Bowl Games Schedule 2025-26 Dates, Times and Best Potential CFP Bracket Matchups

The College Football Playoff bracket is one week away from being finalized, but we have a good idea of which teams will be in the 12-team field and which potential matchups are on the horizon.

Three spots are realistically up for grabs. The Alabama Crimson Tide need to win the SEC Championship Game to feel safe. The other two spots will go to the ACC champion and the best Group of Five team.

Seeding is the only concern for the nine teams likely in the bracket already. That gives us a chance to not just dream about potential first-round matchups, but how the bracket will play out throughout December and January.

The full CFB Playoff schedule, as well as the entire bowl schedule, can be found here on NCAA.com.

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

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A National Championship rematch could occur in the second round.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been the top team in the country for most of the season. They will be the No. 1 overall seed if they beat the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are lingering around the Nos. 8-10 range. They will likely be put in the No. 8-versus-No. 9 first-round contest.

Marcus Freeman's team was ranked ninth in the last CFB Playoff rankings. There's only two ways it drops from that spot. The first is if Alabama wins the SEC Championship Game and the committee moves up the Crimson Tide. The second involves losses from Alabama and the BYU Cougars and the entrance of the Miami Hurricanes into the top 10. The committee could place Miami over Notre Dame based on head-to-head results.

For now, though, the Irish and Buckeyes are in position to square off in the second round.

The quarterbacks will be different from last year's title game, but Jeremiyah Love, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are among the offensive skill players that would play their second straight playoff game between the two sides.

Notre Dame is one of the few teams that could give the Ohio State defense a challenge. The running game, led by Love, is one of the best in the country and quarterback C.J. Carr has plenty of veteran pass-catchers to work with who could exploit small gaps in the OSU secondary.

Indiana vs. Texas A&M

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There's a chance that two of the best teams in the country meet in the second round.

The Texas A&M Aggies' loss to the Texas Longhorns will cause a drop of a few spots in Tuesday's rankings.

A&M will likely be in the No.6-No. 7 range, which could line it up with the Indiana Hoosiers.

Indiana is currently No. 2, but if it loses to Ohio State, it could drop to No. 3 depending on what happens in the SEC Championship Game.

Indiana and A&M could be aligned in the No. 3-versus-No. 6 quarterfinal, or even in the No. 2-versus-No. 7 contest if the Hoosiers lose a close game to Ohio State.

Indiana and A&M were top-three teams for most of the season, and if they meet, they could produce a championship-level game in the quarterfinals.

Oregon vs. Tulane

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The annual question of whether or not a Group of Five team can contend with a power-conference team will be asked in the first round of the playoff.

The Tulane Green Wave enter conference championship weekend as the favorite to earn the Group of Five berth.

Tulane is an interesting case because it has BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff at quarterback and its head coach, Jon Sumrall, is headed to Florida.

The Green Wave were blown out by the Ole Miss Rebels, but they picked up two power-conference wins over the Northwestern Wildcats and Duke Blue Devils.

Oregon is the likely No. 5 seed at the moment. That would put the Ducks into the matchup with the best G5 champion at No. 12.

The last two G5 champions to qualify for the playoff lost by double figures. There's a chance Tulane meets the same fate.

However, the Green Wave do have enough talent, especially at quarterback, to challenge a team with loftier goals.