2026 Bowl Projections After Week Nine

It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means. It’s time for our weekly column of who’s in the playoff and all the bowl games. We’ve reached November, so by the time you are reading this, we’ll have our first rankings from the selection committee. So we’ll have a better idea of how they see things. It was another crazy week in college football, meaning the only thing for sure is nothing’s for sure. Take the Big 12, for example. Baylor, who fired their coach, beat Central Florida 41-9. The Knights, of course, beat BYU, who beat Notre Dame. We will talk more about some of the happenings in the last seven days as we go, but let’s get to why you are here: our 2026 bowl projections after week nine. As always, if you’d like to see how things changed from last week, click here.

2026 Bowl Projections After Week Nine

How The Process Works

Once again this year, we have a 12-team playoff with the top four still getting a first-round bye. However, the winners of the Power Four conferences don’t automatically get slots 1-4. In addition, 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 semifinals. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas hosts the title game on January 25th. With the formalities out of the way, let’s get to our 2026 bowl projections after Week Eight.

College Football Playoff First Round

Friday, December 18th- Baton Rouge, Louisiana- (9) BYU at (8) LSU- This game is one of two that remained unchanged from last week. The Cougars bounced back from the loss to Central Florida by beating Arizona State. Lane Kiffin’s squad had the week off before hosting Alabama on Saturday.

Saturday, December 19th- Bloomington, Indiana- (11) Texas at (6) Indiana– Our other game that stayed the same as last week. Arch Manning and the Longhorns had no trouble with Mississippi State 31-3. The Hoosiers came up with an overtime win against Minnesota in one of the wildest endings you’ll ever see.

Saturday, December 19th- Lexington, Kentucky- (10) Ohio State at (7) Kentucky– Will Stein and the Wildcats had the week off before embarking on a daunting November. First up is a date with Tennessee on Saturday. The Buckeyes shockingly lost to USC and drop out of our top four. The two schools have met three times, with OSU winning them all. However, they haven’t played since 1935.

Saturday, December 19th- South Bend, Indiana- (12) Boise St at (5) Notre Dame– We suspect the Fighting Irish will be ranked much higher than most of the analytics say. They host Miami in the weekend’s biggest game. Boise blew a 25-point halftime lead then had to rally for a 46-45 win over Texas State. In addition, Max Cutforth had to relieve injured starter Maddux Madsen.

Playoff Quarterfinals

Wednesday, December 30th- VRBO Fiesta Bowl- (5) Notre Dame vs. (4) Utah- We’re picking the Irish to get past Boise State and set up a date with the Utes. Devon Dampier and the Utes jumped out to a 42-6 halftime lead over Cincinnati before winning 49-26. At this point, we are projecting them as the Big 12 champ.

Friday, January 1st- Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl- (8) LSU vs. (1) Miami– Darian Mensah threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns as the Hurricanes got all they could handle from North Carolina before winning 38-35. The Tigers lead the all-time series 10-3, with the last meeting coming in 2018.

Friday, January 1st- Rose Bowl Presented By Prudential- (6) Indiana vs. (3) UCLA–We’ve got an all-Big Ten matchup for the big game in Pasadena. Bob Chesney’s Bruins continue to roll and are now our projected Big Ten champion.

Friday, January 1st- Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic- (7) Kentucky vs. (2) Georgia- The Wildcats get past the Buckeyes and head to Texas for a possible SEC title game rematch. Kirby Smart’s club took care of Florida 27-8 in a game played in Atlanta rather than Jacksonville.

That’s a lot to digest, but there’s still plenty more to come as we roll on with our 2026 bowl projections after week nine.

College Football Playoff Semi-Finals And Finals

Thursday, January 14th- Capital One Orange Bowl- (5) Notre Dame vs. (1) Miami– We’re getting a rematch from the game this weekend in the semi-finals.

Friday, January 15th- Allstate Sugar Bowl- (3) UCLA vs. (2) Georgia– The two have met twice in history, with the Bulldogs winning in 1943 and 1983.

Monday, January 25th- College Football National Championship- (2) Georgia vs. (1) Miami–We’re picking the Bulldogs to get past UCLA and face Miami.

That’s how we are seeing the playoff this week. Let’s get to the rest of the bowl games with our 2026 bowl projections after week nine.

Comings And Goings

Of course, the biggest news this past week was Florida State firing coach Mike Norvell. We don’t have the Seminoles as a bowl team. In addition, we’ve reached the point where we track how many bowl-eligible teams there are. Heading into this week, we have 41, which is close to half the squads needed for the postseason.

In case you missed it, we got an announcement of a new bowl game. The TransPerfect San Juan Bowl will take place on December 16th at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It will feature teams from the ACC and Sun Belt. It’s the second game to be played on the island, with the Puerto Rico Bowl happening on December 22nd. Who is in those games? Let’s find out as we continue with our 2026 Bowl Projections after Week Nine.

Games Around The New Year

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: January 2nd- Big Ten vs. SEC- Iowa vs. Ole Miss- Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels host Georgia in another huge game Saturday.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl- January 2nd- Big 12 vs. SEC- Baylor vs. Missouri

ServPro First Responder Bowl- January 2nd- AAC/ACC-Big 12- Florida Atlantic vs. Arizona State

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: January 2nd- MAC vs. MWC- UNLV vs. Buffalo

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- December 30th- ACC vs. SEC- Virginia Tech vs. Florida

Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl: December 30th- Big Ten vs. SEC- South Carolina vs. Nebraska

Reliaquest Bowl: December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Alabama vs. Wisconsin- We have them slotted for Tampa. However, it would surprise no one to see the Crimson Tide in the top 12, and fairly high up.

Old El Paso Sun Bowl: December 31st- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- Clemson vs. Washington*- The Huskies go to El Paso as a legacy Pac-12 squad.

Las Vegas Bowl: December 31st- SEC vs. Pac-12- Tennessee vs. Arizona*- The Wildcats go to Vegas as a legacy Pac-12 squad.

Kinder’s Texas Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big 12- Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State- Even though they both lost last week, we’re keeping “Bedlam” because it’s fun.

That’s our first group of picks. As we move along with our 2026 bowl projections after week nine, let’s move to the contests after the big holiday.

Post-Christmas Games

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: December 26th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- North Carolina State vs. Minnesota

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: December 27th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- North Carolina vs. Texas San-Antonio

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: December 26th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- Louisville vs. Northwestern

68 Ventures Bowl: December 26th- Conference USA/Mid-American/Sun Belt- UAB vs. Louisiana Tech

Cactus Bowl – December 26th: Big Ten vs. Big 12 – Michigan vs. Cincinnati

Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl: December 28th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. American- Duke vs. Memphis

Trust & Will Holiday Bowl- December 28th: ACC vs. Pac-12- SMU vs. Oregon*- The Ducks go to San Diego as a legacy Pac-12 team.

JLab Birmingham Bowl: December 29th- American/ACC/SEC- Syracuse vs. Auburn

Pop-Tarts Bowl: December 29th- ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12- Wake Forest vs. Houston- The Demon Deacons were one of our first teams placed this week. They continued their ACC dominance with a 44-point dismantling of Virginia.

Valero Alamo Bowl: December 29th- Big 12 vs. Pac-12- Texas Tech vs. USC*–The huge win over Ohio State didn’t quite get the Trojans into the playoff, but there’s still a chance. For now, the Trojans head to San Antonio as a legacy Pac-12 squad.

As we wrap up our 2026 bowl projections after week nine, let’s move to the games before the big holiday. One thing you’ll notice is that there are a lot more games before Christmas this year.

Bowls Right Before Christmas

Myrtle Beach Bowl: December 21st- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- South Alabama vs. Delaware

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: December 21st- Mountain West vs. MAC- Air Force vs. Toledo

Puerto Rico Bowl- December 22nd- MAC vs. American/CUSA/MWC/SBC- Miami (Ohio) vs. East Carolina

StaffDNA Cure Bowl- December 22nd- AAC/CUSA/MAC/SBC- South Florida vs. James Madison- Back-to-back losses ended the Dukes’ chances of making the playoff.

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl- December 22nd- Big 12 vs. Conference USA/Pac 12- West Virginia vs. UConn

New Orleans Bowl: December 23rd- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt– Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl- December 23rd- Big 12 vs. AAC/MWC/SBC- Central Florida vs. Army

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl: December 23rd- AAC/CUSA/MAC/MWC/SBC- Georgia State vs. North Texas

SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl- Pac-12 vs. Mountain West- Oregon State vs. New Mexico- The Lobos have emerged as a legit contender to Boise State as the Group of Six representative.

Isleta New Mexico Bowl- December 24th- MWC vs. AAC/CUSA/MAC/SBC- Wyoming vs. Tulane

Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl: December 24th- American vs. Mountain West- North Dakota State vs. Fresno State

We are moving right along with our 2026 bowl projections after week nine. Time now for the opening contests of bowl season.

First Week Games

Cricket Celebration Bowl- December 12th- MEAC vs. SWAC- South Carolina State vs. Jackson State

IS4S Salute To Veterans Bowl: December 15th- Conference USA/MAC/Sun Belt- Appalachian State vs. Western Michigan

Frisco Football Classic- December 15th- Conference USA vs. Sun Belt- Troy vs. Middle Tennessee

TransPerfect San Juan Bowl- December 16th- ACC vs. Sun Belt- Boston College vs. Arkansas State- We are projecting the Eagles to face the Red Wolves in the first San Juan Bowl.

Boca Raton Bowl: December 18th- American/Conference USA/MAC/Mountain West/Sun Belt- Liberty vs. Marshall

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: December 19th- American/ACC/Notre Dame/SEC- Pittsburgh vs. Texas A&M

The Last Word

Saturday marks the biggest weekend of games since three weeks ago. In all seriousness, this slate is loaded. In addition to Miami at Notre Dame and the “Holy War” with BYU at Utah, there are several more games featuring ranked teams. In the SEC alone, you have Alabama at LSU, Georgia at Ole Miss, Kentucky at Tennessee, and Texas at Missouri, because it does indeed mean more. The results of these games will certainly change things up next week.

Thanks for checking out our 2026 bowl projections after week nine here at Last Word On College Football.

Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images