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 16, 2025, 12:35 PM ET
Is Texas out of the CFP conversation after loss to Georgia? (1:14)Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum detail why Texas still has a path to the College Football Playoff despite three losses. (1:14)
The win pushes the Sooners firmly into the mix for the CFP, while the Crimson Tide have lost their grip on a top-four seed — at least for the time being. It also creates an interesting dynamic among those two teams and Notre Dame as we try to figure out how those two-loss teams fit in the postseason mix.
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.
Bonagura: Welcome to the party, Oklahoma. The Sooners climbed to No. 11 in the committee’s rankings last week, and with its win at Alabama, they will likely climb into one of the projected playoff spots when the updated rankings are revealed Tuesday. With games against Missouri and LSU left on the schedule, there are two potential pitfalls, but the Sooners will be favored in both games, putting them on course for the playoff.
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. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Indiana
CFP Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Georgia Schlabach: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Georgia
CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 4 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Bonagura: The most interesting quarterfinal matchup in my pairings might be Georgia vs. Texas Tech. The Red Raiders’ only loss came without starting quarterback Behren Morton, and they’ve been dominant in every other game. And after Georgia dominated Texas over the weekend — which should effectively remove the Longhorns from CFP consideration — both the Bulldogs and Red Raiders look like teams that can win the whole thing.
Once again, the Bulldogs seem to be peaking at the right time. Georgia’s defense has been getting better every week, and it limited the Longhorns to 23 rushing yards and sacked quarterback Arch Manning three times Saturday. Georgia’s offense is hitting on all cylinders with quarterback Gunner Stockton leading the way.
The Rose Bowl committee would be frothing at the mouth over a Notre Dame-Ohio State contest, and Oregon-Texas A&M would feature two of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the FBS in Dante Moore and Marcel Reed.
CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 4 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 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Indiana
Bonagura: Last week, it was Indiana that rescued its undefeated season with a miraculous late comeback. This week, it was Texas A&M’s turn. After trailing 30-3 at halftime to South Carolina, the Aggies managed to escape with a 31-30 win. Both of those games came against teams near the bottom of their league standings, showing both Indiana and Texas A&M have exploitable flaws. But maybe they’ll just serve as wake-up calls.
Meanwhile, Ohio State keeps humming along having not played a competitive game since Aug. 30. The Buckeyes are the clear favorite to win it all. That is not really up for debate.
Schlabach: I’m going to roll with Ohio State as the top seed, especially with the way its defense continues to dominate Big Ten opponents. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin are probably the top two Heisman Trophy favorites.
I had Georgia sneaking past Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. It would be a black-and-blue affair between the Bulldogs’ massive offensive line and the Red Raiders’ menacing defensive front.
Texas A&M showed a lot of heart in coming back from a 27-point deficit in the second half, but I’m not sure the Aggies are good enough on defense to slow down the Hoosiers.
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: Western Michigan vs. East Carolina Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Troy
StaffDNA Cure Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Old Dominion
68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 8:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Coastal Carolina vs. Buffalo Schlabach: Coastal Carolina vs. Central Michigan
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Marshall vs. Troy Schlabach: Marshall vs. East Carolina
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. Louisiana Tech 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: UTSA 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. California
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: TCU vs. Northwestern Schlabach: Baylor vs. Northwestern
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Texas State vs. Utah State Schlabach: Tulane 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: Clemson vs. Army Schlabach: Clemson vs. South Florida
Pop-Tarts Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 3:30 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Miami vs. Houston Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. BYU
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. Georgia Southern
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) 7:30 p.m. ABC Bonagura: Virginia vs. LSU Schlabach: Miami vs. Texas
Kinder’s Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) 9:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. Kentucky Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Kentucky
JLab Birmingham Bowl Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Florida State vs. James Madison Schlabach: NC State vs. James Madison
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Baylor vs. Kennesaw State Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Western Kentucky
Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Iowa vs. Missouri Schlabach: Minnesota vs. LSU
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: BYU vs. USC Schlabach: Houston 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: Pittsburgh vs. Arizona
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 3 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Michigan vs. Vanderbilt Schlabach: Michigan vs. Vanderbilt
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) 3:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Utah Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Utah
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee) 4:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Memphis Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Memphis
Duke’s Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Louisville vs. Tennessee Schlabach: Duke vs. Missouri
Holiday Bowl Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego) 8 p.m., Fox Bonagura: SMU vs. Washington Schlabach: SMU vs. Arizona State
Is Texas out of the CFP conversation after loss to Georgia? (1:14)Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum detail why Texas still has a path to the College Football Playoff despite three losses. (1:14)