College soccer Week 12 bowl projections: Rivalry video games loom massive for postseason hopefuls

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With three extra weekends left within the common season, 59 groups have change into bowl-eligible, and one other 19 can qualify with another victory. With 82 spots, it’s unlikely a group with a shedding file will slide into the postseason this 12 months. Of course, that might change.

There are just a few four- and even three-win squads that also have a path to a bowl based mostly on their upcoming schedules, whereas just a few five-win groups are removed from assured a postseason journey. Penn State (3-6) almost upset No. 2 Indiana on Saturday and now wants to brush its remaining video games — at Michigan State, dwelling in opposition to Nebraska, at Rutgers — to select up a postseason invitation, but it surely’s not far-fetched. Rutgers (5-5) closes out its season at No. 1 Ohio State earlier than internet hosting Penn State. It’s potential that the season finale may change into a winner-take-all matchup for a bowl bid.

For a number of groups, rivalry video games will decide whether or not they earn a postseason nod. Kentucky (4-5) faces Tennessee Tech this week earlier than touring to Vanderbilt and Louisville to shut out the season. Clemson (4-5) might want to beat both Louisville or South Carolina on the street, coupled with a house win in opposition to Furman, to land a bowl berth. Florida State (4-5) may must beat Florida within the season finale, whereas it’s potential that solely the winner between NC State (5-4) and North Carolina (4-5) goes bowling.

For groups already eligible, now it’s about shifting up of their conferences’ pecking order. For occasion, the Iowa-Nebraska sport on Black Friday may decide which group heads to Tampa or Las Vegas. The Miami-Pittsburgh sport on the ultimate weekend may decide which of the 2 groups heads to the ACC’s high bowl tier (Pop Tarts, Gator, Holiday) and second tier (Pinstripe, Sun, Duke’s Mayo). A Citrus Bowl spot might be at stake in Vanderbilt-Tennessee if neither qualifies for the College Football Playoff.

A couple of evergreen notes:

This is the second season of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The highest-ranked 5 convention champions plus the highest seven at-large groups qualify for the sector.

The 4 highest-ranked groups earn first-round byes. Those groups will play within the Cotton (Dec. 31), Orange (Jan. 1), Rose (Jan. 1) and Sugar (Dec. 31) bowls on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Teams seeded 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 in first-round video games on Dec. 19-20. Should the Big Ten and SEC champions earn byes, they’ll play within the Rose and Sugar bowls, respectively.

The former Pac-12 colleges nonetheless are underneath the convention’s outdated bowl agreements, that are set to run out after the season. Depending on CFP negotiations, these offers may prolong by one other 12 months. In the meantime, it is going to be potential to see in-conference matchups within the Alamo, Vegas, Holiday or Sun bowls.

ESPN Events owns the Bahamas Bowl, however the sport will transfer to an undetermined location subsequent month.

Missouri State (6-3) and Delaware (5-4) are within the first 12 months of their transition from the Football Championship Subdivision and are ineligible for a bowl sport until there aren’t sufficient bowl-eligible groups. Transitional groups obtain precedence forward of 5-7 squads with a excessive Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Bowl	Matchup
Playoff Dec. 19, 2025	7 Texas Tech	10 Texas
Playoff Dec. 20, 2025	5 Georgia	12 South Florida
Playoff Dec. 20, 2025	6 Ole Miss	11 Georgia Tech
Playoff Dec. 20, 2025	8 Oregon	9 Notre Dame
Cotton Dec. 31, 2025	3 Indiana	Ole Miss/GT winner
Orange Jan. 1, 2026	4 Alabama	UGA/USF winner
Rose Jan. 1, 2026	1 Ohio State	Oregon/ND winner
Sugar Jan. 1, 2026	2 Texas A&M	TxTech/Texas winner
Fiesta Jan. 8, 2026	QF winner	QF winner
Peach Jan. 9, 2026	QF winner	QF winner
Championship Jan. 19, 2026	SF winner	SF winner

Bowl	Matchup
LA Dec. 13, 2025	Pac-12 6 Arizona	MWC 1 San Diego State
Salute to Veterans Dec. 16, 2025	Sun Belt Coastal Carolina	MAC Buffalo
Cure Dec. 17, 2025	Sun Belt James Madison	G5/Open Miami (OH)
68 Ventures Dec. 17, 2025	Sun Belt Troy	Open Kennesaw State
Myrtle Beach Dec. 19, 2025	Sun Belt Old Dominion	Open UConn
Gasparilla Dec. 19, 2025	SEC/ACC/AAC Florida State	Open Memphis
Famous Idaho Potato Dec. 22, 2025	MWC Utah State	MAC Central Michigan
Boca Raton Dec. 23, 2025	Open Duke	Open Kansas
New Orleans Dec. 23, 2025	Sun Belt Southern Miss	CUSA Western Kentucky
Frisco Dec. 23, 2025	G5 North Texas	G5/Open UNLV
Hawai’i Dec. 24, 2025	MWC Hawaii	American East Carolina
GameAbove Sports Dec. 26, 2025	Big Ten 8 Minnesota	MAC Western Michigan
Rate Dec. 26, 2025	Big Ten 7 Northwestern	Big 12 6 TCU
First Responder Dec. 26, 2025	Open California	Open Baylor
Military Dec. 27, 2025	American Navy	ACC 8 Wake Forest
Pinstripe Dec. 27, 2025	Big Ten 6 Penn State	ACC 5-7 Pittsburgh
Fenway Dec. 27, 2025	ACC 9 NC State	American Temple
Arizona Dec. 27, 2025	MWC Boise State	MAC 2 Ohio
Pop-Tarts Dec. 27, 2025	Big 12 3 BYU	ACC 2-4 Virginia
New Mexico Dec. 27, 2025	MWC New Mexico	Open Washington State
Gator Dec. 27, 2025	ACC 2-4 Miami	SEC 3-8 LSU
Texas Dec. 27, 2025	Big 12 4 Iowa State	SEC 3-8 Missouri
Birmingham Dec. 29, 2025	ACC/SEC/Open North Carolina	SEC/ACC/Open Tulane
Independence Dec. 30, 2025	Big 12 7 Kansas State	CUSA/Sun Belt Arkansas State
Music City Dec. 30, 2025	Big Ten 5 Illinois	SEC 3-8 Vanderbilt
Alamo Dec. 30, 2025	Big 12 2 Houston	Pac-12 2 USC
ReliaQuest Dec. 31, 2025	Big Ten 3 Iowa	SEC 3-8 Oklahoma
Sun Dec. 31, 2025	ACC 5-7 SMU	Pac-12 5 Arizona State
Citrus Dec. 31, 2025	Big Ten 2 Michigan	SEC 2 Tennessee
Las Vegas Dec. 31, 2025	Pac-12 3 Utah	Big Ten 4 Nebraska
Armed Forces Jan. 2, 2026	Open Fresno State	American Army
Liberty Jan. 2, 2026	Big 12 5 Cincinnati	SEC 3-8 Mississippi State
Duke’s Mayo Jan. 2, 2026	SEC 3-8 Kentucky	ACC 5-7 Clemson
Holiday Jan. 2, 2026	ACC 2-4 Louisville	Pac-12 4 Washington
Bahamas/TBD undefined NaN, NaN	MAC Toledo	CUSA Jacksonville State