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 30, 2025, 01:10 PM ET
Finebaum: Alabama will beat Georgia in the SEC championship (0:36)Paul Finebaum says Alabama will prevail in the SEC title game, securing its a second win over Georgia this season. (0:36)
The regular season is over and, except for the 18 teams playing in their conference championship games, the résumés are complete.
Rivalry Week didn’t provide many surprises among the College Football Playoff contenders, while a handful of other teams reached the coveted six-win mark to achieve bowl eligibility. (Note: An additional bowl game will be added to the slate since there are 82 eligible teams.) That provides more clarity to the postseason picture than we’ve had previously, but there is still a lot that needs to be sorted out.
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 36-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.
After that, there are a few combinations to consider, but if James Madison (11-1) beats Troy (8-4) to win the Sun Belt, it’s hard to see the committee passing on a 12-win team in favor of 8-5 Duke. The other team that could be considered is UNLV (10-2), which has a chance to avenge one of its two losses of the season at Boise State in the Mountain West title game.
Schlabach: Texas’ 27-17 upset of Texas A&M on Friday night shook up my 12-team bracket from a week ago and set up plenty of intriguing storylines going into Championship Week.
Virginia is now my projected ACC champion after SMU fell 38-35 at Cal on Saturday. The Cavaliers took down rival Virginia Tech 27-7 on Saturday to finish 10-2 after going 5-7 last season. As Kyle outlined above, a win by the five-loss Blue Devils over Virginia in Saturday’s ACC championship game would make things really interesting.
CFP Quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) 7:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 10 Alabama vs. No. 2 Indiana Schlabach: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
CFP Quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 4 Texas Tech Schlabach: No. 10 Alabama vs. No. 2 Indiana
CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 4 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Bonagura: This take could end up being wildly off base, but every team in the top 10 seems capable of making a playoff run.
The most interesting matchup in this hypothetical quarterfinal round might be Texas Tech vs. Texas A&M, showcasing the types of rosters Texas donor money can facilitate in different parts of the state.
Indiana vs. Alabama would pit the Hoosiers against two coaches familiar with Bloomington. Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack were on the Hoosiers staff together in 2019. Oregon vs. Georgia would mean Dan Lanning going against one of his mentors (Kirby Smart) at a place he was previously the defensive coordinator. Ohio State vs. Notre Dame would feature two of the hottest teams in the sport.
Schlabach: At this point, I’m assuming eight teams have all but clinched spots in the CFP, regardless of what happens in the conference title games: Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
That leaves essentially two more at-large spots because two are reserved for conference champions. (I’m going with Virginia and Tulane as of now.) Notre Dame, Alabama, BYU, Miami, Vanderbilt and Texas might be fighting for those spots.
Miami might be playing as well as Notre Dame, so will head-to-head results finally be a convincing factor for the committee? The Hurricanes fell to Louisville and SMU, and their earlier win against South Florida doesn’t look as good as it once did.
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. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Indiana
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. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Bonagura: One thing to consider is how the Big Ten title game might affect seedings. Ohio State and Indiana are the consensus top two teams right now, but will that change come seeding time?
Either way, the loser likely won’t drop below No. 3, meaning they will stay on opposite sides of the bracket to allow for a rematch in the title game.
Schlabach: I’m going to continue to roll with my top four seeds: Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and now Texas Tech.
Georgia didn’t look great in its 16-9 victory at Georgia Tech on Saturday. Quarterback Gunner Stockton had one of his worst games of the season, and now the Bulldogs have to play their nemesis, Alabama, in the SEC championship game Saturday. Do the Tide have to win to get into the field?
Ohio State looks like the strongest team after winning 27-9 at Michigan on Saturday. Ryan Day finally got that monkey off his back, and with Julian Sayin playing well, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate will be problems for any defense they play.
Cricket Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State Schlabach: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State
LA Bowl SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Arizona State vs. UNLV Schlabach: Washington vs. Boise State
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UConn vs. Old Dominion Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Troy
StaffDNA Cure Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Florida International vs. Coastal Carolina Schlabach: Delaware vs. Old Dominion
68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 8:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Georgia Southern vs. Central Michigan Schlabach: Coastal Carolina vs. Central Michigan
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Arkansas State vs. Missouri State Schlabach: Georgia Southern vs. East Carolina
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Toledo vs. San Diego State Schlabach: Ohio vs. San Diego State
Boca Raton Bowl Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Louisiana Tech vs. Louisiana Schlabach: Florida International vs. Miami (Ohio)
New Orleans Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Jacksonville State vs. Troy Schlabach: Kennesaw State vs. Southern Miss
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Ford Center at The Star (Frisco, Texas) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss Schlabach: Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech
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. California
GameAbove Sports Bowl Ford Field (Detroit) 1 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Penn State vs. Western Michigan Schlabach: Northwestern vs. Western Michigan
Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix) 4:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. Northwestern Schlabach: Cincinnati vs. Penn State
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Texas State vs. Utah State Schlabach: Texas State vs. Kansas State
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Duke vs. Minnesota Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Wasabi Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 2:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Clemson 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: 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. Miami (Ohio) Schlabach: New Mexico vs. Washington State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) 7:30 p.m. ABC Bonagura: Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee Schlabach: Miami vs. Vanderbilt
Kinder’s Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) 9:15 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Tulane Schlabach: TCU vs. North Texas
JLab Birmingham Bowl Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Boise State vs. Memphis Schlabach: UTSA vs. James Madison
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: James Madison vs. Kennesaw State Schlabach: Louisiana vs. Western Kentucky
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Missouri Schlabach: Nebraska vs. LSU
ReliaQuest Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Illinois vs. Vanderbilt Schlabach: Iowa vs. Tennessee
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas) 2 p.m., CBS Bonagura: SMU vs. Washington Schlabach: Clemson vs. Arizona State