By admin 
Conference races and College Football Playoff bids were turned on their head in Week 6 as a number of big-name programs who had designs on doing damage in the postseason took some downright shocking losses. That impacted the projected bracket significantly (prepare yourselves for Iowa and UCLA and … uh, Wake Forest as CFP teams) and had a similar cascading effect across the rest of the bowl system.
Read more Three Takeaways From Man City’s Act of Defiance Against Liverpool and Anfield
That’s reflected in the Sports Illustrated latest bowl projections going into Week 7, which sees some fascinating CFP games (the Steve Sarkisian Bowl in the first round among them), some fun Group of 6 matchups like the New Orleans Bowl and Potato Bowl, plus plenty of intriguing games heading into late December like the Sun Bowl, Citrus Bowl and Gator Bowl.
PREVIOUS:Projections After Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
College Football Playoff Projected Rankings After Week 6
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Texas
- UCLA
- Iowa
- BYU
- Wake Forest
- Boise State
First Round
- No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
- No. 11 Wake Forest at No. 6 Indiana
- No. 10 BYU at No. 7 Texas
- No. 9 Iowa at No. 8 UCLA
Quarterfinals
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Alabama
- Cotton Bowl: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Indiana
- Rose Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Texas
- Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 UCLA
Semifinals
- Orange Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
- Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 5 Alabama
National Championship
- At Las Vegas: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
Bowl Projections After Week 6
| Bowl Game | Date | Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Salute to Veterans Bowl | Dec. 15 | Toledo vs. Jacksonville State |
| Frisco Football Classic | Dec. 15 | Appalachian State vs. Ohio |
| Boca Raton Bowl | Dec. 18 | Georgia State vs. East Carolina |
| Gasparilla Bowl | Dec. 18 | Florida State vs. Texas A&M |
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | Dec. 21 | FAU vs. Central Michigan |
| Potato Bowl | Dec. 21 | Western Michigan vs. New Mexico |
| Puerto Rico Bowl | Dec. 22 | Louisiana Tech vs. Army |
| Cure Bowl | Dec. 22 | South Alabama vs. USF |
| Independence Bowl | Dec. 22 | UCF vs. Air Force |
| New Orleans Bowl | Dec. 23 | Liberty vs. James Madison |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Dec. 23 | North Texas vs. Delaware |
| Frisco Bowl | Dec. 23 | Washington vs. Cincinnati |
| Poinsettia Bowl | Dec. 23 | Oregon State vs. Arizona State |
| New Mexico Bowl | Dec. 24 | Tulsa vs. Texas State |
| Hawai’i Bowl | Dec. 24 | Fresno State vs. UNLV |
| Pinstripe Bowl | Dec. 26 | Pitt vs. Minnesota |
| Fenway Bowl | Dec. 26 | NC State vs. Memphis |
| Mayo Bowl | Dec. 26 | North Carolina vs. Northwestern |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | Dec. 26 | Troy vs. FIU |
| Cactus Bowl | Dec. 26 | Kansas State vs. Wisconsin |
| Military Bowl | Dec. 26 | Virginia Tech vs. Arizona |
| Holiday Bowl | Dec. 28 | Virginia Tech vs. Arizona |
| Birmingham Bowl | Dec. 29 | Mississippi State vs. Duke |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | Dec. 29 | Houston vs. SMU |
| Alamo Bowl | Dec. 29 | Texas Tech vs. Oregon |
| Gator Bowl | Dec. 30 | Louisville vs. LSU |
| Music City Bowl | Dec. 30 | Michigan vs. Kentucky |
| ReliaQuest Bowl | Dec. 31 | Penn State vs. Florida |
| Sun Bowl | Dec. 31 | Clemson vs. USC |
| Las Vegas Bowl | Dec. 31 | Missouri vs. Utah |
| Texas Bowl | Dec. 31 | Baylor vs. Oklahoma |
| Citrus Bowl | Jan. 2 | Nebraska vs. Ole Miss |
| First Responder Bowl | Jan. 2 | Colorado State vs. Louisiana |
| Liberty Bowl | Jan. 2 | Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee |
| Arizona Bowl | Jan. 2 | UMass vs. North Dakota State |
PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated‘s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.
Read more Dodgers Announce Starting Lineup for NLCS Game 1 vs Brewers
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
- Dawgs Beat Tide, Red River Thriller and Is UCLA for Real?
- Projecting AP Top 25 After College Football Week 6: Oklahoma Stuns Texas, and a New No. 1 Emerges
- Kirby Smart Conquered Alabama as Georgia Reclaimed Its Place Atop the SEC and the National Title Chase
- Steve Sarkisian Has to Find a Fix Fast After Texas’s Costly Loss to Oklahoma
- Georgia 20, Alabama 17: Three Takeaways From Bulldogs’ Massive Road Win in Tuscaloosa
This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections After Week 6: UCLA, Wake Forest Into Bracket.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Read more 7 Takeaways From Patriots’ Monster Win over Raiders: Is Drake Maye Finally Back?
This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 1:07 PM.