Over the course of their 123-year lifespan, bowl games have been everything to college football.
They have determined national championships and been utterly inconsequential to them. They have been sites of bigotry and integration. They have been played in Pasadena, Calif., and New Orleans and Toronto and Dayton, Ohio. Despite their increasing obsolescence to top NFL prospects in recent years, virtually every college football player worth their salt has played in at least one.
In 2024, the nature of bowl games will change again. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, every New Year's Six bowl game will serve as either a quarterfinal or semifinal.
Let's take some time to answer your questions about bowls'—and college football's—brave new world.
When Does Bowl Season Start?
A little earlier than usual: College football's first two bowl games will be played on Dec. 14 this season, just a week after the sport's conference championship games.
How Do You Qualify For a Bowl?
In order to qualify for a bowl game, a team .500 or better must win at least six games in the regular season against Division I teams—no more than one of which can be against scholarship-awarding FCS teams. That's the simplest path, but not the only path.
Should there not be enough teams meeting those criteria to fill every bowl-game slot, teams meeting these criteria (in order) can be selected: teams knocked below .500 by a loss in their conference championship, teams that would have been bowl-eligible if an FCS opponent awarded enough scholarships, 6–7 teams that did not play conference championships, teams moving from FCS to FBS, and 5–7 teams in order of Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Got all that?
How Many Bowls Are There?
If you count unlabeled College Football Playoff games—i.e. first-round games and the national championship—and the FCS's Celebration Bowl as bowl games, there will be 47 bowl games this season.
Full List of Bowl Game Dates and Locations
Set your calendars accordingly. College Football Playoff matchups are bolded.
BOWL GAME
DATE
TIME/TV
LOCATION
MATCHUP
Celebration Bowl
Dec. 14
Noon ET, ABC
Atlanta
Jackson State vs. South Carolina State
Salute to Veterans Bowl
Dec. 14
9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Montgomery, Ala.
Western Michigan vs. South Alabama
Frisco Bowl
Dec. 17
9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Frisco, Texas
West Virginia vs. Memphis
Boca Raton Bowl
Dec. 18
5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Boca Raton, Fla.
Western Kentucky vs. James Madison
LA Bowl
Dec. 18
9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Inglewood, Calif.
California vs. UNLV
New Orleans Bowl
Dec. 19
7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
New Orleans
Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston
Cure Bowl
Dec. 20
Noon ET, ESPN
Orlando
Ohio vs. Jacksonville State
Gasparilla
Dec. 20
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Tampa
Tulane vs. Florida
CFP first-round game
Dec. 20
8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN
Notre Dame, Ind.
No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame
CFP first-round game
Dec. 21
Noon ET, TNT
University Park, Pa.
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State
CFP first-round game
Dec. 21
4 p.m. ET, TNT
Austin
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas
CFP first-round game
Dec. 21
8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN
Columbus, Ohio
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Dec. 23
11 a.m. ET, ESPN
Conway, S.C.
UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina
Potato Bowl
Dec. 23
2:30 ET, ESPN
Boise, Idaho
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
Hawaii Bowl
Dec. 24
8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Honolulu, Hawaii
South Florida vs. San Jose State
GameAbove Sports Bowl
Dec. 26
2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Detroit
Pittsburgh vs. Toledo
Rate Bowl
Dec. 26
5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Phoenix
Rutgers vs. Kansas State
68 Ventures Bowl
Dec. 26
9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Mobile, Ala.
Bowling Green vs. Arkansas State
Armed Forces Bowl
Dec. 27
Noon ET, ESPN
Fort Worth, Texas
Navy vs. Oklahoma
Birmingham Bowl
Dec. 27
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Birmingham
Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt
Liberty Bowl
Dec. 27
7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Memphis
Texas Tech vs. Arkansas
Holiday Bowl
Dec. 27
8 p.m. ET, Fox
San Diego
Washington State vs. Syracuse
Las Vegas Bowl
Dec. 27
10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Las Vegas
Texas A&M vs. USC
Fenway Bowl
Dec. 28
11 a.m. ET, ESPN
Boston
North Carolina vs. Connecticut
Pinstripe Bowl
Dec. 28
Noon ET, ABC
Bronx, N.Y.
Nebraska vs. Boston College
New Mexico Bowl
Dec. 28
2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Albuquerque
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. TCU
Pop Tarts Bowl
Dec. 28
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Orlando
Iowa State vs. Miami
Arizona Bowl
Dec. 28
4:30 p.m. ET, The CW
Tucson, Ariz.
Miami-Ohio vs. Colorado State
Military Bowl
Dec. 28
5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
Annapolis, Md.
NC State vs. East Carolina
Alamo Bowl
Dec. 28
7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
San Antonio
Colorado vs. BYU
Independence Bowl
Dec. 28
9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Shreveport, La.
Marshall vs. Army
Music City Bowl
Dec. 30
2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Nashville
Iowa vs. Missouri
ReliaQuest Bowl
Dec. 31
Noon ET, ESPN
Tampa
Michigan vs. Alabama
Sun Bowl
Dec. 31
2 p.m. ET, CBS
El Paso, Texas
Louisville vs. Washington
Citrus Bowl
Dec. 31
3 p.m. ET, ABC
Orlando
Illinois vs. South Carolina
Texas Bowl
Dec. 31
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Houston
LSU vs. Baylor
Fiesta Bowl
Dec. 31
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Glendale, Ariz.
No. 11 SMU or No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State
Peach Bowl
Jan. 1
1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Atlanta
No. 12 Clemson or No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State
Rose Bowl
Jan. 1
5 p.m. ET, ESPN
Pasadena, Calif.
No. 9 Tennessee or No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon
Sugar Bowl
Jan. 1
8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
New Orleans
No. 10 Indiana or No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia
Gator Bowl
Jan. 2
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Jacksonville
Duke vs. Mississippi
First Responder Bowl
Jan. 3
4 p.m. ET, ESPN
Dallas
Texas State vs. North Texas
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Jan. 3
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Charlotte
Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
Bahamas Bowl
Jan. 4
11 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Nassau, Bahamas
Buffalo vs. Liberty
Orange Bowl
Jan. 9
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Miami Gardens, Fla.
Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner
Cotton Bowl
Jan. 10
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Arlington, Texas
Peach Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner
National Championship
Jan. 20
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Atlanta
Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner
Notable Bowl Matchups
West Virginia and Memphis (Frisco Bowl) are meeting on the gridiron for the first time, which is ironic considering they were once considered for inclusion in the same conference… First meeting for Tulane and Florida (Gasparilla Bowl) since 1984; the Green Wave are seeking their first win in the series since 1946.
Indiana and Notre Dame (CFP first round) have not played since 1991, and the Hoosiers have not beaten the Fighting Irish since 1950… SMU and Penn State (CFP first round) haven't played since 1978… Clemson and Texas, oddly enough, have never met… Northern Illinois and Fresno State (Potato Bowl) met in the same setting in 2010, with the Huskies winning 40–17… Toledo defeated a No. 9 Pittsburgh (GameAbove Sports Bowl) team in 2003… Rutgers previously defeated Kansas State (Rate Bowl) in the 2006 Texas Bowl… Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt (Birmingham Bowl) have met four times this century; the Commodores are seeking their first win over their ex-conference-mate since 1941… Texas Tech and Arkansas (Liberty Bowl) spent nearly four decades together in the old Southwest Conference… Third bowl matchup for Texas A&M and USC (Las Vegas Bowl), following the 1975 Liberty Bowl and 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl.
This is, strangely, the first football game between North Carolina and Connecticut (Fenway Bowl) where neither team is ranked—the Huskies were ranked when they played in 2008 and the Tar Heels were ranked a year later… Second bowl meeting for NC State and East Carolina (Military Bowl), following the Pirates' 37–34 Peach Bowl victory after the 1991 season… That's BYU and Colorado (Alamo Bowl) meeting as conference foes; the Cougars won their last meeting in the 1988 Freedom Bowl… Iowa and Missouri (Music City Bowl) most recently met in the 2010 Insight Bowl, which saw the Hawkeyes upset the No. 14 Tigers 27–24… You may know Michigan and Alabama (ReliaQuest Bowl) from their Rose Bowl meeting last season, won 27–20 by the Wolverines in overtime.
A couple potential quarterfinal matchups to look out for: the Longhorns and Arizona State in the Peach Bowl (a rematch of their bizarre 2007 Holiday Bowl meeting) and the Fighting Irish and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl… Ohio State and Texas could meet in the Cotton Bowl before they meet in both teams' 2025 season opener.
