Bowl Projections After Week 3: Arch Manning vs. Bryce Underwood on New Year’s Eve

Notre Dame and Clemson likely took themselves out of the College Football Playoff race, shaking up the bowl picture downstream.

Arch Manning and Texas are projected to face Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

There’s always a point in the college football season where the preseason expectations get completely thrown out the window and you fully focus on the results on the field when it comes to projecting out the rest of the year. 

We sure seem to have arrived at that point on the calendar after a wild Week 3 saw Notre Dame and Clemson take themselves out of the playoff race, USF pass the Group of 5 baton back to Tulane and a slew of upsets from coast to coast that further shook up how bowl season might play out. 

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We could be in store for some juicy matchups this winter, from Arch Manning and Texas facing off against another hotshot quarterback in Bryce Underwood and Michigan, a high-flying Hawai’i Bowl full of offense, the Irish and Baylor settling some denomination differences in Florida and a few new names projected to hit that magical 6–6 mark (or better) from New Mexico to Florida International and everywhere in between. 

Here is how Sports Illustrated sees the 35 bowl game matchups coming together to form the postseason picture and which 70 FBS teams will wind up going bowling in 2025–26.

Bowl	Date	Matchup
L.A. Bowl	Dec. 13	Washington vs. Boise State
Salute to Veterans Bowl	Dec. 16	Troy vs. Jacksonville State
Cure Bowl	Dec. 17	Georgia Southern vs. San Jose State
68 Ventures Bowl	Dec. 17	South Alabama vs. Western Michigan
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Dec. 19	Appalachian State vs. Air Force
Gasparilla Bowl	Dec. 19	Vanderbilt vs. NC State
Potato Bowl	Dec. 22	Utah State vs. Buffalo
Boca Raton Bowl	Dec. 23	FIU vs. East Carolina
New Orleans Bowl	Dec. 23	Southern Miss vs. UTEP
Frisco Bowl	Dec. 23	Louisiana Tech vs. Memphis
Hawai‘i Bowl	Dec. 24	Hawai‘i vs. Western Kentucky
Sports Bowl	Dec. 26	Minnesota vs. Miami (Ohio)
Rate Bowl	Dec. 26	Iowa vs. BYU
First Responder Bowl	Dec. 26	UNLV vs. Bowling Green
Military Bowl	Dec. 27	North Carolina vs. Navy
Pinstripe Bowl	Dec. 27	Michigan State vs. Louisville
Fenway Bowl	Dec. 27	Virginia vs. USF
Pop-Tarts Bowl	Dec. 27	Notre Dame vs. Baylor
Arizona Bowl	Dec. 27	Fresno State vs. Ohio
New Mexico Bowl	Dec. 27	New Mexico vs. Liberty
Gator Bowl	Dec. 27	Alabama vs. Clemson
Texas Bowl	Dec. 27	Texas Tech vs. Tennessee
Birmingham Bowl	Dec. 29	Mississippi State vs. Arizona
Independence Bowl	Dec. 30	Houston vs. North Texas
Music City Bowl	Dec. 30	Nebraska vs. Auburn
Alamo Bowl	Dec. 30	Utah vs. Kansas
ReliaQuest Bowl	Dec. 31	Illinois vs. Ole Miss
Sun Bowl	Dec. 31	Cal vs. SMU
Citrus Bowl	Dec. 31	Michigan vs. Texas
Vegas Bowl	Dec. 31	Arizona State vs. Indiana
Armed Forces Bowl	Jan. 2	UTSA vs. Old Dominion
Liberty Bowl	Jan. 2	South Carolina vs. TCU
Mayo Bowl	Jan. 2	Missouri vs. Duke
Holiday Bowl	Jan. 2	USC vs. Pitt
TBD/Bahamas Bowl	TBD	Toledo vs. James Madison

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