2026-27 Week 5 College Football Playoff, bowl projections

Week 5 of the college football season featured three ranked matchups, with Ohio State earning a big road conference win over Iowa, Missouri shocking the college football world with its 28-point victory against top-10 Florida, and Alabama silencing the cowbells with its dominant 33-point win over Mississippi State.

This week we saw big wins, performances that raised some questions and games that came down to the very last play as we take a look at how the postseason picture shifted.

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 Eastern

Jump to:First-round games | QuarterfinalsSemis, title game | Bowl season

College Football Playoff

First-round games (at campus sites)

Friday, Dec. 188 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 19Noon, ABC/ESPN3:30 p.m., TNT7:30 p.m., TNT

Bonagura:No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 TexasSchlabach:No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama

Bonagura:No. 11 UCLA at No. 6 Ohio StateSchlabach:No. 11 LSU at No. 6 Ohio State

Bonagura:No. 10 LSU at No. 7 AlabamaSchlabach:No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Indiana

Bonagura:No. 9 Utah at No. 8 BYUSchlabach:No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 BYU

CFP quarterfinals

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Vrbo Fiesta BowlState Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)7:30 p.m., TNTBonagura:No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 MiamiSchlabach:No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame

Friday, Jan. 1

Time 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 2Noon, TNTBonagura:No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 3 IndianaSchlabach:No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Miami

Quarterfinals Game 34 p.m., ABC/ESPNBonagura:No. 7 Alabama vs.No. 2 Notre DameSchlabach:No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 2 Georgia

Quarterfinals Game 48 p.m., ESPNBonagura:No. 8 BYU vs.No. 1 GeorgiaSchlabach:No. 9 Oregon vs. No. 1 Texas

CFP semifinals, national championship game

Thursday, Jan. 14

Capital One Orange BowlHard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)7:30 p.m., TNTBonagura:No. 3 Indiana vs.No. 2 Notre DameSchlabach:No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Georgia

Friday, Jan. 15

Allstate Sugar BowlCaesars Superdome (New Orleans)7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPNBonagura:No. 4 Miami vs.No. 1 GeorgiaSchlabach:No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 1 Texas

Monday, Jan. 25

CFP National ChampionshipAllegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPNBonagura:No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 GeorgiaSchlabach:No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 2 Georgia

Bowl season schedule

Saturday, Dec. 12

Cricket Celebration Bowl presented by ToyotaMercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)Noon, ABCBonagura:South Carolina State vs. Jackson StateSchlabach:South Carolina State vs. Jackson State

Tuesday, Dec. 15

IS4S Salute to Veterans BowlCramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)5:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:UMass vs. Florida InternationalSchlabach:UMass vs. Louisiana

Frisco Football ClassicThe Star (Frisco, Texas)9 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Minnesota vs. LouisianaSchlabach:Memphis vs. San Diego State

Friday, Dec. 18

Boca Raton BowlFlagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)11 a.m., ESPNBonagura:Liberty vs. TulsaSchlabach:Appalachian State vs. Western Michigan

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla BowlRaymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)2:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Auburn vs. South FloridaSchlabach:Florida State vs. Tulane

Monday, Dec. 21

Myrtle Beach BowlBrooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)11 a.m., ESPNBonagura:Miami (Ohio) vs. Georgia StateSchlabach:Liberty vs. South Alabama

Famous Idaho Potato BowlAlbertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)2:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Western Michigan vs. UNLVSchlabach:Toledo vs. Air Force

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Puerto Rico BowlJuan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Bayamón, Puerto Rico)1:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Central Michigan vs. Florida AtlanticSchlabach:Tulsa vs. Delaware

StaffDNA Cure BowlAcrisure Bounce House (Orlando, Florida)5 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Ohio vs. James MadisonSchlabach:Louisiana Tech vs. Florida International

Radiance Technologies Independence BowlIndependence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)8:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Washington vs. Iowa StateSchlabach:Washington vs. UCF

Wednesday, Dec. 23

New Orleans BowlCaesars Superdome (New Orleans)2 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Jacksonville State vs. Appalachian StateSchlabach:Jacksonville State vs. James Madison

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces BowlAmon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)5:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:UCF vs. ArmySchlabach:Cincinnati vs. New Mexico

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia BowlSnapdragon Stadium (San Diego)7:30 p.m., The CWBonagura:Arizona State vs. Fresno StateSchlabach:Arizona State vs. Oregon State

Frisco BowlThe Star (Frisco, Texas)9 p.m., ESPNBonagura:NC State vs. MemphisSchlabach:North Texas vs. New Mexico State

Thursday, Dec. 24

Isleta New Mexico BowlUniversity Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)2:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:San José State vs. UTSASchlabach:UNLV vs. Texas State

Sheraton Hawai'i BowlClarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)7 p.m., ESPNBonagura:North Dakota State vs. Texas StateSchlabach:North Dakota State vs. Fresno State

Saturday, Dec. 26

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe BowlYankee Stadium (New York)Noon, ABCBonagura:SMU vs. NorthwesternSchlabach:Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin

Wasabi Fenway BowlFenway Park (Boston)2 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Florida State vs. East CarolinaSchlabach:Louisville vs. UTSA

Duke's Mayo BowlBank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)3:30 p.m., ABCBonagura:Clemson vs. IowaSchlabach:Duke vs. Northwestern

68 Ventures BowlHancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)5:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Louisiana Tech vs. Air ForceSchlabach:Florida Atlantic vs. Miami (Ohio)

Cactus BowlMountain America Stadium (Tempe, Arizona)7:30 p.m., ABCBonagura:Michigan vs. Oklahoma StateSchlabach:Kansas State vs. Penn State

Monday, Dec. 28

Freedom Mortgage Military BowlNavy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland)2 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Virginia vs. TempleSchlabach:NC State vs. South Florida

Trust & WillHoliday BowlSnapdragon Stadium (San Diego)5 p.m., The CWBonagura:Duke vs. Oregon StateSchlabach:Pittsburgh vs. Utah

Tuesday, Dec. 29

JLab Birmingham BowlProtective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama)2 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Kentucky vs. TulaneSchlabach:North Carolina vs. Auburn

Pop-Tarts BowlCamping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)5:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Pittsburgh vs. HoustonSchlabach:Virginia Tech vs. Houston

Valero Alamo BowlAlamodome (San Antonio)9 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Texas Tech vs. OregonSchlabach:Texas Tech vs. UCLA

Wednesday, Dec. 30

TaxSlayer Gator BowlEverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida)11:30 a.m., ESPNBonagura:Wake Forest vs. Ole MissSchlabach:SMU vs. Florida

Liberty Mutual Music City BowlNissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)3 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Penn State vs. Mississippi StateSchlabach:Minnesota vs. Kentucky

Thursday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest BowlRaymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)Noon, ESPNBonagura:Wisconsin vs. FloridaSchlabach:Nebraska vs. Mississippi State

Old El Paso Sun BowlSun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)2 p.m., CBSBonagura:Virginia Tech vs. ArizonaSchlabach:Clemson vs. Arizona

Las Vegas BowlAllegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)3:45 p.m., ESPNBonagura:USC vs. OklahomaSchlabach:USC vs. Missouri

Kinder's Texas BowlReliant Stadium (Houston)7:30 p.m., ESPNBonagura:Kansas State vs. Texas A&MSchlabach:Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M

Saturday, Jan. 2

Citrus BowlCamping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)Noon, ABCBonagura:Nebraska vs. TennesseeSchlabach:Iowa vs. Tennessee

SERVPRO First Responder BowlGerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)3:30 p.m., ABCBonagura:Cincinnati vs. North TexasSchlabach:Virginia vs. Michigan

Snoop Dogg Arizona BowlCasino Del Sol Stadium (Tucson, Arizona)4:30 p.m., The CWBonagura:Toledo vs. New MexicoSchlabach:Ohio vs. San José State

AutoZone Liberty BowlSimmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)7:30 p.m., ABCBonagura:Baylor vs. MissouriSchlabach:Baylor vs. Oklahoma