College Football Playoff, bowl projections after Week 10
College Football Playoff, bowl projections after Week 10
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College Football Playoff, bowl projections after Week 10

🕒︎ 2025-11-02

Copyright KABC-TV

College Football Playoff, bowl projections after Week 10

While there was stability at the very top of the college football hierarchy in Week 10 -- with Ohio State and Indiana rolling to big wins -- there were plenty of surprises and consequential results further down the pecking order. The biggest shockwaves came in the ACC, where Georgia Tech suffered its first loss of the season, Miami lost for the second week in a row and Virginia emerged in sole possession of first place. If the Cavaliers can hold on and win the ACC championship, they would be a most unlikely participant in the College Football Playoff. 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. We're here for all of it. 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. Jump to a section:br/>Playoff picks| Quarterfinalsbr/>Semis, title game| Bowl season College Football Playoff First-round games (at campus sites) Friday, Dec. 19/Saturday, Dec. 20 Times and networks TBD. Bonagura: No. 12 North Texas at No. 5 Oregon >Schlabach: No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia Bonagura: No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Georgia >Schlabach: No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Ole Miss Bonagura: No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Ole Miss >Schlabach: No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Oregon Bonagura: No. 9 Texas Tech at No. 8 BYU >Schlabach: No. 9 Texas Tech at No. 8 BYU First-round breakdown Bonagura:North Texas to the playoffs? Sure, why not? After ending Navy's undefeated season Saturday, the Mean Green are positioned as well as anyone else to win the American, which will likely result in a playoff spot. You can drum up a scenario where San Diego State gets picked from the Mountain West, but the American champion is in the driver's seat. And picking from the league's pool of options is tough: Navy, Memphis, North Texas, Tulane, South Florida and East Carolina all have just one conference loss. The Mean Green have been the most impressive over the last three weeks. Georgia Tech's loss to NC State means the ACC no longer has an undefeated team, which stands as another indicator the ACC will be a one-bid league. Is that team Virginia? The Cavaliers' only loss of the season also came against NC State, but that was classified as a nonconference game, so they're still undefeated in league play. Regardless, it's hard to be optimistic about the chances any ACC team will win a first-round game. Schlabach:It was another unpredictable Saturday in college football with three teams in the AP top 10 falling. I'm sure we'll see plenty of chaos over the final month of the regular season, too. Vanderbilt's dream season hit a road bump at Texas, as Longhorns quarterbackArch Manningthrew for 328 yards with three touchdowns in a 34-31 victory. The Longhorns have won four in a row after most of us left them for dead. They'll play at Georgia in two weeks, followed by home games against Arkansas and Texas A &M. Georgia Tech suffered its first loss of the season in an ugly 48-36 defeat at NC State. The Wolfpack had 583 yards of offense, including 243 rushing, as Tech's defense had no answers. The Yellow Jackets will play surging Pittsburgh and rival Georgia in their final two games, so they'll have to get things fixed quickly. Georgia Tech, Miami, Vanderbilt and Navy all fell out of my 12-team bracket. I replaced them with Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Virginia and Memphis. CFP quarterfinals Wednesday, Dec. 31 CFP quarterfinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic > >Bonagura:No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Indiana >Schlabach: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama Thursday, Jan. 1 CFP quarterfinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl > >Bonagura:No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Alabama >Schlabach: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 2 Indiana CFP quarterfinal at theRose Bowl Game presented by Prudential > >Bonagura:No. 8 BYU vs. No. 1 Ohio State >Schlabach:No. 9 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State CFP quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl > >Bonagura:No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 3 Texas A &M >Schlabach: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Texas A &M Quarterfinals breakdown Bonagura:Half of this week's projected quarterfinal field -- Texas A &M, Alabama, Oregon and BYU -- was off this weekend in what felt like a quiet one for college football. The only change for me here from last week is that Georgia Tech is gone, with BYU in its place. The Cougars travel to Texas Tech this week in what might be the most consequential conference game outside the SEC and Big Ten the rest of the way. BYU is following a similar script to last season, when it started 8-0, only to lose twice late in the year and miss out on a trip to the Big 12 title game. Things are tight again in the Big 12, so this is as close as it gets to a must-win game for both teams. Schlabach:My quarterfinal matchups largely remained unchanged from a week ago, although Texas Tech replaced Georgia Tech in one of the games. The CFP selection committee members wouldn't admit it, but hopefully they'll tweak the final rankings to avoid the intraconference matchups in my bracket. There are all-SEC matchups in the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl, and an all-Big Ten contest in the Orange Bowl. Texas Tech and BYU are in the driver's seat for a Big 12 title, and I'm not sure the unbeaten Cougars are getting enough love nationally. They've already beaten Utah and Iowa State, and they'll have a chance to make an emphatic statement when they play the Red Raiders on Saturday. CFP semifinals, national championship game Thursday, Jan. 8 CFP semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl > >Bonagura:No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Ohio State >Schlabach: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Ohio State Friday, Jan. 9 CFP semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl > >Bonagura:No. 3 Texas A &M vs. No. 2 Indiana >Schlabach: No. 3 Texas A &M vs. No. 2 Indiana Monday, Jan. 19 CFP national championship > >Bonagura:No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 Ohio State >Schlabach: No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 Ohio State National championship breakdown Bonagura:With Ohio State and Indiana both winning decisively, there is no reason to revisit the title game projection. They continue to look like the two best teams in college football and haven't showed any signs of slowing down. Schlabach:Ohio State and Indiana continued to roll this week. The Buckeyes got off to a slow start before dismantling Penn State 38-14. The Buckeyes will be heavy favorites in their next three games -- a road trip to Purdue and home contests against UCLA and Rutgers -- before closing the regular season at rival Michigan in the Big House on Nov. 29. Indiana also got off to a slow start before routing Maryland 55-10 on the road. Indiana has won its past three games against Michigan State, UCLA and Maryland by a combined 120 points. It doesn't figure to get much more difficult over the Hoosiers' final three games against struggling Penn State (road), Wisconsin (home) and Purdue (road). Complete bowl season schedule Saturday, Dec. 13 Cricket Celebration Bowl > >Bonagura:Jackson State vs. Delaware State >Schlabach: Jackson State vs. Delaware State LA Bowl > >Bonagura:Arizona vs. San Diego State >Schlabach: Arizona vs. San Diego State Tuesday, Dec. 16 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl > >Bonagura:Louisiana Tech vs. East Carolina >Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Coastal Carolina Wednesday, Dec. 17 StaffDNA Cure Bowl > >Bonagura:Buffalo vs. Jacksonville State >Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Old Dominion 68 Ventures Bowl > >Bonagura: Arkansas State vs.Western Michigan >Schlabach: Liberty vs. Central Michigan Friday, Dec. 19 Myrtle Beach Bowl > >Bonagura:UCF vs. Marshall >Schlabach: East Carolina vs. James Madison Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl > >Bonagura:South Florida vs. Florida State >Schlabach: UConn vs. Florida State Monday, Dec. 22 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl > >Bonagura:Toledo vs. UNLV >Schlabach: Ohio vs. UNLV Tuesday, Dec. 23 Boca Raton Bowl > >Bonagura:Southern Miss vs. Coastal Carolina >Schlabach: Temple vs. Miami (Ohio) New Orleans Bowl > >Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion >Schlabach: Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl >Ford Center at The Star ( >Bonagura:UTSA vs. Hawai'i >Schlabach: North Texas vs. Louisiana Tech Wednesday, Dec. 24 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl > >Bonagura:Boise State vs. California >Schlabach: Hawai'i vs. Tulane Friday, Dec. 26 GameAbove Sports Bowl > >Bonagura:Maryland vs. Ohio >Schlabach: Maryland vs. Western Michigan Rate Bowl > >Bonagura: Baylor vs. Northwestern >Schlabach: Baylor vs. Northwestern SERVPRO First Responder Bowl > >Bonagura: Temple vs. Troy >Schlabach: Boise State vs. Iowa State Saturday, Dec. 27 Go Bowling Military Bowl > >Bonagura: NC State vs. Tulane >Schlabach: Wake Forest vs. Navy Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl > >Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota >Schlabach: SMU vs. Minnesota Wasabi Fenway Bowl > >Bonagura: Wake Forest vs. Army >Schlabach: NC State vs. South Florida Pop-Tarts Bowl > >Bonagura: Miami vs. Cincinnati >Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl > >Bonagura: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State >Schlabach: Toledo vs. Fresno State Isleta New Mexico Bowl > >Bonagura: New Mexico vs. Washington State >Schlabach: New Mexico vs. Washington State TaxSlayer Gator Bowl > >Bonagura:Louisville vs. LSU >Schlabach: Louisville vs. Vanderbilt Kinder's Texas Bowl > >Bonagura: TCU vs. Oklahoma >Schlabach: Houston vs. Oklahoma Monday, Dec. 29 JLab Birmingham Bowl > >Bonagura: Memphis vs. James Madison >Schlabach: Troy vs. UTSA Tuesday, Dec. 30 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl > >Bonagura: Kansas State vs. Kennesaw State >Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Kennesaw State Music City Bowl > >Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Missouri >Schlabach: Illinois vs. LSU Valero Alamo Bowl > >Bonagura: Houston vs. Washington >Schlabach: Utah vs. USC Wednesday, Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl > >Bonagura: Illinois vs. Vanderbilt >Schlabach: Iowa vs. Tennessee Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl > >Bonagura: Duke vs. Arizona State >Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Arizona State Cheez-It Citrus Bowl > >Bonagura: Michigan vs. Texas >Schlabach: Michigan vs. Texas SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl > >Bonagura: Iowa vs. Utah >Schlabach: Nebraska vs. California Friday, Jan. 2 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl > >Bonagura: Kansas vs. Navy >Schlabach: Kansas vs. Army AutoZone Liberty Bowl > >Bonagura:Iowa State vs. Auburn >Schlabach: TCU vs. Mississippi State Duke's Mayo Bowl > >Bonagura:SMU vs. Tennessee >Schlabach: Duke vs. Missouri Holiday Bowl >Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego) >8 p.m., Fox >Bonagura: Georgia Tech vs. USC >Schlabach: Miami vs. Washington ]

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