Defending national champion Ohio State is trying to win its second consecutive Cotton Bowl, this one a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game after it was a CFP semifinal last January when the Buckeyes beat Texas.

SportsLine's computer model has revealed its college football bowl picks and CFP first-round predictions after 10,000 simulations of each game

The Indiana Hoosiers are led by one of college football's top overall players in quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner.

Oklahoma’s path back to the College Football Playoff in 2026 depends on the growth of these five Sooners, who are expected to build on their 2025 seasons.

The CFP Quarterfinal games are scheduled to transpire this week, as one game will be played on Wednesday and three games will be played on Thursday.

The first of four College Football Playoff quarterfinal games kicks off on Wednesday. Below, let's look at which matchups will be most important in deciding this year's semifinalists.

Here's an updated look at the College Football Playoff bracket as first-round games become finalized. See which teams have moved on.

That first leg of the championship race features four on-campus games. No. 8 seed Oklahoma opens the action on Dec. 19 when it hosts No. 9 seed Alabama. And on Dec. 20, a trio of games pit No. 7 seed Texas A&M against No. 10 seed Miami, No. 6 seed Ole Miss against No. 11 seed Tulane and No. 5 seed Oregon against No. 12 seed James Madison.

Bowl Season director Nick Carparelli explains how bowls can coexist with CFP expansion, if there are too many bowl games and opt-outs.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake and his Cougars missed out on the College Football Playoff, but they prevailed with one of college football’s most prized possessions: chomping on the sacrificial pastry after a Pop-Tarts Bowl win.