen DeBoer at Washington, but DeBoer did it at a place with a history of success. Turning Indiana into a national title contender at all — let alone this quickly — would have seemed impossible two years ago.
Schlabach: I’m going with chalk again with the top four seeds advancing to the semifinals. I love what Mike Elko is building in his second season at Texas A&M. The Aggies are playing much better on defense and are a complete team. They still play four road games in the SEC, starting with Saturday’s trip to Arkansas. They’ll play at LSU, Missouri and Texas in November. Ouch.
Cricket Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central Schlabach: Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central
LA Bowl SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Washington State 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: NC State vs. East Carolina Schlabach: Western Michigan vs. Troy
68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 8:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Marshall vs. Louisiana Tech Schlabach: Old Dominion vs. Buffalo
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Southern Miss 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: Texas State vs. New Mexico Schlabach: Temple vs. Toledo
New Orleans Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion Schlabach: Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UTSA vs. Arizona Schlabach: North Texas vs. Kennesaw State
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: San Diego State vs. California Schlabach: Hawai’i vs. Tulane
GameAbove Sports Bowl Ford Field (Detroit) 1 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Northwestern vs. Bowling Green Schlabach: Maryland vs. Central Michigan
Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix) 4:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: TCU vs. Minnesota Schlabach: Baylor vs. Minnesota
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Army vs. Penn State Schlabach: TCU vs. UNLV
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Louisville vs. Maryland Schlabach: Duke vs. Penn State
Wasabi Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 2:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Tulane Schlabach: NC State vs. Memphis
Pop-Tarts Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 3:30 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Virginia vs. Cincinnati Schlabach: Virginia vs. BYU
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 4:30 p.m., CW Network Bonagura: Ohio vs. Hawai’i Schlabach: Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 5:45 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Boise State vs. James Madison Schlabach: San Diego State vs. Appalachian State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) 7:30 p.m. ABC Bonagura: Duke vs. Auburn Schlabach: Louisville vs. Oklahoma
Kinder’s Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) 9:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Missouri
JLab Birmingham Bowl Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Mississippi State vs. UCF Schlabach: Auburn vs. Syracuse
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Baylor vs. Kennesaw State Schlabach: Kansas vs. Louisiana Tech
Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Iowa vs. Texas Schlabach: Michigan vs. Mississippi State
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: BYU vs. USC Schlabach: Utah vs. USC