Week 2 Upsets and a Thrilling Comeback Reshape the College Football Bowl and Playoff Picture

Week 2 delivered a instant-classic finish, stunning upsets, and major shifts to the bowl and playoff projections that follow.

The only top-25 matchup of the weekend produced one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent memory: then-No. 4 Texas erased a 20-point deficit against then-No. 1 Ohio State, sending viewers into a frenzy and propelling the Longhorns upward in this week’s playoff projections. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State and Michigan struck big, Oregon tumbled out of the projected field entirely, and Michigan’s statement victory over then-No. 11 Oklahoma sent ripples through the bowl landscape.

In the debut season of the new-look playoff format, the four Power 4 conference champions earn automatic bids alongside the highest-ranked Group of 6 team, regardless of conference title status. The remaining slots in the 12-team field go to the next seven highest-ranked teams, with Notre Dame guaranteed a berth so long as it sits within the top 12.

The four highest-ranked teams — not necessarily conference champions — receive first-round byes, while the remaining eight teams play first-round games on the campus sites of seeds 5 through 8.

Bowl season begins with the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 12, and concludes with the CFP National Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 25.

All times Eastern

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First-round games | Quarterfinals
Semis, title game | Bowl season

College Football Playoff

First-round games (at campus sites)

Friday, Dec. 18
8 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 19
Noon, ABC/ESPN
3:30 p.m., TNT
7:30 p.m., TNT

Bonagura: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Miami

Bonagura: No. 11 BYU at No. 6 LSU
Schlabach: No. 11 Texas A&M at No. 6 LSU

Bonagura: No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 7 Miami
Schlabach: No. 10 Texas Tech at No. 7 Ohio State

Bonagura: No. 9 Texas A&M at No. 8 Alabama
Schlabach: No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 8 BYU

CFP quarterfinals

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
7:30 p.m., TNT
Bonagura: No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 5 Miami vs. No. 4 Indiana

Friday, Jan. 1

Time slots for quarterfinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl to be determined on Selection Day (Dec. 6)

Quarterfinals Game 2
Noon, TNT
Bonagura: No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 1 Notre Dame
Schlabach: No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 1 Texas

Quarterfinals Game 3
4 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Bonagura: No. 6 LSU vs. No. 3 Texas
Schlabach: No. 6 LSU vs. No. 3 Notre Dame

Quarterfinals Game 4
8 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: No. 7 Miami vs. No. 2 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Georgia

CFP semifinals, national championship game

Thursday, Jan. 14

Capital One Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
7:30 p.m., TNT
Bonagura: No. 3 Texas vs. No. 2 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia

Friday, Jan. 15

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Bonagura: No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 1 Notre Dame
Schlabach: No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 Texas

Monday, Jan. 25

CFP National Championship
Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Bonagura: No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 Notre Dame
Schlabach: No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 2 Georgia

Bowl season schedule

Saturday, Dec. 12

Cricket Celebration Bowl presented by Toyota
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Noon, ABC
Bonagura: South Carolina State vs. Prairie View A&M
Schlabach: South Carolina State vs. Alabama State

Tuesday, Dec. 15

IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: FIU vs. Louisiana Tech
Schlabach: UMass vs. Louisiana

Frisco Football Classic
The Star (Frisco, Texas)
9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Michigan State vs. Louisiana
Schlabach: Memphis vs. North Dakota State

Friday, Dec. 18

Boca Raton Bowl
Flagler Credit Union Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida)
11 a.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Liberty vs. Tulsa
Schlabach: East Carolina vs. Western Michigan

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida)
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Vanderbilt vs. South Florida
Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Tulane

Monday, Dec. 21

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina)
11 a.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Delaware vs. Georgia State
Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Georgia State

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Western Michigan vs. UNLV
Schlabach: Toledo vs. Air Force

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Puerto Rico Bowl
Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Bayamón, Puerto Rico)
1:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: UMass vs. Old Dominion
Schlabach: Tulsa vs. Liberty

StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Acrisure Bounce House (Orlando, Florida)
5 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Ohio vs. James Madison
Schlabach: Troy vs. Florida International

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana)
8:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: UCLA vs. West Virginia
Schlabach: UCLA vs. West Virginia

Wednesday, Dec. 23

New Orleans Bowl
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
2 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Jacksonville State vs. Appalachian State
Schlabach: Kennesaw State vs. James Madison

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: TCU vs. Army
Schlabach: Cal vs. Army