Non-Playoff Bowls
December 13
Celebration Bowl
- Matchup: Delaware State vs. Jackson State
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Time: 12 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: MEAC Champion vs. SWAC Champion
LA Bowl
- Matchup: San Diego State vs. Washington
- Location: Inglewood, CA
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Mountain West vs. Former PAC-12 Member
This is an awkward situation. While I expect either Boise State or UNLV to win the Mountain West, I think that if San Diego State is bowl-eligible, the LA Bowl would take them. UNLV appeared last year, and Boise State played in 2023. Seems like an ideal situation to bypass the conference champion and choose geography.
December 16
Salute to Veterans Bowl
- Matchup: Ohio vs. Western Kentucky
- Location: Montgomery, AL
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
December 17
Cure Bowl
- Matchup: Bowling Green vs. Coastal Carolina
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
68 Ventures Bowl
- Matchup: Troy vs. Jacksonville State
- Location: Mobile, AL
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
The Battle for the Ol’ School Bell has been played 63 times, but not since 2001. Jacksonville State has a 32-29-2 series advantage.
December 19
Myrtle Beach Bowl
- Matchup: Toledo vs. Appalachian State
- Location: Conway, SC
- Time: 12 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
Gasparilla Bowl
- Matchup: Marshall vs. East Carolina
- Location: Tampa, FL
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-large vs. At-Large
December 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
- Matchup: James Madison vs. Boise State
- Location: Boise, ID
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-large vs. Mountain West
An ESPN Events-owned bowl has the second choice of bowl-eligible Mountain West teams. With the LA Bowl selecting nearby San Diego State for the first time, ESPN will want to select Boise State for one of its bowls. Why not a return to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl?
Boise State has not appeared in the bowl since 2005. A matchup with James Madison makes this game compelling.
December 23
Boca Raton Bowl
- Matchup: Miami (OH) vs. FIU
- Location: Boca Raton, FL
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
New Orleans Bowl
- Matchup: Louisiana Tech vs. Texas State
- Location: New Orleans, LA
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Conference USA vs. Sun Belt
Frisco Bowl
- Matchup: Arkansas State vs. Fresno State
- Location: Frisco, TX
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
December 24
Hawaii Bowl
- Matchup: Hawaii vs. UConn
- Location: Honolulu, HI
- Time: 8 or 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Mountain West vs. Conference USA (Group of Five backup)
December 26
GameAboveSports Bowl
- Matchup: Central Michigan vs. Maryland
- Location: Detroit, MI
- Time: 1 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: MAC vs. Big Ten
Rate Bowl
- Matchup: Iowa State vs. Northwestern
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
- Time: 4:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Big 12 vs. Big 10
First Responder Bowl
- Matchup: Washington State vs. Kansas
- Location: College Park, TX
- Time: 8 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-large vs. At-large
December 27
Military Bowl
- Matchup: Navy vs. Wake Forest
- Location: Annapolis, MD
- Time: 11 AM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: AAC vs. ACC
These two met in the inaugural edition of this bowl in 2008, when it was the EagleBank Bowl. These two have met 12 times, 11 meetings coming since 1991. Wake Forest leads the series 7-5.
Pinstripe Bowl
- Matchup: Louisville vs. Illinois
- Location: Bronx, NY
- Time: 12 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Big 10
Fenway Bowl
- Matchup: Tulane vs. Pitt
- Location: Boston, MA
- Time: 2:15 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: AAC vs. ACC
Pop-Tarts Bowl
- Matchup: Cincinnati vs. Virginia
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Big 12
Arizona Bowl
- Matchup: UNLV vs. Western Michigan
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Time: 4:30 PM ET | The CW
- Tie-in: MAC vs. Mountain West
New Mexico Bowl
- Matchup: New Mexico vs. Southern Miss
- Location: Albuquerque, NM
- Time: 5:45 PM ET
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
Gator Bowl
- Matchup: Florida State vs. LSU
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Time: 7:30 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: ACC vs. SEC
Texas Bowl
- Matchup: Missouri vs. TCU
- Location: Houston, TX
- Time: 9:15 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big 12
TCU has not played in its hometown bowl since 2007 when they played Houston.
December 29
Birmingham Bowl
- Matchup: NC State vs. North Texas
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-Large vs. At-Large
North Texas would get its first Power Four bowl opponent in this game.
December 30
Independence Bowl
- Matchup: Kennesaw State vs. Kansas State
- Location: Shreveport, LA
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Conference USA vs. Big 12 (Sun Belt Backup)
I don’t think anyone knows who’s going to win Conference USA. Alas, let’s just have some fun and imagine one of the FBS’ youngest programs playing in one of the oldest bowl games remaining.
The 1982 Independence Bowl was Kansas State's lone bowl game before Bill Snyder in 87 seasons of play. 43 years later I have them returning to Shreveport.
Music City Bowl
- Matchup: Michigan vs. Tennessee
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big Ten
This one seems surprising. However, I project the Big Ten and Citrus Bowl doing everything they can to get an Oklahoma-Nebraska matchup. This is contingent on the Huskers finishing 8-4 and Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota all finishing with 9-3 records. The Big Ten allows schools to jump other schools in the bowl selection process as long as there is no more than a one game difference in records. Since Michigan appeared in the ReliaQuest Bowl last year, they slide to the next pick, the Music City Bowl.
Alamo Bowl
- Matchup: Houston vs. USC
- Location: San Antonio, TX
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Former PAC-12 member vs. Big 12
December 31
ReliaQuest Bowl
- Matchup: Texas vs. Iowa
- Location: Tampa, FL
- Time: 12 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big Ten
Sun Bowl
- Matchup: SMU vs. Arizona
- Location: El Paso, TX
- Time: 2 PM ET | CBS
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Former PAC-12 member
Citrus Bowl
- Matchup: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 3 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big Ten
Las Vegas Bowl
- Matchup: Minnesota vs. Arizona State
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Former PAC-12 member vs. Big Ten
January 2
Armed Forces Bowl
- Matchup: Army vs. California
- Location: Fort Worth, TX
- Time: 1 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-Large vs. At-Large
Liberty Bowl
- Matchup: USF vs. Baylor
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Time: 4:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big 12 (American Conference Backup)
Former Conference USA, Big East, and American Conference rivals would meet here through the SEC not being able to fulfill this tie-in.
Baylor gets the nod as a first-time participant in the long history of the Liberty Bowl.
Duke's Mayo Bowl
- Matchup: Duke vs. Vanderbilt
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Time: 8 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: ACC vs. SEC
Holiday Bowl
- Matchup: Miami vs. Utah
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Time: 8 PM ET | Fox
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Former PAC-12 school
Bahamas Bowl Replacement Bowl
- Matchup: Old Dominion vs. UTSA
- Location: TBD
College Football Playoff
First Round
- #5 Alabama vs. #12 Memphis
- #6 Oregon vs. #11 Georgia Tech
- #7 BYU vs. #10 Notre Dame
- #8 Ole Miss vs. #9 Texas Tech
Quarterfinals
Cotton Bowl
- Matchup: #3 Texas A&M vs. #6 Oregon
- Location: Arlington, TX
- Date: December 31st
Orange Bowl
- Matchup: #4 Georgia vs. #5 Alabama
- Location: Miami, FL
- Date: January 1st | 12 PM ET
Rose Bowl
- Matchup: #1 Indiana vs. #8 Ole Miss
- Location: Pasadena, CA
- Date: January 1st | 4 PM ET
Sugar Bowl
- Matchup: #2 Ohio State vs. #7 BYU
- Location: New Orleans, LA
- Date: January 1st | 8 PM ET
Semifinals
Fiesta Bowl
- Matchup: #1 Indiana vs. #5 Alabama
- Location: Glendale, AZ
- Date: January 8th | 7:30 PM ET
Peach Bowl
- Matchup: #3 Oregon vs. #2 Ohio State
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Date: January 8th | 7:30 PM ET
National Championship Game
- Matchup: #1 Indiana vs. #2 Ohio State
- Location: Miami, FL
- Date: January 19th | 7:30 PM ET | ESPN
