College Football Bowl Projections After Week 5: Penn State vs. LSU But Not in CFP

The Citrus Bowl gets a high-powered game after both the Nittany Lions and Tigers were upset on Saturday and fell out of College Football Playoff contention.

Brian Kelly and LSU fell to Ole Miss and out of CFP consideration. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

We’ll be talking about Week 5 in college football for the rest of the fall as some of those epic clashes in the Big Ten and SEC will carry some significant consequences as to whether some teams make the College Football Playoff or are sent to another bowl game far from the path they thought they were on. 

Throw in some upsets across the ACC, Big 12, plus several Group of 5 leagues, and the latest bowl projections see a handful of new programs in the mix to hit that magical 6–6 mark while several fun matchups come into play with so much movement across the country. 

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Take the Gator Bowl as one example, which gets a rematch of the 2013 BCS title game and appropriately features Gus Malzahn’s current team in Florida State against his old one in Auburn. The ReliaQuest Bowl also benefits from the return of the classic Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry while there should be plenty of points in games like the Mayo Bowl or the Alamo 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 5.

Bowl Game Projections After Week 5

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

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