A Couple Of Playoff Changes
Hello everyone, and welcome back to our weekly bowl projections. Week two of the college football season went mainly status quo. However, there were a couple of upsets. As a result there is some shakeup in our playoff teams. Taking it a step further, we have some movement in our SEC picks as well. Let’s get right to our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Two. As always, if you’d like to see how things changed from last week you can click here.
How The Process Works
If you hadn’t heard, things are different from last season. There are 12 teams in the playoff, and the top four still get a first-round bye. However, the winners of the Power Four conferences don’t automatically get slots 1-4. In addition, the highest-ranked Group of Five team gets a bid. That leaves seven at-large teams.
Once again, seeds 5-8 host first-round games on campus. The New Year’s Six bowls are introduced for the next round and the semi-finals. Miami, Florida, hosts the title game on January 19th. With the formalities out of the way, let’s get to our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Two.
College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 19th- (12) Tulane at (5)- Oregon– South Florida is the talk of the college football world. However, for now, we’re keeping the Green Wave as our Group of Five team. Jon Sumrall’s squad withstood a furious rally at South Alabama over the weekend. They host Duke this week and head to Ole Miss next week. On the other side of the ball, Dan Lanning’s Ducks destroyed Oklahoma State 69-3. A game at Penn State in three weeks is the only thing standing in the way of a 12-0 season.
Saturday, December 20th- (11) South Carolina at (6) Georgia– One matchup that didn’t change from last week. The Bulldogs struggled with Austin Peay before winning 28-6. LaNorris Sellers and the Gamecocks beat South Carolina State by 28 and host Vanderbilt Saturday. Yes, it’s a battle of SEC schools. However, they don’t meet in the regular season, so let’s make it happen in the playoffs.
Saturday, December 20th- (10) Clemson at (7) Notre Dame- Dabo Swinney’s club scored 24 unanswered to rally from down 16-3 to a 27-16 win over Troy. They drop a couple of slots this week, but we still have them in. The Fighting Irish had the week off before facing Texas A&M on Saturday.
Saturday, December 20th- (9)- Texas at (8) Texas Tech– Another holdover matchup from last week just with different seeds. The Red Raiders had no trouble against Kent State. Arch Manning looked more like everyone thought he would as the Longhorns dispatched San Jose State.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals-
Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Wednesday, December 31st- (5) Oregon vs. (4) Penn State- We get a rematch in the quarterfinals from earlier in the year. This time on a neutral site.
Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (7) Notre Dame vs. (2) Miami- Yet another playoff rematch from the week one thriller, and again in Miami.
Rose Bowl Game- Thursday, January 1st– (9) Texas vs. (1) Ohio State– Our third rematch from a game played earlier in the year. Will the Longhorns fare better on a neutral site?
Allstate Sugar Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (6) Georgia vs. (3) LSU- This is another SEC matchup that isn’t happening in the regular season, and the one that’s not a regular season rematch.
Semi-Finals and Final-
VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Thursday, January 8th- (4) Penn State vs. (1) Ohio State- Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions will have to get past OSU to make the finals.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl- Friday, January 9th- (3) LSU vs. (2) Miami- The Tigers lead the all-time series 10-3 but haven’t met since 2018.
College Football National Championship- Monday, January 19th- (3) LSU vs. (1) Ohio State- We’re going with a Big Ten-SEC final.
That’s a lot to digest; however, there’s still plenty more to come. Continuing with our 2025 Bowl Projections Following Week Two, let’s move to the games around the New Year.
Filling The Void
Games Around The New Year
Music City Bowl- December 30th, Big Ten vs. SEC- Nebraska vs. Florida- With one loss to South Florida, the Gators have gone from a potential playoff team to will they get to six wins. The reason is that they’ve got one of the toughest schedules remaining.
Valero Alamo Bowl- December 30th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Iowa State vs. USC+- The Trojans go to San Antonio as a legacy Pac-12 school.
Radience Technologies Independence Bowl- December 30th- Big 12 vs. Conference USA- Houston vs. Jacksonville State
Reliaquest Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Indiana vs. Ole Miss
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- Pittsburgh vs. Utah+- The Utes go to El Paso as a legacy Pac-12 member.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Alabama vs. Michigan- The Crimson Tide looked more like themselves with a 73-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. Pac-12- Illinois vs. Arizona State+- The Sun Devils go to Vegas as a legacy Pac-12 team.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. American/Conference USA/Sun Belt- Arizona vs. Air Force
Autozone Liberty Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. SEC- TCU vs. Missouri
Duke’s Mayo Bowl- January 2nd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Oklahoma vs. Georgia Tech- Through two games, John Mateer looks like the real deal in Norman. On the other side of the ball, Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets host Clemson in one of the weekend’s biggest games.
Holiday Bowl- January 2nd- ACC vs. Pac-12- SMU vs. California+- This will be the first time this game has ever been played in January. The Bears have been a surprise team so far and go to San Diego as a legacy Pac-12 squad.
Moving on with our 2025 Bowl Projections following Week Two, let’s move to the season’s initial games.
First Weekend Games
Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 13th- MEAC vs. SWAC- North Carolina Central vs. Jackson State
LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk December 13th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- Boise State vs. Washington
IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl- December 16th- Mid-American vs. Sun Belt- Central Michigan vs. Arkansas State
StaffDNA Cure Bowl- December 17th- American/Conference USA/Sun Belt- Rice vs. Toledo
68 Ventures Bowl- December 17th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- South Alabama vs. Vanderbilt
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. South Florida- The Bulls are knocking on the door of being the Group of Five team. A win over Miami next week in what has to be the biggest game ever on the CW Network puts them in the driver’s seat. Another interesting note, South Florida and Tulane don’t meet in the regular season.
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl- December 19th- American/ACC/Notre Dame/SEC- Auburn vs. Virginia Tech
Bowls Right Before Christmas
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- December 22nd- Mountain West vs. MAC- Colorado State vs. Ohio
Boca Raton Bowl- December 23rd- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- Memphis vs. James Madison
New Orleans Bowl- December 23rd- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt– Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl- December 23rd- AAC/CUSA/MAC/MWC/SBC- North Texas vs. Old Dominion
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl- December 24th- American vs. Mountain West- East Carolina vs. UNLV
Post-Christmas Games
Game Above Sports Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. MAC- Minnesota vs. Buffalo
Rate Bowl- December 26th- Big Ten vs. Big 12- Rutgers vs. Baylor
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl- December 26th- AAC/ACC/Big 12- Kansas vs. Connecticut+
Go Bowling Military Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Navy vs. Syracuse
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- North Carolina State vs. Iowa
Wasabi Fenway Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Duke vs. Army
Pop-Tarts Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Florida State vs. BYU- Could the Seminoles got from missing the post-season to the playoffs? That’s certainly a possibility. However, for now, we have them just outside the top 12.
Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl- December 27th- MAC vs. Mountain West- Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl- December 27th- Mountain West vs. American/Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Wyoming vs. Texas State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Louisville vs. Tennessee
Kinder’s Texas Bowl- December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Texas A&M vs. Kansas State
Birmingham Bowl- December 29th- American/ACC/SEC- Arkansas vs. North Carolina- Bill Belichick got his first win as Tar Heel coach over Charlotte. We still think they get to six wins, but it may be a struggle.
To Be Announced Bowl Game-
Former Bahamas Bowl- Conference USA vs. MAC- UTEP vs. Miami (Ohio)- We don’t know the title or where the game will be played, but we have a matchup.
It’s a huge weekend coming up with numerous Top 25 games. Headlining the slate is Georgia traveling to Tennessee. In addition, we have the previously talked about South Florida at Miami and Texas A&M at Notre Dame. As a result, our picks will most likely change next week. Thanks for checking out our 2025 Bowl Projections following Week Two here at Last Word On College Football.
Main Image:Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
