With the college football season just a couple of weeks away, ESPN predicted the 12-team bracket and full bowl game slate this year. Writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are back with their picks! Remember, the 12-team College Football Playoff format was slightly changed for this season. The top four seeds, which are first-round byes, […]
With the college football season just a couple of weeks away, ESPN predicted the 12-team bracket and full bowl game slate this year. Writers Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach are back with their picks!
Remember, the 12-team College Football Playoff format was slightly changed for this season. The top four seeds, which are first-round byes, go to the four highest ranked teams, regardless. The five highest ranked conference champions in college football are placed in the 12-team bracket based on their overall CFP ranking. Seeds No. 5 through 8 host the first round games on campus sites, just like last season.
After that, the four winners from those games will advance to face the top four seeds in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal and semifinals games will make up the traditional New Year’s Six bowl games, culminating with the national championship on Jan. 19. You can view the full 2025-26 College Football Playoff projections from ESPN below.
College Football Playoff First Round Game #1
Bonagura: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
Both writers opt for Boise State to make the playoff once again, but will be the final seed this year. Unlike last year, there’s no automatic way for the Broncos to get to the second round right away.
Either way, a road date against Georgia or Ohio State is a rough draw. But, as they say, any given (Saturday) right? Georgia and Ohio State are firm national title contenders this season.
College Football Playoff First Round Game #2
Bonagura: No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Notre Dame
Schlabach: No. 11 Arizona State at No. 6 Alabama
Notre Dame grabs the No. 6 seed for Bonagura while Alabama will get an at-large bid coming out of the SEC for Schlabach. Miami is the newcomer to the College Football Playoff this season while Arizona State returns.
The Sun Devils nearly took out Texas in the quarterfinals last year after getting a bye. But they’ll have to do a little more work to advance in this bracket.
College Football Playoff First Round Game #3
Bonagura: No. 10 Arizona State at No. 7 Alabama
Schlabach: No. 10 LSU at No. 7 Notre Dame
Bonagura also has Arizona State in the CFP, but has them at the No. 10 seed. Still, they have to go on the road to, you guessed it, Alabama!
LSU is Schlabach’s at-large team from the SEC having to go to Notre Dame. Oh man, Brian Kelly vs. his old school and Marcus Freeman? Yeah, sign us up for that game in South Bend.
College Football Playoff First Round Game #4
Bonagura: No. 9 LSU at No. 8 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 9 Miami at No. 8 Oregon
Oregon won’t win the Big Ten this year, but the Ducks will return to the playoff. Both ESPN writers have Oregon hosting a first round game.
LSU gets in for Bonagura as well, while Miami is ranked a little higher for Schlabach. Either way, both road teams have to deal with a rough road trip in this scenario. Plus, the winner has to play the No. 1 seed.
CFP Quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl
Bonagura: No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Texas
Schlabach: No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 1 Texas
Now we get to the good stuff right? Both writers have Oregon advancing into the quarterfinals and both have a matchup with Texas.
The Longhorns, presumably, are 13-0 or at least 12-1 at this point, winners of the SEC and the top seed in the playoff. The Cotton Bowl certainly favors Texas, but Oregon should have the talent to compete.
CFP Quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl
Bonagura: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 4 Clemson
Schlabach: No. 10 LSU vs. No. 2 Clemson
The Orange Bowl will play host to Clemson, whether the Tigers are the No. 4 or 2 seed based on these projections. Bonagura has quite the matchup with Georgia taking on the Tigers in his quarterfinal.
Schlabach had LSU knocking off Notre Dame on the road and getting a rematch with Clemson. Under this scenario, we can assume Clemson won the season opener, but the rematch opens up a world of possibilities!
CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl
Bonagura: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 2 Penn State
Schlabach: No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 3 Penn State
The same matchup will occur at the Rose Bowl, just with different seedings here. Penn State taking on Alabama sounds like an old school national title game.
Penn State will certainly be the favorite here, but Alabama getting a playoff win under Kalen DeBoer will certainly give them some juice. The Nittany Lions might get the nod from both ESPN writers here though.
CFP Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl
Bonagura: No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Georgia
For Bonagura, we get a national championship rematch in the quarterfinals! This was tough sledding for the Irish last year and it’ll be no different.
Schlabach has the Buckeyes taking on Georgia. And when you put those two teams together in the playoff, Ohio State fans might have bad flashbacks to a certain missed field goal. The drama!
CFP Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl
Bonagura: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 1 Texas
Schlabach: No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 1 Texas
Now we head into the College Football Playoff semifinals! Both writers feature the same matchup, albeit with Georgia having a different seed.
Still, Georgia-Texas is a familiar matchup at this point considering their two games last year and potentially the same happens this coming season. Based on the seeds, perhaps these teams faced off in the SEC Championship Game prior to this meeting.
CFP Semifinal at the Peach Bowl
Bonagura: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Penn State
Schlabach: No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 2 Clemson
Bonagura goes with a Big Ten clash in the semifinals, presumably a Big Ten Championship rematch. The good thing about the seedings, for some, is that neither team is sent further down the bracket due to conference championship byes. The cream will rise to the top!
Penn State takes on Clemson in Schlabach’s predictions, giving James Franklin the opportunity against Dabo Swinney. Will one get over the hump or will the other return to glory?
CFP National Championship
Bonagura: No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 1 Texas
Schlabach: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 1 Texas
Texas is bound for the College Football Playoff national championship game, giving them a chance to finally win it all for the first time in 20 years. Schlabach actually gave his pick and is going with the Longhorns.
Bonagura has Penn State, rather than Clemson, to meet Texas for the title. Interestingly, there will be a first-time championship winning coach at the end of the game. So who gets over the hump?
ESPN 2025 Preseason Bowl predictions
Saturday, Dec. 13
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: Southern vs. South Carolina State
Schlabach: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State
LA Bowl
SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Colorado vs. UNLV
Schlabach: Oregon State vs. San José State
Tuesday, Dec. 16
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky
Schlabach: Eastern Michigan vs. Jacksonville State
Wednesday, Dec. 17
StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
5 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: UConn vs. Florida Atlantic
Schlabach: Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina
68 Ventures Bowl
Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Alabama)
8:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: James Madison vs. Florida International
Schlabach: Georgia Southern vs. Miami (Ohio)
Friday, Dec. 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: Jacksonville State vs. South Alabama
Schlabach: East Carolina vs. James Madison
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Auburn vs. Boston College
Schlabach: Vanderbilt vs. North Carolina
Monday, Dec. 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Toledo vs. San José State
Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Air Force
Tuesday, Dec. 23
Boca Raton Bowl
Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: East Carolina vs. Ohio
Schlabach: South Florida vs. Toledo
New Orleans Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Louisiana vs. Liberty
Schlabach: Louisiana vs. Western Kentucky
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl
Frisco, Texas
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Georgia Southern vs. Northern Illinois
Schlabach: North Texas vs. Sam Houston State
Wednesday, Dec. 24
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Fresno State vs. Oregon State
Schlabach: UNLV vs. Navy
Friday, Dec. 26
GameAbove Sports Bowl
Ford Field (Detroit)
1 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Maryland vs. Miami (Ohio)
Schlabach: Michigan State vs. Ohio
Rate Bowl
Chase Field (Phoenix)
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Baylor vs. Iowa
Schlabach: TCU vs. Minnesota
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. Texas State
Schlabach: UTSA vs. Arkansas State
Saturday, Dec. 27
Go Bowling Military Bowl
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland)
11 a.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Duke vs. Army
Schlabach: Virginia Tech vs. Memphis
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: North Carolina vs. Illinois
Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Iowa
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Fenway Park (Boston)
2:15 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: NC State vs. Navy
Schlabach: NC State vs. Tulane
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3:30 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: SMU vs. Texas Tech
Schlabach: Louisville vs. Texas Tech
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona)
4:30 p.m., CW Network
Bonagura: Bowling Green vs. Colorado State
Schlabach: Bowling Green vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
5:45 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Hawai’i vs. Cal
Schlabach: Colorado State vs. Texas State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Florida)
7:30 p.m. ABC
Bonagura: Virginia Tech vs. Missouri
Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Missouri
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
NRG Stadium (Houston)
9:15 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: BYU vs. Texas A&M
Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Tennessee
Monday, Dec. 29
Birmingham Bowl
Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Alabama)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Arkansas vs. Tulane
Schlabach: Auburn vs. Boston College
Tuesday, Dec. 30
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Louisiana Tech
Schlabach: BYU vs. Liberty
Music City Bowl
Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Minnesota vs. Oklahoma
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Ole Miss
Valero Alamo Bowl
Alamodome (San Antonio)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Kansas State vs. Washington
Schlabach: Kansas State vs. USC
Wednesday, Dec. 31
ReliaQuest Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
Noon, ESPN
Bonagura: Indiana vs. Ole Miss
Schlabach: Indiana vs. South Carolina
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)
2 p.m., CBS
Bonagura: Virginia vs. UCLA
Schlabach: Florida State vs. Colorado
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)
3 p.m., ABC
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Illinois vs. Texas A&M
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
3:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Utah
Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Utah
Friday, Jan. 2
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
1 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: TCU vs. Memphis
Schlabach: Kansas vs. Army
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee)
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Kansas vs. Florida
Schlabach: Baylor vs. Oklahoma
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Louisville vs. South Carolina
Schlabach: Duke vs. Florida
TBD
Holiday Bowl
Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego)
Time TBD, Fox
Bonagura: Georgia Tech vs. USC
Schlabach: SMU vs. Washington
Category: General Sports
