While it wasn’t quite one of those Separation Saturday–type of weekends in college football, there were plenty of head coaches who seemed to go from a warm seat to the verge of receiving a pink slip, some teams all but taking themselves out of the College Football Playoff picture and a host of other programs who turned a potentially middling season into a good one.
Add all that up and bowl season looks a little different than expected earlier this year and we could be in line for a few potential matchups that certainly seem like they would be appointment viewing come December.
You could start with an intriguing blueblood matchup of Alabama–Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl; Michigan and Texas meeting again after last year’s game in Ann Arbor, Mich.; a clash of highly touted young quarterbacks in the Music City Bowl; an impressive New Orleans Bowl featuring two of the best Group of 5 teams; and tons of offense in games like the New Mexico Bowl or the Liberty Bowl.
Here is how sees the 35 bowl game matchups coming together to form the postseason picture and which 70 FBS teams will wind up going bowling in 2025–26 after Week 4.
SI’
Bowl
Date
Matchup
L.A. Bowl
Dec. 13
Arizona vs. Fresno State
Salute to Veterans Bowl
Dec. 16
Old Dominion vs. Bowling Green
Cure Bowl
Dec. 17
Troy vs. Western Michigan
68 Ventures Bowl
Dec. 17
Georgia Southern vs. Temple
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Dec. 19
Appalachian State vs. Tulsa
Gasparilla Bowl
Dec. 19
NC State vs. Mississippi State
Potato Bowl
Dec. 22
Utah State vs. Buffalo
Boca Raton Bowl
Dec. 23
Air Force vs. Jacksonville State
New Orleans Bowl
Dec. 23
Louisiana Tech vs. Texas State
Frisco Bowl
Dec. 23
UTEP vs. Colorado State
Hawai‘i Bowl
Dec. 24
Hawai‘i vs. Western Kentucky
Sports Bowl
Dec. 26
Ohio vs. James Madison
Rate Bowl
Dec. 26
Baylor vs. Michigan State
First Responder Bowl
Dec. 26
UTSA vs. Cal
Military Bowl
Dec. 27
Virginia vs. USF
Pinstripe Bowl
Dec. 27
Duke vs. Minnesota
Fenway Bowl
Dec. 27
Pitt vs. Navy
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Dec. 27
Iowa State vs. Georgia Tech
Arizona Bowl
Dec. 27
Boise State vs. Toledo
New Mexico Bowl
Dec. 27
New Mexico vs. Rice
Gator Bowl
Dec. 27
Notre Dame vs. Alabama
Texas Bowl
Dec. 27
BYU vs. Auburn
Birmingham Bowl
Dec. 29
Vanderbilt vs. Memphis
Independence Bowl
Dec. 30
Houston vs. North Texas
Music City Bowl
Dec. 30
Nebraska vs. South Carolina
Alamo Bowl
Dec. 30
TCU vs. Utah
ReliaQuest Bowl
Dec. 31
Illinois vs. Ole Miss
Sun Bowl
Dec. 31
Arizona State vs. SMU
Citrus Bowl
Dec. 31
Michigan vs. Texas
Vegas Bowl
Dec. 31
Washington vs. Iowa
Armed Forces Bowl
Jan. 2
UNLV vs. Southern Miss
Liberty Bowl
Jan. 2
Kansas vs. Tennessee
Mayo Bowl
Jan. 2
Louisville vs. Missouri
Holiday Bowl
Jan. 2
USC vs. Clemson
TBD/Bahamas Bowl
TBD
Liberty vs. Miami (Ohio)
