College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections After Week 3: North Carolina Into Postseason
That was an absolutely bonkers weekend in college football, and you don’t even have to touch upon all the theatrics surrounding Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford, Miss., to know that. Vanderbilt won a game in the last second, Houston came up just short at the end against Texas Tech, Louisville confirmed it is a College Football Playoff contender and there were a half-dozen results which few saw coming going into Saturday.
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That’s reflected in the Sports Illustrated latest bowl projections, which include several new teams (hello, Bill Belichick at Fenway!) and plenty of intriguing matchups coming together across the postseason.
Here’s our projection of the College Football Playoff and 35 bowl games for the 2026–27 season after Week 3.
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College Football Playoff Projected Rankings After Week 3
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Ohio State
- Miami
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Mississippi
- BYU
- LSU
- USC
- Louisville
- Boise State
First Round
- No. 9 LSU at No. 8 BYU
- No. 10 USC at No. 7 Mississippi
- No. 11 Louisville at No. 6 Indiana
- No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Georgia
Quarterfinals
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 5 Georgia
- Rose Bowl: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Indiana
- Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Mississippi
- Peach Bowl: No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 LSU
Semifinals
- Orange Bowl: No. 4 Miami vs. No. 9 LSU
- Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 3 Ohio State
National Championship
- At Las Vegas: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Miami
Bowl Projections After Week 3
| Bowl Game | Date | Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Salute to Veterans Bowl | Dec. 15 | Old Dominion vs. Toledo |
| Frisco Football Classic | Dec. 15 | Jacksonville State vs. North Texas |
| Boca Raton Bowl | Dec. 18 | FAU vs. Appalachian State |
| Gasparilla Bowl | Dec. 18 | Missouri vs. Duke |
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | Dec. 21 | Delaware vs. UMass |
| Potato Bowl | Dec. 21 | Miami (Ohio) vs. USF |
| Puerto Rico Bowl | Dec. 22 | Western Kentucky vs. Ohio |
| Cure Bowl | Dec. 22 | James Madison vs. UCF |
| Independence Bowl | Dec. 22 | Kansas State vs. Minnesota |
| New Orleans Bowl | Dec. 23 | Kennesaw State vs. Troy |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Dec. 23 | Navy vs. New Mexico |
| Frisco Bowl | Dec. 23 | Tulsa vs. Fresno State |
| Poinsettia Bowl | Dec. 23 | Oregon State vs. Cal |
| New Mexico Bowl | Dec. 24 | Colorado State vs. UNLV |
| Hawai’i Bowl | Dec. 24 | San Diego State vs. Hawai’i |
| Pinstripe Bowl | Dec. 26 | Virginia vs. Iowa |
| Fenway Bowl | Dec. 26 | North Carolina vs. Memphis |
| Mayo Bowl | Dec. 26 | Clemson vs. Wisconsin |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | Dec. 26 | Louisiana Tech vs. Texas State |
| Cactus Bowl | Dec. 26 | West Virginia vs. Illinois |
| Military Bowl | Dec. 26 | Wake Forest vs. UTSA |
| Arizona Bowl | Dec. 27 | North Dakota State vs. Western Michigan |
| Holiday Bowl | Dec. 28 | Utah vs. Virginia Tech |
| Birmingham Bowl | Dec. 29 | Auburn vs. UCLA |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | Dec. 29 | Texas Tech vs. Pitt |
| Alamo Bowl | Dec. 29 | Oregon vs. Houston |
| Gator Bowl | Dec. 30 | Florida vs. SMU |
| Music City Bowl | Dec. 30 | Kentucky vs. Nebraska |
| ReliaQuest Bowl | Dec. 31 | Tennessee vs. Michigan |
| Sun Bowl | Dec. 31 | Arizona vs. NC State |
| Las Vegas Bowl | Dec. 31 | Washington vs. Oklahoma |
| Texas Bowl | Dec. 31 | Texas A&M vs. TCU |
| Citrus Bowl | Jan. 2 | Alabama vs. Penn State |
| First Responder Bowl | Jan. 2 | Northwestern vs. Arizona State |
| Liberty Bowl | Jan. 2 | Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma 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.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections After Week 3: North Carolina Into Postseason.
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This story was originally published September 20, 2026 at 4:48 PM.
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