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Diehard G6 bowl projections: 35 teams, 20 bowls and the one ticket to the playoff
Boise State takes the lone G6 auto-bid as the projected Pac-12 champion in the first edition of the Diehard Bowl Projections
Tim Stephens
Boise State, No. 1 in the Diehard G6 Top 25, is our projected College Football Playoff representative in the first edition of the Diehard Bowl Projections. The Broncos take the lone G6 auto-bid as the projected Pac-12 champion. Six of eight national projectors agree.
James Madison, projected to finish the regular season undefeated, misses the playoff and lands in the New Orleans Bowl against Jacksonville State. Oregon State, the pick of CBS Sports' Brad Crawford to take the G6 bid, heads to the Poinsettia Bowl to face former Pac-12 rival Arizona in our projection.
North Texas draws Oklahoma State in the First Responder Bowl in Dallas — a revenge game against the coach and nearly 20 players who left Denton for Stillwater last winter. UTSA and New Mexico meet in Albuquerque on Christmas Eve in a projected matchup of conference champions. Memphis gets an SEC opponent in the Birmingham Bowl. Army heads to Fenway Park. The American misses the CFP but places 10 teams on the board.
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Sign Up FreeAcross the G6, 34 teams fill 20 bowl games. Here's where everyone lands.
Matchups worth circling
North Texas vs. Oklahoma State (First Responder Bowl, Dallas)
Eric Morris left North Texas after a 12-win season to take the Oklahoma State job — and he didn't leave alone. Nearly 20 Mean Green players followed him to Stillwater, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who led the nation with 4,379 passing yards in 2025. North Texas spent the offseason rebuilding a roster that lost six all-conference players and nine starters to Stillwater in a single transfer cycle. A bowl meeting in Dallas, 40 miles from Denton, would be the most personal game on the entire bowl slate.
UTSA vs. New Mexico (New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque)
We project UTSA to win the American and New Mexico to win the Mountain West. If both hold serve, this becomes a matchup of conference champions on Christmas Eve — one of the best G6-vs-G6 pairings the bowl system can produce.
Oregon State vs. Arizona (Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego)
The Poinsettia Bowl returns after a decade-long hiatus with a built-in storyline: the new Pac-12 against the teams that left it. Oregon State, one of two schools left when the conference collapsed, faces a former league rival that bolted for the Big 12.
ECU vs. NC State (Gasparilla Bowl, Tampa)
Two North Carolina schools, 85 miles apart. The Pirates and Wolfpack don't play in the regular season, but their fan bases overlap across eastern North Carolina. ACC-versus-American bragging rights in Tampa.
Memphis vs. Mississippi State (Birmingham Bowl)
The Tigers are the co-favorite to win the American, and they draw a familiar SEC opponent. Memphis and Mississippi State have played 46 times since 1951, with the Bulldogs leading the series 34-12. The programs haven't met since 2022. A bowl date in Birmingham puts them back on the same field.
The full board
College Football Playoff: Boise State (Pac-12 champion, G6 auto-bid)
Date | Bowl | TV | Contracted Tie-In | Diehard Projection
Dec. 15 | Salute to Veterans | ESPN | CUSA/MAC vs. AAC/Sun Belt | South Alabama vs. Miami (Ohio)
Dec. 15 | Frisco Classic | ESPN | G6 vs. G6 | Louisiana Tech vs. FAU
Dec. 18 | Boca Raton | ESPN | G6 vs. G6 | App State vs. Ohio
Dec. 18 | Gasparilla | ESPN | ACC vs. AAC/SEC | ECU vs. NC State
Dec. 21 | Myrtle Beach | ESPN | AAC/MAC vs. Sun Belt | Tulane vs. Louisiana
Dec. 21 | Idaho Potato | ESPN | MAC vs. MWC | Toledo vs. Wyoming
Dec. 22 | Puerto Rico | ESPN | G6 vs. G6 | UAB vs. UMass
Dec. 22 | Cure | ESPN | G6 vs. G6 | Georgia State vs. Buffalo
Dec. 23 | New Orleans | ESPN | CUSA vs. Sun Belt | Jacksonville State vs. James Madison
Dec. 23 | Armed Forces | ESPN | American vs. Big 12/CUSA | Tulsa vs. Liberty
Dec. 23 | Poinsettia | CW | Pac-12 vs. former Pac-12 | Oregon State vs. Arizona
Dec. 23 | Frisco Bowl | ESPN | G6 vs. G6 | UNLV vs. Texas State
Dec. 24 | New Mexico | ESPN | MWC vs. CUSA/American | UTSA vs. New Mexico
Dec. 24 | Hawaii | ESPN | Pac-12 vs. MWC | Fresno State vs. Air Force
Dec. 26 | Fenway | ESPN | ACC vs. American | Army vs. Pitt
Dec. 26 | 68 Ventures | ESPN | Sun Belt vs. MAC | Troy vs. Middle Tennessee
Dec. 28 | Military | ESPN | ACC vs. American | South Florida vs. Louisville
Dec. 29 | Birmingham | ESPN | SEC vs. American | Memphis vs. Mississippi State
Jan. 2 | First Responder | ABC | ACC/Big 12 vs. American | North Texas vs. Oklahoma State
Jan. 2 | Arizona | CW | MAC vs. MWC | Western Michigan vs. North Dakota State
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Tim Stephens
Founder & CEO
Tim Stephens has spent nearly 40 years at the intersection of sports and technology — from small-town newspapers to leading day-to-day newsroom strategy for CBSSports.com. He founded Diehard Sports Network to cover the programs the industry forgot.
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