College Football Bowl Ties, Affiliations 2025-2026
Note:
- This will likely be the last year for most of these bowl affiliations. TV contracts, big conferences who want more, a likely expansion of the CFP to 14 or 16 - it's all about to change. But most of the current deals go through the 2025 season.
How Will the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff work?
The four highest-ranked conference champions will get a bye.
The first round games will be played on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams on December 19th and 20th.
The Quarterfinals will be played in bowl venues: Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl. If available, the Big Ten champion will go to the Rose Bowl,
The Semifinals will be the Fiesta Bowl on January 8th, and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 9th.
The College Football Playoff National Championship will be in Miami on January 19th.
2025-2026 College Football Playoff Schedule
First Round
Friday, Dec. 19
On Campus (1 game)
Saturday, Dec. 20
On Campus (3 games)
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Dec. 31
Cotton Bowl
Thursday, Jan. 1
Orange Bowl
ACC, if possible
Rose Bowl
Big Ten, if possible
Sugar Bowl
Big 12 or SEC, if possible
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 8
Fiesta Bowl
Friday, Jan. 9
Peach Bowl
College Football Playoff National Championship
Monday, Jan. 19
Miami Gardens, FL
Big Ten Bowl Ties, Affiliations
Consider it a mortal lock that the Big Ten champion is in the College Football Playoff, and almost certainly with one of the top four spots with a bye. That puts the champ in the quarterfinals and the Rose Bowl.The Big Ten used to alternate with the SEC between the Las Vegas Bowl and Duke's Mayo Bowl, but the Big Ten has put teams into the Las Vegas two years in a row. Last season Northwestern beat Utah in the Las Vegas, so assume the Big Ten will not be in the Duke's Mayo after Minnesota got in last year.
The former Pac-12 teams - Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington - will remain eligible for the former Pac-12 bowl ties and affiliations for one more season. That means if any of those four aren't in the College Football Playoff, they'll be eligible for the Alamo, Independence, Holiday, LA, Las Vegas, and Sun bowls.
Let's put it this way. No matter what, ESPN and the bowl people will shoehorn any available Big Ten team into a bowl game.
- Rose Bowl vs CFP (if the Big Ten has a champion among the top four ranked conference champs)
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs SEC
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs Big 12
- GameAbove Sports Bowl vs MAC
- Music City Bowl vs SEC
- Pinstripe Bowl vs ACC
- ReliaQuest Bowl vs SEC