Two Preseason AP Top 25 teams are fighting bowl eligibility this week – and a third notable Power 4 program also will be fighting for the postseason on Rivalry Week.
Penn State – which opened the season at No. 2 – plays Rutgers in a battle of 5-6 teams. The winner will make the postseason. Interim coach Terry Smith has led the Nittany Lions to back-to-back wins.
Kansas State – which opened at No. 22 before losing the season opener in Dublin against Iowa State – also needs a win to become bowl eligible in the Big 12. The Wildcats are at Colorado.
As of now, Florida – which opened at No. 15 and fired Billy Napier – is 3-8 and not eligible for a bowl game. The Gators, however, can prevent Florida State – which is 5-6 – from reaching the postseason.
We have two of those three teams reaching a bowl game.
The fourth set of College Football Playoff rankings was unveiled Tuesday. AllSportsPeople will have weekly bowl projections leading up to the unveiling of the 12-team field on Dec. 7.
The first round of the new CFP will have one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three on Saturday, Dec. 20.
The quarterfinals will be played at the Cotton Bowl Classic (Dec. 31), Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 1), Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
The semifinals will be played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 8) and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 9). The CFP national championship is Jan. 19 in Miami.
MORE: Projected College Football playoff bracket for Week 14
Here are our bowl projections for Week 14.
College football bowl predictions 2025
There are 35 bowls involving FBS teams outside the College Football Playoff this season. A look at our projections for those matchups:
| DATE | BOWL | WEEK 14 |
| Dec. 13 | LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk | San Diego State vs. Washington State |
| Dec. 16 | IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl* | Navy vs. Kansas State |
| Dec. 17 | StaffDNA Cure Bowl | Utah State vs. Southern Miss |
| Dec. 17 | 68 Ventures Bowl | Western Michigan vs. James Madison |
| Dec. 19 | Myrtle Beach Bowl | Western Kentucky vs. Arkansas State |
| Dec. 19 | Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Coastal Carolina vs. Baylor |
| Dec. 22 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Toledo vs. Fresno State |
| Dec. 23 | Boca Raton Bowl | Texas State vs. UConn |
| Dec. 23 | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Jacksonville State vs. Troy |
| Dec. 23 | Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl* | Old Dominion vs. Boise State |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | North Texas vs. Hawaiii |
| Dec. 26 | GameAbove Sports Bowl | Ohio vs. Nebraska |
| Dec. 26 | Rate Bowl | Northwestern vs. Arizona State |
| Dec. 26 | Servpro First Responder Bowl | UTSA vs. TCU |
| Dec. 27 | Go Bowling Military Bowl | East Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech |
| Dec. 27 | Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Penn State vs. Duke |
| Dec. 27 | Wasabi Fenway Bowl | USF vs. NC State |
| Dec. 27 | Pop-Tarts Bowl | Arizona vs. Clemson |
| Dec. 27 | Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice | Central Michigan vs. UNLV |
| Dec. 27 | Isleta New Mexico Bowl | Kennesaw State vs. New Mexico |
| Dec. 27 | Taxslayer Gator Bowl | Minnesota vs. NC State |
| Dec. 27 | Texas Bowl | Houston vs. SMU |
| Dec. 29 | Birmingham Bowl | Memphis vs. Marshall |
| Dec. 30 | Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Wake Forest vs. Iowa State |
| Dec. 30 | Transperfect Music City Bowl | Illinois vs. Pitt |
| Dec. 30 | Valero Alamo Bowl | USC vs. BYU |
| Dec. 31 | Reliaquest Bowl | LSU vs. Iowa |
| Dec. 31 | Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl | Utah vs. Louisville |
| Dec. 31 | Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. Texas |
| Dec. 31 | SDS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Missouri vs. Cal |
| Jan. 2 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Marshall vs. Army |
| Jan. 2 | Autozone Liberty Bowl | Cincinnati vs. Tennessee |
| Jan. 2 | Duke's Mayo Bowl | Vanderbilt vs. Miami, Fla. |
| Jan. 2 | DirecTV Holiday Bowl | Washington vs. Georgia Tech |
| TBD | Bahamas Bowl* | FIU vs. Miami, Ohio |
College Football Playoff first-round predictions
A look at the four College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those first-round games will be played on campus:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 19 | First-Round CFP game | No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Ole Miss |
| Dec. 20 | First-Round CFP game | No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Oregon |
We have Virginia as the ACC champion, though SMU could easily fit in that spot and make the CFP for the second straight season. Tulane is our American Conference champion and would take on Texas Tech – though the Red Raiders remain a strong candidate to bump up to a No. 4 seed. Notre Dame and Alabama on the road in the first round would draw huge ratings, but both teams have the opportunity to move up.
UPDATED SCENARIOS: ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC
College Football Playoff quarterfinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Dec. 31 | Cotton Bowl Classic (quarterfinal) | No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 5 Texas Tech |
| Jan. 1 | Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Oregon |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal) | No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Notre Dame |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal) | No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Alabama |
This field would be 75% teams from the Big Ten and SEC. Notre Dame is the one team we would like to see Ohio State right now. There are no changes in our quarterfinal projections this week. Indiana (11.6) and Texas Tech (12.3) still rank second and third, respectively, in scoring defense and having Red Raiders linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and Heisman contender Fernando Mendoza on the same field would be fun. It's a big week for Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama. We'll see if those spots shuffle. Oregon – fresh off a 42-27 win against USC – is a dangerous team in this spot.
College Football Playoff semifinal predictions
A look at the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups for the 2025-26 season. Those games will be played at the traditional New Year's Day Six bowl sites:
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 8 | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | No. 5 Texas Tech at No. 1 Ohio State |
| Jan. 9 | Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (semfiinal) | No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 10 Alabama |
We still like these matchups, too. The only question is whether Alabama and Georgia will play in the SEC championship game, and how that might alter their playoff paths. Ohio State and Texas Tech last played in the 2002 Pigskin Classic – a 45-21 victory for the Buckeyes that launched a national championship run.
MORE: Updated NCAA Top 25 polls after Georgia Tech, USC losses in Week 13
College Football Playoff championship pick
A look at the College Football Playoff championship matchup for the 2024-25 season. That game is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
| DATE | BOWL | MATCHUP |
| Jan. 19 | CFP National championship | No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Georgia |
This remains our national championship pick for another week. The Buckeyes and Bulldogs have combined to win three of the last four national championships and both teams have the necessary depth to make a playoff run. The Buckeyes can make a statement against Michigan in The Game. Georgia gets a Black Friday spotlight game against Georgia Tech.