College football’s Week 5 slate for the 2026 season featured Missouri’s dominant 45-17 showing over Florida, Alabama’s road victory against Mississippi State, Ohio State defeating Iowa and Miami handling Clemson in Death Valley for a key ACC win. Texas had an off date in Week 5 but remains the top team in the projections, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State, Miami and Alabama.
The postseason begins on Dec. 15 with two matchups and continues until Jan. 25 with the national championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The playoffs start on Dec. 18 with one first-round game, followed by three on Saturday, Dec. 19, hosted at on-campus sites. The quarterfinals are slated for Dec. 30 and Jan. 1. The semifinals for the College Football Playoff take place on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15; the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl host the matchups.
Due to conference realignment, some of the bowl tie-ins will be scrambled again in ’26. Former Pac-12 teams are eligible for bowl appearances in the conference’s old tie-ins.
Just missing the projections: North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tulsa, UCF, Iowa State, TCU, Marshall, Colorado State, Georgia Southern, Texas State, Western Kentucky, UConn, Temple, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, South Alabama, UAB, Hawaii and FIU. How will the postseason matchups look by December? Below are Athlon Sports’ predictions for every bowl and playoff game in 2026-27 after Week 5:
College Football Bowl Projections for 2026-27(After Week 5)
Salute to Veterans Bowl (Dec. 15)
Location: Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
Tie-In: CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt/American
Projection: Kennesaw State vs. Appalachian State
Frisco Football Classic (Dec. 15)
Location: Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas
Tie-In: American/CUSA/MAC/MW/Sun Belt
Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. North Texas
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 18)
Location: Flagler Credit Union Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.
Tie-In: American/CUSA/MAC/MW/Sun Belt
Projection: Troy vs. South Florida
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 18)
Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Tie-In: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Memphis* vs. Florida State
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 21)
Location: Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.
Tie-In: American/CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
Projection: Georgia State vs. Marshall
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 21)
Location: Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho
Tie-In: MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Toledo vs. North Dakota State
Puerto Rico Bowl (Dec. 22)
Location: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Tie-In: MAC vs. American/CUSA/Sun Belt
Projection: Miami (Ohio) vs. Florida Atlantic
Cure Bowl (Dec. 22)
Location: Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: American/CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
Projection: Liberty vs. Western Michigan
Independence Bowl (Dec. 22)
Location: Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La.
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Conference USA/Pac-12
Projection: Cincinnati vs. Tulane*
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 23)
Location: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.
Tie-In: Conference USA vs. Sun Belt
Projection: Jacksonville State vs. James Madison
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 23)
Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Group of 6
Projection: Baylor vs. Air Force
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 23)
Location: Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas
Tie-In: Group of 6 vs. Group of 6
Projection: Louisiana vs. Oregon State
Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 23)
Location: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
Tie-In: Pac-12 vs. Former Pac-12 Teams
Projection: Fresno State vs. Washington
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 24)
Location: University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M.
Tie-In: Mountain West vs. Group of 6
Projection: New Mexico vs. Arizona State*
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24)
Location: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu, Hawaii
Tie-In: Mountain West vs. American/Pac-12
Projection: UNLV vs. San Diego State
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection: Virginia vs. Minnesota
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Fenway Park in Boston, Mass.
Tie-In: ACC vs. American
Projection: Louisville vs. Army
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection: Duke vs. Michigan
68 Ventures Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
Tie-In: CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
Projection: Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State
Cactus Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Big Ten
Projection: Kansas State vs. Penn State
Military Bowl (Dec. 28)
Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
Tie-In: ACC vs. American
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Navy
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 28)
Location: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Pac-12
Projection: Pitt vs. UCLA
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 29)
Location: Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.
Tie-In: American/ACC vs. SEC
Projection: NC State vs. Wisconsin*
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Dec. 29)
Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big 12
Projection: SMU vs. Houston
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 29)
Location: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Projection: USC vs. Texas Tech
Gator Bowl (Dec. 30)
Location: EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tie-In: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Clemson vs. Mississippi State
Music City Bowl (Dec. 30)
Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Northwestern vs. Kentucky
ReliaQuest Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Nebraska vs. Tennessee
Sun Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas
Tie-In: ACC vs. Pac-12
Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Arizona
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
Tie-In: Pac-12 vs. SEC
Projection: Utah vs. Missouri
Texas Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Citrus Bowl (Jan. 2)
Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Iowa vs. Florida
First Responder Bowl (Jan. 2)
Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas
Tie-In: Group of 6/Big 12
Projection: Delaware vs. UTSA
Liberty Bowl (Jan. 2)
Location: Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn.
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma
Arizona Bowl (Jan. 2)
Location: Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Tie-In: MAC vs. Mountain West
Projection: Ohio vs. San Jose State
College Football Playoff
College Football Playoff First Round
Games to be played on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19. Contests will be played at home site of higher-ranked team.
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Boise State
No. 6 Miami vs. No. 11 BYU
No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 10 Oregon
No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 LSU
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 30)
Location: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Projection: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Miami
Peach Bowl (Jan. 1)
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
Projection: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 7 Alabama
Cotton Bowl (Jan. 1)
Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Projection: No. 1 Texas vs No. 9 LSU
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1)
Location: Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
Projection: No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Ohio State
Semifinals
Orange Bowl (Jan. 14)
Location: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Projection: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 15)
Location: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.
Projection: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Ohio State
National Championship
Date: Jan. 25, 2027
Location: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
Projection: No. 1 Texas over No. 2 Georgia
*Indicates conference not projected to fulfill all of its bowl tie-ins. An at-large team will be selected to fill those spots.
