Several Changes After Week One
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 Week One Bowl Projections.
College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday, December 20th- (11)- South Carolina vs. (6)- Georgia- 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)- Texas at (7)- Texas Tech- How about an old school Southwest Conference battle? Arch Manning’s opener against Ohio State was subpar to say the least. However, we think the Longhorns will bounce back. In addition to the Group of Five schools, the winner of the Big 12 will also be very interesting to follow. This week, we’re going with the Red Raiders.
Saturday, December 20th- (9)- Clemson at (8) Oregon- The fighting Dabo’s have lost four straight to SEC teams. Good for them, it’s a Big Ten squad they are facing in the playoff. A trip to Penn State appears to be the only thing keeping the Ducks from going undefeated.
As you will see, we aren’t keeping to power four winners ranked 1-4.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals-
Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Wednesday, December 31st- (5) Notre Dame vs. (4) Penn State- A rematch of last year’s thriller in the semi-finals is in the offing for this year.
Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (10) Texas vs. (2) Miami- We’re going with the Longhorns to upset the Red Raiders. However, their reward is a “home game” against the Hurricanes.
Rose Bowl Game- Thursday, January 1st– (8) Oregon vs. (1) Ohio State– Another rematch from last year and in the same game. However, one thing that has changed is that the game has moved up an hour to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Allstate Sugar Bowl- Thursday, January 1st- (6) Georgia vs. (3) LSU- As we mentioned earlier, Brian Kelly’s Tigers had one of the best wins of the weekend, rallying to win at Clemson. This is another SEC matchup that isn’t happening in the regular season.
Semi-Finals and Final-
VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Thursday, January 8th- (4) Penn State vs. (1) Ohio State- Can Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions get past OSU when it counts the most?
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 Week One Bowl Projections, 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. Ole Miss
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. Alabama- The Crimson Tide must regroup after falling to Florida State on Saturday. Curt Cignetti’s club got past Old Dominion in its opener.
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- Florida vs. Michigan- The Gators are many folks’ sleeper playoff team for 2025. However, for now, we have them sitting just outside the top 12.
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- Texas- San Antonio 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- It’s just one game, but the Sooners looked good in their win over Illinois State. On the other side of the ball, Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets got a nice win at Colorado.
Holiday Bowl- January 2nd- ACC vs. Pac-12- Florida State vs. Washington +- This will be the first time this game has ever been played in January. The Seminoles looked very good in their big win over Alabama. The Huskies go to San Diego as a legacy Pac-12 squad.
Moving on with our 2025 Week One Bowl Projections, let’s move to the season’s initial games.
First Week Bowl 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. Oregon State- Following their big loss to South Florida, the Broncos fall out of the playoff. However, we still have them winning the Mountain West.
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. Connecticut+- The Huskies head south for the winter as a replacement team.
Myrtle Beach Bowl- December 19th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. Syracuse+- The Orange also head south for the holidays.
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– For the first time in 19 years, this game needs a sponsor. The contract with R+L Carriers expired.
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. Vanderbilt+- The Commodores go as a replacement team.
Go Bowling Military Bowl- December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- North Carolina vs. Navy- To say Bill Belichick’s debut against North Carolina was a disaster is putting it mildly. We’re going to give them one more week and see how things go against Charlotte on Saturday before updating their bowl status.
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- SMU vs. Kansas State- Our preseason pick for the Big 12 lost to Iowa State in Ireland and nearly lost to FCS power North Dakota. As a result, we’re dropping them down a few spots.
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- San Jose State 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. BYU
Birmingham Bowl- December 29th- American/ACC/SEC- Arkansas vs. South Florida
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.
Thanks for checking out our 2025 Week One Bowl Projections. If you don’t see your favorite team? Don’t worry, it’s early, and this will change many times between now and December. They’ll be updated every Wednesday.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
