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.
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College football bowl predictions 2025
There are 35 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at those matchups.
DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
Dec. 13 | LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk | UNLV vs. Washington State |
Dec. 16 | IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl* | North Texas vs. Sam Houston |
Dec. 17 | StaffDNA Cure Bowl | Georgia Southern vs. San Jose State |
Dec. 17 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Ohio vs. Old Dominion |
Dec. 19 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Western Michigan vs. South Alabama |
Dec. 19 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Louisiana vs. Arkansas |
Dec. 22 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Colorado State |
Dec. 23 | Boca Raton Bowl | James Madison vs. Toledo |
Dec. 23 | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Liberty vs. Arkansas State |
Dec. 23 | Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl* | Fresno State vs. Texas State |
Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | East Carolina vs. Hawaii |
Dec. 26 | GameAbove Sports Bowl | Northern Illinois vs. Wisconsin |
Dec. 26 | Rate Bowl | Nebraska vs. Texas Tech |
Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | UTSA vs. TCU |
Dec. 27 | Go Bowling Military Bowl | South Florida vs. NC State |
Dec. 27 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Duke vs. Iowa |
Dec. 27 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Tulane vs. Syracuse |
Dec. 27 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | North Carolina vs. Baylor |
Dec. 27 | Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice | Bowling Green vs. Boise State |
Dec. 27 | Isleta New Mexico Bowl | Air Force vs. Louisiana Tech |
Dec. 27 | Taxslayer Gator Bowl | Florida State vs. Auburn |
Dec. 27 | Texas Bowl | BYU vs. Missouri |
Dec. 29 | Birmingham Bowl | Memphis vs. Pitt |
Dec. 30 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Army vs. Western Kentucky |
Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Indiana vs. Tennessee |
Dec. 30 | Valero Alamo Bowl | USC vs. Kansas State |
Dec. 31 | Reliaquest Bowl | Illinois vs. Oklahoma |
Dec. 31 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | Georgia Tech vs. Utah |
Dec. 31 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. Florida |
Dec. 31 | SDS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | UCLA vs. Texas A&M |
Jan. 2 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Minnesota vs. Kansas |
Jan. 2 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Iowa State vs. Ole Miss |
Jan. 2 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Louisville vs. South Carolina |
TBD | DirecTV Holiday Bowl | SMU vs. Washington |
TBD | Bahamas Bowl* | Miami, Ohio vs. Jacksonville State |

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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:
DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
Dec. 19 | First-Round CFP game | No. 11 LSU at No. 6 Notre Dame |
Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 12 Navy at No. 5 Penn State |
Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 10 Miami, Fla. at No. 7 Alabama |
Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 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.
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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:
DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
Dec. 31 | Cotton Bowl Classic (quarterfinal) | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Notre Dame |
Jan. 1 | Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 4 Clemson vs. No. 5 Penn State |
Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal) | No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Alabama |
Jan. 1 | Allstate 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:
DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
Jan. 8 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Georgia |
Jan. 9 | Chick-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
DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
Jan. 19 | CFP National championship | No. 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?