College Football Bowl Projections After Week 7: Penn State’s Season Goes From Bad to Worse

The SI preseason No. 1 team is now out of the postseason picture, but there are still plenty of intriguing matchups like Arch Manning vs. Bryce Underwood in the Citrus Bowl.

Penn State is not projected to make a bowl game this season. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In the long history of college football, it’s hard to find a swifter collapse than what James Franklin and Penn State experienced the past two weeks. 

The Nittany Lions went from a real national title favorite to suffering a double-overtime loss to Oregon, then following that up with two inexplicable no-shows against the two worst teams in the Big Ten (just a few days ago, at least) in UCLA and Northwestern. Now, Franklin is out of a job, Penn State has lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the season and what was shaping out to be a dream campaign has instead turned into nightmare fuel for every fan in blue and white.

FREE. SI College Football Newsletter. Get SI's College Football Newsletter. dark

To make matters worse, Sports Illustrated’s preseason No. 1 team seems to be cursed even further: Based on their upcoming schedule and how they’ve played so far, the Nittany Lions are no longer projected to make a bowl game. From one play away from the national championship game in a College Football Playoff semifinal to bowl-less just nine months later, stunning doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The good news for others outside Happy Valley is that a rash of upsets paved the way for some thrilling matchups, including Arch Manning vs. Bryce Underwood in the Citrus Bowl and a Tennessee-Nebraska reunion sure to evoke late 1990s nostalgia. Also, there are intriguing matchups like LSU-Virginia and another pair of preseason playoff hopefuls meeting in the Vegas Bowl between Illinois and Arizona State. Fun.

Here is how Sports Illustrated sees all of the 35 bowl games coming together to form the postseason picture and which 70 FBS teams will wind up going bowling in 2025–26 after Week 7.

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

---

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s new college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.

feed