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Bowl projections in July?
Of course we're going there. There are 35 bowl games outside the College Football Playoff this season, including a few new changes to Bowl Season. The Rate Bowl is now the Cactus Bowl. The Poinsettia Bowl is back. Say hello to the Puerto Rico Bowl. Don't pretend like you don't enjoy the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
A total of 82 schools will participate in the 2026-27 postseason as a result, which includes the 12-team College Football Playoff. Sporting News has projections for all those games, which includes CFP semifinal matchups between Indiana and Texas and Notre Dame and Georgia. Those four schools combined for 17 players on our first 2027 NFL Draft Top 25 Big Board.
The College Football Playoff begins with first-round playoff games on Dec. 18-19. The quarterfinals start at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 30 before a Jan. 1 triple-header with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The semifinals will be played at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 14-15. The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
With that in mind, Sporting News takes a crack at projecting the 12-team College Football Playoff field – and the 35 other bowls that will be played during the 2026-27 college football season.
MORE: Ranking all 138 college football coaches ahead of 2026 season
College football bowl predictions 2026
There are 35 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at those matchups.
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 15 | IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl | Old Dominion vs. Kennesaw State |
| Dec. 15 | Frisco Football Classic | Georgia Southern vs Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 18 | Boca Raton Bowl | Troy vs. Delaware |
| Dec. 18 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Navy vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 21 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Arkansas State vs. Liberty |
| Dec. 21 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | North Dakota State vs. Miami, Ohio |
| Dec. 22 | Puerto Rico Bowl | Ohio vs. UConn |
| Dec. 22 | Staffdna Cure Bowl | Central Michigan vs. FIU |
| Dec. 22 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Army vs. Cal |
| Dec. 23 | New Orleans Bowl | James Madison vs. Jacksonville State |
| Dec. 23 | Lockheed Armed Forces Bowl | Nebraska vs. South Carolina |
| Dec. 23 | Frisco Bowl | Tulane vs. Buffalo |
| Dec. 24 | Isleta New Mexico Bowl | UNLV vs. Kennesaw State |
| Dec. 24 | Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl | UTSA vs. Hawai'i |
| Dec. 26 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Minnesota vs. Florida State |
| Dec. 26 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | East Carolina vs. Virginia |
| Dec. 26 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Florida vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 26 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Louisiana Tech vs. Toledo |
| Dec. 26 | Cactus Bowl | Illinois vs. Kansas |
| Dec. 28 | Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl | South Florida vs. Florida State |
| Dec. 29 | JLab Birmingham Bowl | Memphis vs. Duke |
| Dec. 29 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Texas Tech vs. Virginia Tech |
| Dec. 29 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Washington vs. Houston |
| Dec. 30 | TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Vanderbilt vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 30 | Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl | Penn State vs. Texas A&M |
| Dec. 31 | ReliaQuest Bowl | Alabama vs. SMU |
| Dec. 31 | Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Fresno State vs. Wake Forest |
| Dec. 31 | Las Vegas Bowl | Iowa vs. Arizona State |
| Dec. 31 | Kinder's Texas Bowl | Missouri vs. TCU |
| Jan. 2 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. LSU |
| Jan. 2 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | Wisconsin vs. Baylor |
| Jan. 2 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Tennessee vs. Kansas State |
| TBD | Poinsettia Bowl | San Diego State vs. Air Force |
| TBD | Trust & Will Holiday Bowl | Utah vs. Louisville |
| TBD | Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl | New Mexico vs. Western Michigan |
College Football Playoff first-round predictions
A look at the four College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the 2026-27 season. Those first-round games will be played on campus:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 18 | First-Round CFP game | No. 10 USC vs. No. 7 Miami |
| Dec. 19 | First-Round CFP game | No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Boise State |
| Dec. 19 | First-Round CFP game | No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Oklahoma |
| Dec. 19 | First-Round CFP game | No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 11 BYU |
BYU and USC make their first College Football Playoff appearances. The Cougars are our pick to win the Big 12, and a first-round matchup at Oregon fits the late-night Saturday window. USC gets a prime-time matchup with Miami, our pick to win the ACC, in the playoff opener. This takes the pressure off Trojans coach Lincoln Riley – at least temporarily. Riley was 0-3 in the CFP at Oklahoma. Boise State would represent the Pac-12 – which has an eight-team conference this season. This round would be of interest to NFL Draft scouts with Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Darian Mensah, Trinidad Chambliss and John Mateer all in action.
SCHEDULE RANKINGS: Ohio State hardest in Big Ten | Alabama easiest in SEC
College Football Playoff quarterfinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups for the 2026-27 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 30 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Texas |
| Jan. 1 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Oregon |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Ole Miss |
| Jan. 1 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 10 USC |
The SEC and Big Ten have seven of the eight teams in the quarterfinals – with Notre Dame filling out the field. Is that good for college football? Texas-Ohio State is a rematch from their Sept. 12 game in Austin, and it's the fourth matchup between the teams in three seasons. Oregon and Georgia will look to advance past the quarterfinal round in the 12-team format for the first time. Five of these schools ranked in the top 12 in scoring defense last season. Texas (28th), Ole Miss (37th) and USC (51st) were the exceptions. They will need to improve on that side of the ball to make a run to the semifinals in 2026.
QB RANKINGS: Big Ten | Big 12 | ACC | SEC | Top 25 overall
College Football Playoff semifinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups for the 2026-27 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 14 | Capital One Orange Bowl | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 5 Texas |
| Jan. 15 | Allstate Sugar Bowl | No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame |
Indiana would be the lone returning team that reached the semifinals last year. Which team would face the most pressure among this group? Easy answer: Texas. The Longhorns would be in the CFP semifinals for the third time in four seasons. Notre Dame and Georgia face off in a rematch of the Sugar Bowl from 2025, when the Irish won 23-10. Would the SEC be denied an appearance in the CFP championship game for the fourth consecutive season?
College Football Playoff championship pick
A look at the College Football Playoff championship matchup for the 2026-27 season. That game is scheduled for Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 25 | CFP championship | No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 3 Notre Dame |
The hype in the "Hoosier State" would be profound for this matchup – especially with Indiana shooting for back-to-back national championships. Notre Dame won the last meeting 27-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 20, 2024. Curt Cignetti and Marcus Freeman are two of the most charismatic coaches in college football, too.
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