College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections After Week 11: Where to Slot Miami

How the selection committee views the ACC could impact the remaining bowl games, which also may not fill up with eligible teams.

Miami wide receiver Keelan Marion catches a touchdown pass against Syracuse. / Jeff Romance-Imagn Images

The postseason is coming into much sharper focus after a wild Week 11 produced a host of memorable moments, a handful of key upsets and several incredible title-shifting outcomes. 

Much of the focus will naturally start with the College Football Playoff and who can possibly take advantage of the ACC’s slipup Saturday when both Louisville and Virginia fell as home favorites to unranked opponents. The Big 12 feels fairly straightforward with Texas Tech looking like the class of the league no matter who is its opponent in the conference title game. There is a limited number of programs who could force the committee to include the Red Raiders and another Big 12 team. 

Which brings us back to the most controversial projection: The ACC actually gets a second team into the field and it’s none other than … Miami. The Hurricanes were brought up several times by selection committee chair Mack Rhoades on Tuesday in respect for their talent, but he noted that consistency was a factor. Well, if they happen to win out, as is now projected, they would show that and secure wins over a pair of teams also in the CFP field. That is enough to give them a slight edge over any potential 10–2 or 9–3 teams, including Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Utah and BYU. 

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That decision, in turn, causes plenty of fascinating matchups in the non-CFP bowls. Suddenly red-hot UConn gets maneuvered into the Cure Bowl to face Group of 5 bid candidate James Madison for example, while Hawai’i-Navy should be an offensive shootout on Christmas Eve at a completely packed stadium for the Hawaii Bowl. BYU and Virginia, potential playoff teams, meet in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Iowa State–Northwestern stage a game full of grit in the Rate Bowl and Utah-Pitt should be plenty of fireworks in the Holiday Bowl. 

Let’s also call attention to the current projection that the sport is going to be two teams short of reaching the full allotment of bowl-eligible teams. That’s great news for the FBS’s two newest teams in Missouri State and Delaware, which normally wouldn’t be eligible to make the postseason but would get preference over the plethora of 5–7 teams. Both wind up getting some decent matchups in the Salute to Veterans and Sports bowls.

With all that in mind, here is how Sports Illustrated sees the playoff and all of 35 bowl games coming together to form the postseason picture in 2025–26 after Week 11.

College Football Playoff Projected Rankings After Week 11

1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. Texas A&M
4. Indiana 
5. Georgia
6. Mississippi
7. Texas Tech
8. Oregon
9. Notre Dame
10. Georgia Tech
11. Miami
12. South Florida

First Round

• No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon
• No. 10 Georgia Tech at No. 7 Texas Tech
• No. 11 Miami vs. No. 6 Mississippi
• No. 12 South Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia

Quarterfinals

• Orange Bowl: No. 4 Indiana vs. winner of No. 12 South Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia
• Cotton Bowl: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. winner of No. 11 Miami vs. No. 6 Mississippi
• Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Alabama vs. winner of No. 10 Georgia Tech at No. 7 Texas Tech
• Rose Bowl: No. 1 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon

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Bowl Projections After Week 11

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

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