Non-Playoff Bowls
December 12
Celebration Bowl
- Matchup: Delaware State vs. Alabama State
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Time: 12 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: MEAC Champion vs. SWAC Champion
December 15
Salute to Veterans Bowl
- Matchup: Coastal Carolina vs. Akron
- Location: Montgomery, AL
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
Frisco Football Classic
- Matchup: Delaware vs. Rice
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
December 18
Boca Raton Bowl
- Matchup: Old Dominion vs. FAU
- Location: Boca Raton Bowl
- Time: 11 AM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
These two Conference USA East Division rivals meet for the first time since 2021. FAU leads the series 5-4.
Gasparilla Bowl
- Matchup: USF vs. Duke
- Location: Tampa, FL
- Time: 12 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
December 21
Myrtle Beach Bowl
- Matchup: Miami (OH) vs. East Carolina
- Location: Conway, SC
- Time: 11 AM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-large vs. At-Large
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
- Matchup: Texas State vs. North Dakota State
- Location: Boise, ID
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-large vs. At-Large
December 22
Puerto Rico Bowl
- Matchup: Ohio vs. FIU
- Location: San Juan, PR
- Time: 1:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-large vs. MAC
Cure Bowl
- Matchup: Kennesaw State vs. James Madison
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 5 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. Group of Five
Independence Bowl
- Matchup: Washington State vs. Iowa State
- Location: Shreveport, LA
- Time: 8:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Legacy PAC-12 #6 vs. Big 12
Get ready to get confused. Per Jon Wilner’s report, the Independence Bowl will return to the PAC-12 bowl lineup. The legacy PAC-12 that is. This means that once again multiple bowls like the Independence will pick a team from the 2023 PAC-12 membership instead of the current PAC-12 core.
December 23
New Orleans Bowl
- Matchup: Liberty vs. Louisiana Tech
- Location: New Orleans, LA
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Conference USA vs. Sun Belt
Armed Forces Bowl
- Matchup: TCU vs. Memphis
- Location: Fort Worth, TX
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Group of Five vs. At-large
Frisco Bowl
- Matchup: Air Force vs. Louisiana
- Location: Frisco, TX
- Time: 1 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-Large vs. At-Large
Air Force really gets the short end of the stick here. There are simply not enough ESPN-owned bowls west of the Mississippi to go around. With New Mexico projecting to be bowl eligible, Air Force is likely out of the New Mexico Bowl. UNLV makes a lot of sense for this bowl, but they played in it last year. Thus, we get one of the Group of Five’s biggest brands playing in a 12,000-seat stadium.
December 24
New Mexico Bowl
- Matchup: Tulane vs. New Mexico
- Location: Albuquerque, NM
- Time: 2:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Mountain West vs. At-Large
Barring they make the College Football Playoff, New Mexico seems like a lock for their home town bowl since it will be on Christmas Eve and they haven’t appeared since 2016.
Hawai’i Bowl
- Matchup: Boise State vs. Hawai’i
- Location: Honolulu, HI
- Time: 8 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: New PAC-12 member #1 vs. Mountain West
More PAC-12 confusion. Per Jon Wilner’s report, the Hawai’i Bowl will host a new PAC-12 team and a Mountain West team. The Hawai’i Bowl would have first choice of the 5 Mountain West departures to the PAC-12 and Texas State. Here, I going with Boise State, who has not appeared in the Hawai’i Bowl since 2013.
December 26
Pinstripe Bowl
- Matchup: Pitt vs. Illinois
- Location: Bronx, NY
- Time: 12 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Big 10
Fenway Bowl
- Matchup: Temple vs. Wake Forest
- Location: Boston, MA
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: AAC vs. ACC
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
- Matchup: Iowa vs. NC State
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Big 10
68 Ventures Bowl
- Matchup: Southern Mississippi vs. Jacksonville State
- Location: Mobile, AL
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-Large vs. At-Large
Cactus Bowl
- Matchup: Baylor vs. Northwestern
- Location: Tempe, AZ
- Time: 7:30 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: Big 12 vs. Big Ten
December 28
Military Bowl
- Matchup: Navy vs. Syracuse
- Location: Annapolis, MD
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: American vs. ACC
Navy has not appeared in their home town bowl since 2017. After playing in the Liberty Bowl and Armed Forces Bowl the last two seasons, a return seems more likely than in most years. These two Northeast rivals have not met since 1989, Syracuse holds a 19-8 advantage in the series.
December 29
Birmingham Bowl
- Matchup: Missouri vs. UTSA
- Location: Birmingham, AL
- Time: 2 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-Large vs. At-Large
Pop-Tarts Bowl
- Matchup: Cincinnati vs. Virginia
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 5:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Big 12
Alamo Bowl
- Matchup: Houston vs. Washington
- Location: San Antonio, TX
- Time: 9 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Legacy PAC-12 member #1 vs. Big 12
December 30
Gator Bowl
- Matchup: Georgia Tech vs. LSU
- Location: Jacksonville, FL
- Time: 11:30 AM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: SEC vs. ACC
December 31
Music City Bowl
- Matchup: Rutgers vs. Vanderbilt
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Time: 12 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Big Ten vs. SEC
Reliaquest Bowl
- Matchup: Nebraska vs. Texas
- Location: Tampa, FL
- Time: 3 PM ET | ABC
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big Ten
Sun Bowl
- Matchup: SMU vs. USC
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Former PAC-12 member #4 vs. ACC
The Sun Bowl has not had a Texas school participate in the game since 1999. SMU is always a logical choice.
Las Vegas Bowl
- Matchup: Minnesota vs. Arizona
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
- Time: 3:45 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Legacy PAC-12 member #2 vs. Big 10
January 2
Citrus Bowl
- Matchup: Penn State vs. Alabama
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: Big Ten vs. SEC
First Responder Bowl
- Matchup: Fresno State vs. Arizona State
- Location: College Park, TX
- Time: 3:30 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: At-Large vs. At-Large
Liberty Bowl
- Matchup: Tennessee vs. Kansas State
- Location: Memphis, TN
- Time: 7 PM ET | ESPN
- Tie-in: SEC vs. Big 12 (American Conference Backup)
TBD Date Bowls
Arizona Bowl
- Matchup: Toledo vs. UNLV
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- Time: TBD | The CW
- Tie-in: MAC vs. Mountain West
Holiday Bowl
- Matchup: Utah vs. Clemson
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Time: TBD
- Tie-in: ACC vs. Legacy PAC-12 member #3
Poinsettia Bowl
- Matchup: California vs. San Diego State
- Location: San Diego, CA
- Time: TBD
- Tie-in: New PAC-12 Member #2 vs. Former PAC-12 school
Despite lacking an official announcement, Wilner’s report states the Poinsettia Bowl should still return in 2026. The bowl will have the second choice of the six new PAC-12 membersIn that case, what better way to return than hosting the home town Aztecs.
College Football Playoff
First Round
- #5 Miami vs. #12 Western Michigan
- #6 Oregon vs. #11 BYU
- #7 Indiana vs. #10 Texas Tech
- #8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Texas A&M
Quarterfinals
Fiesta Bowl
- Matchup: #2 Ohio State vs. #10 Texas Tech
- Location: Glendale, AZ
- Date: December 30th
Peach Bowl
- Matchup: #3 Georgia vs. #6 Oregon
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Date: January 1st | 12 PM ET
Rose Bowl
- Matchup: #1 Notre Dame vs. #8 Oklahoma
- Location: Pasadena, CA
- Date: January 1st | 4 PM ET
Cotton Bowl
- Matchup: #4 Ole Miss vs. #5 Miami
- Location: Arlington, TX
- Date: January 1st | 8 PM ET
Semifinals
Orange Bowl
- Matchup: #1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Ole Miss
- Location: Miami Gardens, FL
- Date: January 14th | 7:30 PM ET
Sugar Bowl
- Matchup: #3 Georgia vs. #2 Ohio State
- Location: New Orleans, LA
- Date: January 15th | 7:30 PM ET
National Championship Game
- Matchup: #1 Notre Dame vs. #3 Georgia
- Location: Miami, FL
- Date: January 19th | 7:30 PM ET | ESPN
