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 XNov 9, 2025, 12:45 PM ET
Finebaum: Texas Tech is a legit title contender, Alabama still has questions (1:31)Paul Finebaum explains why Texas Tech is a legit threat for the College Football Playoff while Alabama is questionable because of its running game. (1:31)
The Big Ten provided the biggest thrills in Week 11, with Indiana and Oregon both narrowly fending off upsets in dramatic fashion.
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 the 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.
When the committee debuted its rankings, Memphis was the highest-ranked Group of 5 team but promptly lost to Tulane, which dropped the Tigers to sixth place in the American Conference (there are five one-loss teams). I have North Texas in the playoff spot again this week, but there really isn’t an obvious favorite.
The Sun Belt’s James Madison (8-1) has won seven straight and could benefit from the American chaos, while San Diego State’s chances took a huge hit late Saturday night in Hawai’i, where the Aztecs lost 38-6.
Schlabach: I’ll be honest: I didn’t know what to do with the ACC or the Group of 5 this week after Virginia and Louisville both fell, and Memphis lost to Tulane in the American Conference.
I’d loved what Georgia Tech was doing this season, although its 48-36 loss at NC State two weeks ago exposed some serious problems on defense. The Yellow Jackets play at Boston College on Saturday, then host Pittsburgh and play rival Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
I went with Tulane as my fifth conference champion, although I seriously considered South Florida, North Texas and James Madison as well.
CFP Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 2 Indiana Schlabach: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama
CFP Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama Schlabach: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Indiana
CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 4 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Ohio State
CFP Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 3 Texas A&M Schlabach: No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Texas A&M
It goes against the spirit of the rankings, but I think there is a way to take conference affiliation into account come playoff time. Purely from an entertainment standpoint, I don’t like that these hypothetical quarterfinals arrange rematches with Alabama-Georgia and Indiana-Oregon. It comes with the territory to a certain degree, but it would be much more interesting if conference matchups were avoided to the extent it wouldn’t impact the integrity of the format.
Schlabach: I dinged Indiana one spot in my seedings after it needed a miracle touchdown pass in the closing seconds to beat struggling Penn State 27-24 on the road Saturday. A win is a win, especially in November, but the Nittany Lions have lost six in a row.
I moved Texas A&M up one spot after it picked up another big road victory, winning 38-17 at Missouri. The Aggies won at Notre Dame and LSU earlier this season, and they might have to win once more at rival Texas on Nov. 28 to stay in the hunt for a first-round bye.
Georgia and Alabama would be an entertaining rematch in the Cotton Bowl, and I’m sure Rose Bowl officials would love to see the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes playing in Pasadena on New Year’s Day. There would also be plenty of Lone Star State bragging rights on the line if the Aggies and Red Raiders met up in the Sugar Bowl.
CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State
CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Indiana Schlabach: No. 3 Indiana vs. No. 2 Texas A&M
Bonagura: Texas A&M looked the part against Missouri, Ohio State put Purdue to bed in the first half and Indiana survived, leaving three undefeated teams. But none of them have been so dominant that it would qualify as a major shock if they don’t march to the title game with ease. This is exactly why a playoff was needed in college football.
Schlabach: Ohio State continues to cruise, routing Purdue 34-10 on the road Saturday. I considered moving Texas A&M to No. 1 because the Buckeyes don’t have much meat on their résumé besides their 14-7 win against Texas in the opener.
Road wins at Washington and Illinois were nice, but the Huskies just lost at struggling Wisconsin, and the Illini have dropped three games. Ohio State still has the best defense in the FBS, and quarterback Julian Sayin is a Heisman Trophy front-runner. The Buckeyes shouldn’t be tested in their next two games against UCLA and Rutgers before closing the regular season at Michigan on Nov. 29.
Cricket Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State Schlabach: Jackson State vs. Delaware State
LA Bowl SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Arizona vs. San Diego State Schlabach: Washington vs. San Diego State
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Louisiana Tech vs. East Carolina Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Troy
StaffDNA Cure Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Buffalo vs. Jacksonville State Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Old Dominion
68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 8:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Coastal Carolina vs. Western Michigan Schlabach: Coastal Carolina vs. Central Michigan
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: UConn vs. Troy Schlabach: North Texas vs. James Madison
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Toledo vs. UNLV Schlabach: Ohio vs. UNLV
Boca Raton Bowl Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Southern Miss vs. Florida International Schlabach: Arkansas State vs. Miami (Ohio)
New Orleans Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion Schlabach: Kennesaw State vs. Southern Miss
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UTSA vs. Hawai’i Schlabach: East Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Boise State vs. California Schlabach: Hawai’i vs. Memphis
GameAbove Sports Bowl Ford Field (Detroit) 1 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Rutgers vs. Ohio Schlabach: Rutgers vs. Western Michigan
Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix) 4:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Baylor vs. Northwestern Schlabach: TCU vs. Northwestern
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Temple vs. Utah State Schlabach: Kansas vs. Boise State
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota Schlabach: Louisville vs. Illinois
Wasabi Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 2:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: NC State vs. Army Schlabach: NC State vs. South Florida
Pop-Tarts Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 3:30 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Miami vs. Houston Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Houston
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 4:30 p.m., CW Network Bonagura: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State Schlabach: Toledo vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 5:45 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: New Mexico vs. Washington State Schlabach: New Mexico vs. Akron
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) 7:30 p.m. ABC Bonagura: Virginia vs. LSU Schlabach: Virginia vs. Vanderbilt
Kinder’s Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) 9:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: TCU vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Oklahoma
JLab Birmingham Bowl Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Memphis vs. James Madison Schlabach: Clemson vs. UTSA
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Kansas vs. Kennesaw State Schlabach: Baylor vs. Western Kentucky
Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Missouri Schlabach: Minnesota vs. LSU
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. USC Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. USC
ReliaQuest Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Illinois vs. Texas Schlabach: Iowa vs. Tennessee
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas) 2 p.m., CBS Bonagura: Wake Forest vs. Arizona State Schlabach: Miami vs. California