playKyle Bonagura and Mark SchlabachMultiple AuthorsOct 12, 2026, 07:50 AM ETOpen Extended ReactionsIf Week 6 showed anything, it’s to never underestimate the underdog. Only two ranked matchups were played: Georgia earned a conference road victory over Alabama, and UCLA pulled off an upset over Oregon in Eugene.But four unranked teams defeated ranked opponents with then-No. 1 Texas falling to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game, Kentucky pulling off its second surprise over a top-25 opponent, plus South Carolina and North Carolina earning big wins.In the wake of all that, we take a look at how the postseason picture shifted after Week 6.New to the 2026 season, the Power 4 conference champions will get automatic bids to the CFP along with the highest-ranked Group of 6 team regardless of whether it is a league champ. The remaining slots in the 12-team field will go to the next seven highest-ranked teams. Notre Dame is guaranteed a spot in the field if it is among the top 12 teams.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 5 through 8.The festivities of bowl season kick off with the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 12 and wrap up with the CFP National Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Jan. 25.ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach will make their predictions for all the postseason matchups every week of the season until the actual matchups are set Dec. 6.All times EasternJump to: First-round games | Quarterfinals Semis, title game | Bowl seasonCollege Football PlayoffFirst-round games (at campus sites)Friday, Dec. 18 8 p.m., ESPNSaturday, Dec. 19 Noon, ABC/ESPN 3:30 p.m., TNT 7:30 p.m., TNTBonagura: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Texas Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 IndianaBonagura: No. 11 Texas Tech at No. 6 Ohio State Schlabach: No. 11 Utah at No. 6 AlabamaBonagura: No. 10 UCLA at No. 7 Alabama Schlabach: No. 10 UCLA at No. 7 TexasBonagura: No. 9 BYU at No. 8 Utah Schlabach: No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 8 BYUCFP quarterfinalsWednesday, Dec. 30 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 7:30 p.m., TNT Bonagura: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Indiana Schlabach: No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 3 Notre DameFriday, Jan. 1Time slots for quarterfinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to be determined on Selection Day (Dec. 6) Quarterfinals Game 2 Noon, TNT Bonagura: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Miami Schlabach: No. 5 Indiana vs.
No. 4 Ohio StateQuarterfinals Game 3 4 p.m., ABC/ESPN Bonagura: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 2 Notre Dame Schlabach: No. 10 UCLA vs. No. 2 MiamiQuarterfinals Game 4 8 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: No. 8 Utah vs. No. 1 Georgia Schlabach: No. 8 Ole Miss vs.
No. 1 GeorgiaCFP semifinals, national championship gameThursday, Jan. 14 Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 7:30 p.m., TNT Bonagura: No. 3 Miami vs. No. 2 Notre Dame Schlabach: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 MiamiFriday, Jan. 15Allstate Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN Bonagura: No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 1 Georgia Schlabach: No. 4 Ohio State vs.
No. 1 GeorgiaMonday, Jan. 25CFP National Championship Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) 7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN Bonagura: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Georgia Schlabach: No. 2 Miami vs. No. 1 GeorgiaBowl season scheduleSaturday, Dec. 12Cricket Celebration Bowl presented by Toyota Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon, ABC Bonagura: South Carolina State vs. Jackson State Schlabach: Morgan State vs.
Jackson StateTuesday, Dec. 15 IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Miami (Ohio) vs. Florida International Schlabach: Buffalo vs. LouisianaFrisco Football Classic The Star (Frisco, Texas) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Buffalo vs. Louisiana Schlabach: USF vs.
San Diego StateFriday, Dec. 18 Boca Raton Bowl Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 11 a.m., ESPN Bonagura: Liberty vs. Tulsa Schlabach: Appalachian State vs. Western MichiganUnion Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) 2:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: South Florida vs. Florida Schlabach: Virginia vs.
South CarolinaMonday, Dec. 21 Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) 11 a.m., ESPN Bonagura: Central Michigan vs. Georgia State Schlabach: Liberty vs. South AlabamaFamous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 2:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Western Michigan vs. UNLV Schlabach: Toledo vs.
Air ForceTuesday, Dec. 22 Puerto Rico Bowl Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Bayamón, Puerto Rico) 1:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UMass vs. South Alabama Schlabach: East Carolina vs. DelawareStaffDNA Cure Bowl Acrisure Bounce House (Orlando, Florida) 5 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Ohio vs. James Madison Schlabach: Louisiana Tech vs.
Florida InternationalRadiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 8:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UConn vs. Iowa State Schlabach: Cal vs. UCFWednesday, Dec. 23 New Orleans Bowl Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Jacksonville State vs. Appalachian State Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs.
James MadisonLockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: UCF vs. North Texas Schlabach: Kansas State vs. ArmySan Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego) 7:30 p.m., The CW Bonagura: Washington vs.
Oregon State Schlabach: Arizona State vs. Oregon StateFrisco Bowl The Star (Frisco, Texas) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: North Carolina vs. Memphis Schlabach: North Texas vs. New MexicoThursday, Dec. 24 Isleta New Mexico Bowl University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 2:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: San José State vs.
UTSA Schlabach: UNLV vs. Texas StateSheraton Hawai’i Bowl Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu) 7 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: North Dakota State vs. Fresno State Schlabach: North Dakota State vs.
Fresno StateSaturday, Dec. 26 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (New York) Noon, ABC Bonagura: Louisville vs. Northwestern Schlabach: Virginia Tech vs. MinnesotaWasabi Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Virginia vs. East Carolina Schlabach: Louisville vs.
UTSADuke’s Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina) 3:30 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Duke vs. Penn State Schlabach: Duke vs. Northwestern68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Florida Atlantic vs. Louisiana Tech Schlabach: Florida Atlantic vs.
Eastern MichiganCactus Bowl Mountain America Stadium (Tempe, Arizona) 7:30 p.m., ABC Bonagura: Michigan vs. Cincinnati Schlabach: Michigan vs. CincinnatiMonday, Dec. 28 Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Clemson vs. Army Schlabach: North Carolina vs.
MemphisTrust & Will Holiday Bowl Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego) 5 p.m., The CW Bonagura: Wake Forest vs. Air Force Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. USCTuesday, Dec. 29 JLab Birmingham Bowl Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama) 2 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Auburn vs. Tulane Schlabach: Auburn vs.
NC StatePop-Tarts Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5:30 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Baylor Schlabach: SMU vs. HoustonValero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Houston vs. Oregon Schlabach: Texas Tech vs.
OregonWednesday, Dec. 30 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida) 11:30 a.m., ESPN Bonagura: SMU vs. Ole Miss Schlabach: Wake Forest vs. LSULiberty Mutual Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 3 p.m., ESPN Bonagura: Iowa vs. Mississippi State Schlabach: Wisconsin vs.
KentuckyThursday, Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Noon, ESPN Bonagura: Wisconsin vs. LSU Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Mississippi StateOl
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