2026-27 Week 3 College Football Playoff, bowl projections - ESPN

Week 3 kept us on the edge of our seats as we saw potential surprises fizzle, some thrilling finishes and a couple of big upsets.

In a game circled on everyone's calendars this season, Ole Miss gained a massive win over former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers. With this result, Ole Miss jumped seeds in this week's playoff projections and LSU dropped significantly. West Virginia handed then-No. 25 Virginia a big loss, showing there might be more Big 12 title contenders than anticipated. With conference play picking up in Week 4, expect to see the postseason picture shift further.

New to the 2026 season, the Power 4 conference champions will get automatic bids to the CFP, along with the highest-ranked Group of 6 team regardless of whether it is a league champ. The remaining slots in the 12-team field will go to the next seven highest-ranked teams. Notre Dame is guaranteed a spot in the field if it is among the top-12 teams.

The four highest-ranked teams (not necessarily conference champions) will be awarded first-round byes. The other eight teams will meet in first-round games at the campus sites of seeds 5 through 8.

The festivities of bowl season kick off with the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 12, and wrap up with the CFP National Championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Jan. 25.

ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach will make their predictions for all the postseason matchups every week of the season until the actual matchups are set Dec. 6.

All times Eastern

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

First-round games (at campus sites)

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

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