All eyes will be on the College Football Playoff in the coming weeks, but when the selection committee finalized the playoff bracket Sunday, it allowed the rest of the bowls to slot teams into their games as well.
That process is now complete, with a full slate of compelling games for fans to sink their teeth into this holiday season.
Leading into the first weekend of playoff matchups, several Power-4 teams have games as well. Interestingly, in two of those higher-profile games the ranked team is not the Power-4 representative, as No. 25 Memphis takes on West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 17 and No. 24 UNLV faces California in the LA Bowl the next night.
Tulane travels to the state of Florida to take on the Florida Gators that Friday, leading into the first-ever game in the new 12-team playoff format (No. 8 Indiana at No. 5 Notre Dame). The other playoff games are the next day.
The Hawai’i Bowl returns to its traditional Christmas Eve time slot as South Florida will face San Jose State, and after a break for Christmas, the bowls kick into high gear starting on Dec. 26 with 16 games over three days. A pair of P4 teams in Rutgers and Kansas State face off in the Rate Bowl on that first day, before Dec. 27 sees four more of those matchups, including No. 21 Syracuse taking on Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
Nebraska ends the longest bowl drought among power conference teams when it takes on Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28 as part of a huge slate of eight games. That date also features the season’s first non-playoff ranked vs. ranked matchups: No. 13 Miami vs. No. 18 Iowa State (Pop-Tarts Bowl) and No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado (Alamo Bowl). No. 22 Army provides the nightcap in the Independence Bowl vs. Marshall.
Dec. 30 will give fans another ranked team in action as No. 19 Missouri battles Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
No. 11 Alabama, which was left out of the playoff field, will be in action on New Year’s Eve in the ReliaQuest Bowl against last year’s national champion, Michigan. Another ranked matchup occurs that evening when the Citrus Bowl hosts No. 15 South Carolina and No. 20 Illinois.
Following CFB Quarterfinal action on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, No. 14 Ole Miss takes on Duke in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.
The final non-playoff game of bowl season will be the Bahamas Bowl between Liberty and Buffalo, on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Bowl season concludes with the Semifinals on Jan. 9-10, and the National Championship Game on Jan. 20.
Full 2024-25 college football bowl game schedule:
Saturday, Dec. 14
Celebration Bowl (Atlanta) — South Carolina State vs. Jackson State
Salute to Veterans Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.) — South Alabama vs. Western Michigan
Tuesday, Dec. 17
Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas) — No. 25 Memphis vs. West Virginia
Wednesday, Dec. 18
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.) — James Madison vs. Western Kentucky
LA Bowl (Inglewood, Calif.) — No. 24 UNLV vs. California
Thursday, Dec. 19
New Orleans Bowl — Sam Houston vs. Georgia Southern
Friday, Dec. 20
Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) — Ohio vs. Jacksonville State
Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) — Florida vs. Tulane
College Football Playoff First Round Game — No. 8 Indiana at No. 5 Notre Dame
Saturday, Dec. 21
College Football Playoff First Round Game — No. 10 SMU at No. 4 Penn State
College Football Playoff First Round Game — No. 16 Clemson at No. 3 Texas
College Football Playoff First Round Game — No. 7 Tennessee at No. 6 Ohio State
Monday, Dec. 23
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, S.C.) — Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Idaho) — Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
Tuesday, Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu, Hawai’i) — South Florida vs. San Jose State
Thursday, Dec. 26
GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit) — Pitt vs. Toledo
Rate Bowl (Phoenix) — Rutgers vs. Kansas State
68 Ventures Bowl (Mobile, Ala.) — Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green
Friday, Dec. 27
Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas) — Navy vs. Oklahoma
Birmingham Bowl — Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt
Liberty Bowl (Memphis) — Arkansas vs. Texas Tech
Holiday Bowl (San Diego) — No. 21 Syracuse vs. Washington State
Las Vegas Bowl — USC vs. Texas A&M
Saturday, Dec. 28
Fenway Bowl (Boston) — UConn vs. North Carolina
Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, N.Y.) — Boston College vs. Nebraska
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, N.M.) — TCU vs. Louisiana
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) — No. 13 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 18 Iowa State
Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Ariz.) — Colorado State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Military Bowl (Annapolis, Md.) — NC State vs. East Carolina
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, Texas) — No. 17 BYU vs. No. 23 Colorado
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, La.) — No. 22 Army vs. Marshall
Monday, Dec. 30
Music City Bowl (Nashville) — No. 19 Missouri vs. Iowa
Tuesday, Dec. 31
ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) — No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan
Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) — Louisville vs. Washington
Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) — No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Illinois
Texas Bowl (Houston) — LSU vs. Baylor
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Fiesta Bowl) — No. 9 Boise State vs. TBD
Wednesday, Jan. 1
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Peach Bowl) — No. 12 Arizona State vs. TBD
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Rose Bowl) — No. 1 Oregon vs. TBD
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Sugar Bowl) — No. 2 Georgia vs. TBD
Thursday, Jan. 2
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Fla.) — No. 14 Ole Miss vs. Duke
Friday, Jan. 3
First Responder Bowl (Dallas) — North Texas vs. Texas State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte) — Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
Saturday, Jan. 4
Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas) — Liberty vs. Buffalo
Thursday, Jan. 9
College Football Playoff Semifinal Game (Orange Bowl)
Friday, Jan. 10
College Football Playoff Semifinal Game (Cotton Bowl)
Monday, Jan. 20
College Football Playoff National Championship Game (Atlanta)
–Field Level Media
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