A New Number One This Week
Welcome to our 2025 Bowl Projection After Week Six. As it always seems to happen, this past weekend was another crazy one in college football. Penn State inexplicably lost to one of the worst teams in college football, UCLA. In addition, Florida upset Texas, which in the process kept Billy Napier from joining the “Fired Coaches Department” for a little while longer.
The losses by the Longhorns and Nittany Lions made some unwanted history. Not only are the preseason numbers one and two out of the Top 25, they are the first top ten squads to drop out of the poll in the same week since September 18, 1986. In case you’re curious, those schools were Ohio State and Tennessee.
For our purposes, James Franklin’s club was a playoff squad last week. Furthermore, Texas was knocking on the door. Obviously, that’s not happening now. Let’s get to why you’re here, our bowl projections, which feature a new top team.
How The Process Works
Things are different from last season. There are 12 teams in the playoffs, and the top four still get a first-round bye. However, the winners of the Power Four conferences don’t automatically get slots 1-4. Additionally, the highest-ranked Group of Five team receives a bid. That leaves seven at-large teams.
Once again, seeds 5-8 host first-round games on campus. The New Year’s Six bowls are introduced for the next round and the semi-finals. Miami, Florida, hosts the title game on January 19th. With the formalities out of the way, let’s get to our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Six.
College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 19th – (12) South Florida at (5) Texas Tech. This is our matchup for a second straight week. The Bulls had no trouble with Charlotte, but face unbeaten North Texas on the road. On the other side of the ball, Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders got a dominant road win over Houston. They host Kansas on Saturday night.
Saturday, December 20th- (11) Georgia Tech at (6) Texas A&M. Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets take Penn State’s spot this week. Mike Elko’s Aggies pulled away from Mississippi State, winning 31-9.
Saturday, December 20th- (10) Oklahoma at (7) Alabama. Michael Hawkins Jr. threw for three touchdowns in a 44-0 win over Kent State. They face a Texas squad this week that’s desperately needing a win. The Crimson Tide got revenge for last year, dominating Vanderbilt 30-14.
Saturday, December 20th- (9)- Indiana at (8) Georgia. After a week off, Fernando Mendoza and the Hoosiers head to Eugene to face Oregon in the weekend’s biggest game. The Bulldogs had no trouble beating Kentucky for a 16th straight time.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinals-
Goodyear Cotton Bowl: Wednesday, December 31st- (6) Texas A&M vs. (3) Oregon-As we mentioned, Dante Moore and the Ducks host Indiana in a battle of Heisman contenders.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Thursday, January 1st- (9) Indiana vs. (1) Miami (Florida)- Following their win over Florida State, the Hurricanes take over the top spot. The reason is their overall body of work is better than Ohio State’s right now.
Rose Bowl Game: Thursday, January 1st– (7) Alabama vs. (2) Ohio State– Again, Ryan Day’s club did nothing wrong in blowing out Minnesota. We just feel Miami is slightly better right now.
Allstate Sugar Bowl: Thursday, January 1st- (5) Texas Tech vs. (4) Ole Miss- The Rebels step out of conference this week when they host Washington State. These two teams last met in the 2022 Texas Bowl, in which the Red Raiders won 42-25.
Semi-Finals and Final-
VRBO Fiesta Bowl: Thursday, January 8th- (3) Oregon vs. (2) Ohio State-We’re getting a likely Big Ten Championship rematch in the semi-finals.
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Friday, January 9th- (5) Texas Tech vs. (1) Miami (Florida)- The Hurricanes led the all-time series 4-1. However, they haven’t played since 1990.
College Football National Championship: Monday, January 19th- (2) Ohio State vs. (1) Miami (Florida)- We’re going out on a limb and picking the top two teams to make the final.
We’ve got five SEC teams in our playoff. As a result, you’ll notice we don’t have enough SEC teams to fill all their slots. Continuing with our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Six, let’s move to the games around the New Year.
Filling The Void
Once again, this season, legacy Pac-12 teams can be slotted to games featuring that league. That goes away next year when the conference starts fresh with new teams. As always, we’ll try not to pair them with teams they’ve already played.
Furthermore, with it being 2025, the SEC plays in the Mayo Bowl while the Big Ten goes to the Las Vegas Bowl. Furthermore, for the second time in three years, the Bahamas Bowl won’t be played in the island paradise. No word yet on what a replacement game might be called.
Games Around The New Year
Music City Bowl: December 30th- Big Ten vs. SEC- Illinois vs. South Carolina
Valero Alamo Bowl: December 30th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Iowa State vs. USC+– The Trojans go to San Antonio as a legacy Pac-12 school.
Radience Technologies Independence Bowl: December 30th- Big 12 vs. Conference USA- Central Florida vs. Jacksonville State
Reliaquest Bowl: December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Penn State vs. LSU- The Nittany Lions now head to Tampa after the UCLA loss.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl: December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- SMU vs. Arizona+– The Wildcats go to El Paso as a legacy Pac-12 member.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Michigan vs. Tennessee- The Vols are knocking on the door of the playoff. However, we’ve got them in Orlando for now.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: December 31st- Big Ten vs. Pac-12- Nebraska vs. Arizona State+– The Sun Devils go to Vegas as a legacy Pac-12 team.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: January 2nd- Big 12 vs. American/Conference USA/Sun Belt- Baylor vs. California
Autozone Liberty Bowl: January 2nd- Big 12 vs. SEC- Cincinnati vs. Auburn
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: January 2nd- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Vanderbilt vs. Virginia- The Cavaliers followed up their upset of Florida State by knocking off Louisville on the road.
Holiday Bowl: January 2nd- ACC vs. Pac-12- Florida State vs. Utah+– This will be the first time this game has ever been played in January. The Utes go as a legacy Pac-12 team.
Moving on with our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Six, let’s move to the season’s initial games.
First Weekend Games
Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 13th- MEAC vs. SWAC- North Carolina Central vs. Jackson State
LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk: December 13th- Mountain West vs. Pac-12- UNLV vs. Washington+- The Huskies go to LA as a legacy Pac-12 squad. In addition, we’re flipping our pick for the Mountain West to the Rebels.
IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl: December 16th- Mid-American vs. Sun Belt- Central Michigan vs. Coastal Carolina
StaffDNA Cure Bowl: December 17th- American/Conference USA/Sun Belt- Rice vs. Toledo
68 Ventures Bowl: December 17th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Southern Mississippi vs. Utah State
Myrtle Beach Bowl: December 19th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Georgia Southern vs. Kennesaw State
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: December 19th- American/ACC/Notre Dame/SEC- Memphis vs. Michigan State
Bowls Right Before Christmas
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: December 22nd- Mountain West vs. MAC- San Diego State vs. Ohio
Boca Raton Bowl: December 23rd- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- James Madison vs. Louisiana Tech
New Orleans Bowl: December 23rd- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt– Western Kentucky vs. Louisiana Monroe
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl: December 23rd- AAC/CUSA/MAC/MWC/SBC- North Texas vs. Old Dominion
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl: December 24th- American vs. Mountain West- UConn vs. Hawaii
Let’s finish up our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Six with the games right after the big holiday.
Post-Christmas Games
Game Above Sports Bowl: December 26th- Big Ten vs. MAC- Minnesota vs. Buffalo
Rate Bowl- December 26th: Big Ten vs. Big 12- Maryland vs. Houston
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: December 26th- AAC/ACC/Big 12- Kansas vs. North Carolina State
Go Bowling Military Bowl: December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Navy vs. Louisville
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- Pittsburgh vs. Iowa
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Clemson vs. Tulane
Pop-Tarts Bowl: December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Notre Dame vs. TCU- After their big win over Boise State, the Fighting Irish are another team knocking on the door of the playoff.
Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl: December 27th- MAC vs. Mountain West- Western Michigan vs. Fresno State
Isleta New Mexico Bowl: December 27th- Mountain West vs. American/Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Boise State vs. Texas State
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. SEC- Duke vs. Missouri
Kinder’s Texas Bowl: December 27th- Big 12 vs. SEC- Texas vs. BYU- Again, the Longhorns go from knocking on the door of the playoff to virtually staying at home for a bowl game.
JLab Birmingham Bowl: December 29th- American/ACC/SEC- Mississippi State vs. East Carolina- We now have a sponsor for this game. In case you are curious, JLab makes wireless earbuds, headphones, and office accessories.
To Be Announced Bowl Game-
Former Bahamas Bowl: Conference USA vs. MAC – New Mexico State vs. Miami (Ohio). We don’t know the title or where the game will be played, but we have a matchup.
What We’re Watching-
As we mentioned earlier, the biggest game of the weekend is Indiana and Oregon. In addition, the contest between North Texas and South Florida could go a long way in determining the American Conference winner. Currently, five teams is vying for the top spot. We also have Alabama visiting Missouri and Ohio State at Illinois. The results of these contest could (and probably will) change our selections. Thanks for checking out our 2025 Bowl Projections After Week Six here at Last Word On College Football.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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