2024-25 College Football Bowl Schedule: Full List of Games and Locations

It's that time of the year.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) hands off the ball to Oregon Ducks running back Jordan James (20) / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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.

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