College football predictions for 2025 bowl games, 12-team playoff, national championship

Bill Bender

College football predictions for 2025 bowl games, 12-team playoff, national championship image

Ohio State and Texas produced one of the best College Football Playoff matchups last season. 

The Buckeyes won 28-14 in a game that featured 26 players that were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ohio State and Texas will meet in the season opener at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30. If Sporting News' preseason bowl projections are accurate, then the Buckeyes and Longhorns will meet in the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 19. 

Can you imagine? Ohio State with a chance to rip off back-to-back national titles with coach Ryan Day and star players Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs. Or Texas winning a national title for the first time since 2005 – with coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning leading the way. 

SN QB RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | Big 12 | ACC

We had Ohio State and Georgia in the CFP championship game last season. We have eight of the 12 teams from last season to the College Football Playoff – a chalky setup that also includes Georgia, Oregon, Penn State, Arizona State, Clemson and Notre Dame. 

The first round of the new CFP will have one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three on Saturday, Dec. 20. The quarterfinals will be played at the Cotton Bowl Classic (Dec. 31), Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 1),  Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1). 

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The semifinals will be played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 8) and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 9). The CFP national championship is Jan. 19 in Miami. 

With that in mind,  Sporting News takes a first crack at projecting the 12-team College Football Playoff field – and the 35 other bowls that will be played during the 2025-26 college football season. 

MORE: Ranking 2025 CFB head coaches, from 1-136

College football bowl predictions 2025

There are 35 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at those matchups. 

DATEBOWLMATCHUP
Dec. 13LA Bowl Hosted by GronkUNLV vs. Washington State
Dec. 16IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl*North Texas vs. Sam Houston
Dec. 17StaffDNA Cure BowlGeorgia Southern vs. San Jose State
Dec. 1768 Ventures BowlOhio vs. Old Dominion
Dec. 19Myrtle Beach BowlWestern Michigan vs. South Alabama
Dec. 19Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla BowlLouisiana vs. Arkansas
Dec. 22Famous Idaho Potato BowlEastern Michigan vs. Colorado State
Dec. 23Boca Raton BowlJames Madison vs. Toledo
Dec. 23R+L Carriers New Orleans BowlLiberty vs. Arkansas State
Dec. 23Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl*Fresno State vs. Texas State
Dec. 24Hawaii BowlEast Carolina vs. Hawaii
Dec. 26GameAbove Sports BowlNorthern Illinois vs. Wisconsin
Dec. 26Rate BowlNebraska vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 26Servpro First Responder BowlUTSA vs. TCU
Dec. 27Go Bowling Military BowlSouth Florida vs. NC State
Dec. 27Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe BowlDuke vs. Iowa
Dec. 27Wasabi Fenway BowlTulane vs. Syracuse
Dec. 27Pop-Tarts BowlNorth Carolina vs. Baylor
Dec. 27Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & JuiceBowling Green vs. Boise State
Dec. 27Isleta New Mexico BowlAir Force vs. Louisiana Tech
Dec. 27Taxslayer Gator BowlFlorida State vs. Auburn
Dec. 27Texas BowlBYU vs. Missouri
Dec. 29Birmingham BowlMemphis vs. Pitt
Dec. 30Radiance Technologies Independence BowlArmy vs. Western Kentucky
Dec. 30Transperfect Music City BowlIndiana vs. Tennessee
Dec. 30Valero Alamo BowlUSC vs. Kansas State
Dec. 31Reliaquest BowlIllinois vs. Oklahoma
Dec. 31Tony The Tiger Sun BowlGeorgia Tech vs. Utah
Dec. 31Cheez-It Citrus BowlMichigan vs. Florida
Dec. 31SDS Distribution Las Vegas BowlUCLA vs. Texas A&M
Jan. 2Lockheed Martin Armed Forces BowlMinnesota vs. Kansas
Jan. 2AutoZone Liberty BowlIowa State vs. Ole Miss
Jan. 2Duke's Mayo BowlLouisville vs. South Carolina
TBDDirecTV Holiday BowlSMU vs. Washington
TBDBahamas Bowl*Miami, Ohio vs. Jacksonville State

© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

College Football Playoff first-round predictions 

A look at the four College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those first-round games will be played on campus:

DATEBOWLMATCHUP
Dec. 19First-Round CFP gameNo. 11 LSU at No. 6 Notre Dame
Dec. 20First-Round CFP gameNo. 12 Navy at No. 5 Penn State
Dec. 20First-Round CFP gameNo. 10 Miami, Fla. at No. 7 Alabama
Dec. 20First-Round CFP gameNo. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Arizona State

We believe these would be much closer games than last season with the straight-seeding model taking effect. The playoff starts in South Bend for the second straight season – albeit with significantly more drama with Brian Kelly and the Tigers making their first CFP appearance since 2019. That would be the most-watched first-round CFP game. Penn State also gets a home game for the second straight year – this time with Navy and quarterback Blake Horvath, who had 1,353 passing yards, 1,254 rushing yards and 30 total TDs last season. Alabama and Miami would be a fun first-round matchup with coaches Kalen DeBoer and Mario Cristobal, and Arizona State and Oregon would be a Pac-12 reunion of sorts with coaches Dan Lanning and Kenny Dillingham. We believe these would be much closer games than last season with the straight-seeding model taking effect.

MORE: Seeding change a necessary fix to College Football Playoff

College Football Playoff quarterfinal predictions

A look at the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites: 

DATEBOWLMATCHUP
Dec. 31Cotton Bowl Classic (quarterfinal)No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Notre Dame
Jan. 1Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal)No. 4 Clemson vs. No. 5 Penn State
Jan. 1Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal)No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Alabama
Jan. 1Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal)No. 1 Texas vs. No. 9 Oregon 

There wasn't a regular-season rematch in the first CFP. There will be in this one. Georgia and Notre Dame would meet in the Sugar Bowl for the second straight season in this setup. Gunner Stockton will have a full season of experience this time around. Ohio State and Alabama have met in the CFP twice since 2014, and the Buckeyes would be in the Rose Bowl for the second straight season. Could the Ducks spoil the top-seeded Longhorns' season in the Cotton Bowl? Clemson and Penn State would be the best game of this round. 

MORE: How Big Ten, SEC need to compromise for next CFP format

College Football Playoff semifinal predictions

A look at the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites: 

DATEBOWLMATCHUP
Jan. 8Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (semifinal)No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Georgia
Jan. 9Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal)No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Penn State

The Buckeyes, Longhorns, Bulldogs and Nittany Lions all find their way to this round. There will be more chalk in the semifinal round this year – and these could easily be the four participants in the Big Ten and SEC championship games this season. That is why those games will matter. We could see any combination of these four teams playing each other in the CFP championship game. 

College Football Playoff championship pick 

A look at the College Football Playoff championship matchup for the 2025-26 season. That game is scheduled for Jan. 19 Hard Rock Stadium at Miami Gardens, Fla. a

DATEBOWLMATCHUP
Jan. 19CFP National championshipNo. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Ohio State

Would a rematch from Week 1 be possible? Ohio State has the fourth-hardest schedule in the Big Ten with matchups against Penn State, Illinois and Michigan. In our scenario, the Buckeyes would be on their third straight SEC team in the playoff at this point. Texas has not played for a national championship since the 2009-10 BCS championship loss to Alabama at the Rose Bowl game. Would Day get his second national title? Or would Sarkisian get that elusive national title in his third CFP appearance at Texas?

Bill Bender

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.