College football’s Week 7 slate for the 2026 season featured several upsets and massive victories, including Florida beating Texas, Tennessee’s home win over Alabama, BYU’s goal-line stand to edge Notre Dame and Auburn’s upset of Georgia. Additionally, Houston picked up a big-time win over Oklahoma State in Big 12 play, Ohio State defeated Indiana and LSU easily handled Mississippi State.
As a result of the Week 7 chaos, the playoff and bowl projections are tough to project. BYU moved up the projected seeds into the top four, with Notre Dame tumbling into a first-round game. Additionally, Texas fell out of the projected playoff following Saturday’s defeat to Florida. A second Big 12 team (Texas Tech) joined the projected field this week, but a handful of SEC teams, including Alabama, LSU, Texas, Missouri and Florida are fighting to get back into the 12-team format the rest of the year.
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: Baylor, Illinois, Florida State, California, Tulsa, UCF, Iowa State, Marshall, Colorado State, Georgia Southern, Texas State, Western Kentucky, Buffalo, UConn, East Carolina, Central Michigan, UAB, San Diego State and Middle Tennessee. How will the postseason matchups look by December? Below are Athlon Sports’ predictions for every bowl and playoff game in 2026-27 after Week 7:
College Football Bowl Projections for 2026-27(After Week 7)
Salute to Veterans Bowl (Dec. 15)
Location: Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
Tie-In: CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt/American
Projection: FIU 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: Louisiana vs. South Florida
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 18)
Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Tie-In: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Virginia vs. South Carolina
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 21)
Location: Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.
Tie-In: American/CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
Projection: Georgia State vs. Tulane
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. Pac-12
Projection: Cincinnati vs. Auburn*
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: Memphis 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: South Alabama vs. Delaware
Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 23)
Location: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
Tie-In: Pac-12 vs. Former Pac-12 Teams
Projection: Oregon 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. Fresno State
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection: Pitt vs. Wisconsin
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Fenway Park in Boston, Mass.
Tie-In: ACC vs. American
Projection: Duke vs. Army
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection: Louisville vs. Michigan
68 Ventures Bowl (Dec. 26)
Location: Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
Tie-In: CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
Projection: Eastern Michigan vs. Troy
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: North Carolina vs. Navy
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 28)
Location: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Pac-12
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Utah
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 29)
Location: Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.
Tie-In: American/ACC vs. SEC
Projection: NC State vs. Mississippi State
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Dec. 29)
Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big 12
Projection: SMU vs. Oklahoma State
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 29)
Location: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Projection: Oregon vs. Houston
Gator Bowl (Dec. 30)
Location: EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tie-In: ACC vs. SEC
Projection: Clemson vs. Florida
Music City Bowl (Dec. 30)
Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Northwestern vs. Missouri
ReliaQuest Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Nebraska vs. Texas
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: USC vs. LSU
Texas Bowl (Dec. 31)
Location: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SEC
Projection: TCU vs. Texas A&M
Citrus Bowl (Jan. 2)
Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. SEC
Projection: Iowa vs. Alabama
First Responder Bowl (Jan. 2)
Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas
Tie-In: Group of 6/Big 12
Projection: Minnesota* 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. Wyoming
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 Indiana vs. No. 12 Boise State
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Texas Tech
No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 10 UCLA
No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Kentucky
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 30)
Location: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Projection: No. 4 BYU vs. No. 5 Indiana
Peach Bowl (Jan. 1)
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
Projection: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 7 Tennessee
Cotton Bowl (Jan. 1)
Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Projection: No. 3 Miami vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1)
Location: Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
Projection: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Notre Dame
Semifinals
Orange Bowl (Jan. 14)
Location: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Projection: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Indiana
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 15)
Location: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.
Projection: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Miami
National Championship
Date: Jan. 25, 2027
Location: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
Projection: No. 1 Ohio State 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.
