I’ll update this post as selections are announced. If I miss anything, feel free to comment!
All times Eastern.
Saturday, December 16th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | Georgia Southern | Ohio | 11:00 AM, ESPN, Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC |
| Cricket Celebration Bowl | Howard | Florida A&M | 12:00 PM, ABC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA |
| R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Louisiana | Jacksonville State | 2:15 PM, ESPN, Ceasars Superdome, New Orleans, LA |
| Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl | Appalachian State | Miami (OH) | 3:30 PM, ABC, FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL |
| Isleta New Mexico Bowl | New Mexico State | Fresno State | 5:45 PM, ESPN, University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM |
| LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk | Boise State | UCLA | 7:30 PM, ABC, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA |
| Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Texas Tech | Cal | 9:15 PM, ESPN, Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA |
Monday, December 18th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Famous Toastery Bowl | Western Kentucky | Old Dominion | 2:30 PM, ESPN, Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte, NC |
Tuesday, December 19th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl | Marshall | UTSA | 9:00 PM, ESPN, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX |
Thursday, December 21st
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roofclaim(dot)com Boca Raton Bowl | South Florida | Syracuse | 8:00 PM, ESPN, FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL |
Friday, December 22nd
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | UCF | Duke | 6:30 PM, ESPN, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL |
Saturday, December 23rd
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camellia Bowl | Arkansas State | Northern Illinois | 12:00 PM, ESPN, Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL |
| Birmingham Bowl | Georgia Tech | Troy | 12:00 PM, ABC, Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL |
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | James Madison | Air Force | 3:30 PM, ABC, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Utah State | Georgia State | 3:30 PM, ESPN, Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | South Alabama | Eastern Michigan | 7:00 PM, ESPN, Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL |
| SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Northwestern | Utah | 7:30 PM, ABC, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV |
| Easypost Hawai’i Bowl | San José State | Coastal Carolina | 10:30 PM, ESPN, Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu, HI |
Tuesday, December 26th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Lane Bowl | Bowling Green | Minnesota | 2:00 PM, ESPN, Ford Field, Detroit, MI |
| SERVPRO First Responder Bowl | Texas State | Rice | 5:30 PM, ESPN, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX |
| Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Kansas | UNLV | 9:00 PM, ESPN, Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ |
Wednesday, December 27th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military Bowl Presented by GoBowling(dot)com | Tulane | Virginia Tech | 2:00 PM, ESPN, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD |
| Duke’s Mayo Bowl | North Carolina | West Virginia | 5:30 PM, ESPN, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC |
| DIRECTV Holiday Bowl | Louisville | USC | 8:00 PM, FOX, Petco Park, San Diego, CA |
| TaxAct Texas Bowl | Oklahoma State | Texas A&M | 9:00 PM, ESPN, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX |
Thursday, December 28th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasabi Fenway Bowl | SMU | Boston College | 11:00 AM, ESPN, Fenway Park, Boston, MA |
| Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Miami (FL) | Rutgers | 2:15 PM, ESPN, Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | NC State | Kansas State | 5:45 PM, ESPN, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma | Arizona | 9:15 PM, ESPN, Alamodome, San Antonio, TX |
Friday, December 29th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Clemson | Kentucky | 12:00 PM, ESPN, EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL |
| Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Oregon State | Notre Dame | 2:00 PM, CBS, Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX |
| Autozone Liberty Bowl | Iowa State | Memphis | 3:30 PM, ESPN, Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN |
| Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Ohio State | Missouri | 8:00 PM, ESPN, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX |
Saturday, December 30th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Penn State | Ole Miss | 12:00 PM, ESPN, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA |
| Transperfect Music City Bowl | Auburn | Maryland | 2:00 PM, ABC, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN |
| Capital One Orange Bowl | Florida State | Georgia | 4:00 PM, ESPN, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL |
| Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl | Toledo | Wyoming | 4:30 PM, The CW, Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ |
Monday, January 1st
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReliaQuest Bowl | LSU | Wisconsin | 12:00 PM, ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL |
| Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | Iowa | Tennessee | 1:00 PM, ABC, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL |
| VRBO Fiesta Bowl | Oregon | Liberty | 1:00 PM, ESPN, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ |
| Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential | Michigan | Alabama | 5:00 PM, ESPN, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA, CFP Semifinal |
| Allstate Sugar Bowl | Washington | Texas | 8:45 PM, ESPN, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA, CFP Semifinal |
And now that my initial schadenfreude giggling has subsided, yes, the “right” thing to have done would be to leave out Bama too, but we always suspected that the committee leans Resume versus Eye-Test largely based on which brings more eyeballs to the CFP; they just never had to bring down the axe on an undefeated P5.
Funny how this will work completely fine for the narrative of justifying the 12-team playoff 🤔. For the record, I support that anyway. Most bowls have been silly exhibitions a lot longer than fans like to admit.
And, in conclusion, BWAHAHA! Fuck 'em.
Fwiw I still think that a poll is the best way to crown a nc in this sport. It’s silly to pretend that florida and San Diego State have the ability to compete on an even level head to head in a tournament format. But if SDSU were to have an immaculate season, why shouldn’t they be considered the best performing team in the country? Imo, the nc doesn’t need to be the “best” team so much as the team that accomplished the most.
Structurally, the idea of a NC in this sport is very stupid. No one can even agree on what we’re rewarding, whether it’s with a poll of hundreds to crown a champ or a poll of 13 to decide who gets invited to a tournament. There’s too much structural inequality to silence the “eye test” people, too few data points to silence the “win who you play” people. I was a kid before the BCS came around, but I was paying enough attention to know how unsatisfying people found THAT system, and while the debates will continue, I think a larger playoff becomes its own reward in a way, and something in the 8-16 range should gather up every reasonable candidate from all schools of thought without completely gutting the regular season.
Also, it’s time to compensate the players in return for their giving up some mobility. It’s the worst of all worlds right now.