College Football Bowl Projections After Week 4: Alabama vs. Notre Dame in Blueblood Battle

Forecasting every non-CFP game including Michigan and Texas in the Citrus Bowl and Dylan Raiola vs. LaNorris Sellers in the Music City Bowl.

Notre Dame handled Purdue in Week 4 to get its first win of the season. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While it wasn’t quite one of those Separation Saturday–type of weekends in college football, there were plenty of head coaches who seemed to go from a warm seat to the verge of receiving a pink slip, some teams all but taking themselves out of the College Football Playoff picture and a host of other programs who turned a potentially middling season into a good one.

Add all that up and bowl season looks a little different than expected earlier this year and we could be in line for a few potential matchups that certainly seem like they would be appointment viewing come December. 

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You could start with an intriguing blueblood matchup of Alabama–Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl; Michigan and Texas meeting again after last year’s game in Ann Arbor, Mich.; a clash of highly touted young quarterbacks in the Music City Bowl; an impressive New Orleans Bowl featuring two of the best Group of 5 teams; and tons of offense in games like the New Mexico Bowl or the Liberty Bowl.

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 after Week 4.

Note: SI’s College Football Playoff projections are published on Tuesdays throughout the season.

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

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