I’ll update this post as selections are announced. If I miss anything, feel free to comment!
All times Eastern.
Saturday, December 14th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cricket Celebration Bowl | Jackson State | SC State | 12:00 PM, ABC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA |
| IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl | South Alabama | Western Michigan | 9:00 PM, ESPN, Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL |
Tuesday, December 17th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Raton Bowl | Western Kentucky | James Madison | 5:30 PM, ESPN, FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL |
| Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl | Memphis | West Virginia | 9:00 PM, ESPN, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX |
Wednesday, December 18th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk | Cal | UNLV | 9:00 PM, ESPN, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA |
Thursday, December 19th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Sam Houston State | Georgia Southern | 7:00 PM, ESPN2, Ceasars Superdome, New Orleans, LA |
Friday, December 20th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| StaffDNA Cure Bowl | Jacksonville State | Ohio | 12:00 PM, ESPN, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL |
| Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Florida | Tulane | 3:30 PM, ESPN, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL |
Monday, December 23rd
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | Coastal Carolina | UTSA | 11:00 AM, ESPN, Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Northern Illinois | Fresno State | 2:30 PM, ESPN, Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID |
Tuesday, December 24th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawai’i Bowl | USF | San Jose State | 8:00 PM, ESPN, Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu, HI |
Thursday, December 26th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GameAbove Sports Bowl | Pitt | Toledo | 2:00 PM, ESPN, Ford Field, Detroit, MI |
| Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Kansas State | Rutgers | 5:30 PM, ESPN, Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | Arkansas State | Bowling Green | 9:00 PM, ESPN, Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL |
Friday, December 27th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Oklahoma | Navy | 12:00 PM or 3:30 PM, ESPN, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX |
| Birmingham Bowl | Georgia Tech | Vanderbilt | 12:00 PM or 3:30 PM, ESPN, Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL |
| Autozone Liberty Bowl | Texas Tech | Arkansas | 7:00 PM, ESPN, Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN |
| SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | USC | Texas A&M | 7:00 PM, ESPN, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV |
| DIRECTV Holiday Bowl | Syracuse | Washington State | 8:00 PM, FOX, Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA |
Saturday, December 28th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasabi Fenway Bowl | North Carolina | UConn | 11:00 AM, ESPN, Fenway Park, Boston, MA |
| Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl | Boston College | Nebraska | 12:00 PM, ABC, Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Isleta New Mexico Bowl | TCU | Louisiana | 2:15 PM, ESPN, University Stadium, Albuquerque, NM |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | Miami (FL) | Iowa State | 3:30 PM, ABC, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL |
| Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop | Miami (OH) | Colorado State | 4:30 PM, The CW, Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ |
| Go Bowling Military Bowl | NC State | ECU | 5:45 PM, ESPN, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | BYU | Colorado | 7:30 PM, ABC, Alamodome, San Antonio, TX |
| Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Army | Marshall | 9:15 PM, ESPN, Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA |
Monday, December 30th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transperfect Music City Bowl | Missouri | Iowa | 2:30 PM, ESPN, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN |
Tuesday, December 31st
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReliaQuest Bowl | Michigan | Alabama | 12:00 PM, ESPN, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL |
| Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | Louisville | Washington | 2:00 PM, CBS, Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, TX |
| Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | South Carolina | Illinois | 3:00 PM, ABC, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL |
| Texas Bowl | Baylor | LSU | 3:30 PM, ESPN, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX |
| VRBO Fiesta Bowl | Boise State | TBD | 7:30 PM, ESPN, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ, CFP Quarterfinal |
Wednesday, January 1st
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Arizona State | TBD | 1:00 PM, ESPN, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, CFP Quarterfinal |
| Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential | Oregon | TBD | 5:00 PM, ESPN, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA, CFP Quarterfinal |
| Allstate Sugar Bowl | Georgia | TBD | 8:45 PM, ESPN, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA, CFP Quarterfinal |
Thursday, January 2nd
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | Duke | Ole Miss | 7:30 PM, ESPN, EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL |
Friday, January 3rd
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVPRO First Responder Bowl | North Texas | Texas State | 4:00 PM, ESPN, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX |
| Duke’s Mayo Bowl | Minnesota | Virginia Tech | 7:30 PM, ESPN, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC |
Saturday, January 4th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bahamas Bowl | Buffalo | Liberty | 11:00 AM, ESPN2, Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas |
Thursday, January 9th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Orange Bowl | TBA | TBA | 7:30 PM, ESPN, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL, CFP Semifinal |
Friday, January 10th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | TBA | TBA | 7:30 PM, ESPN, ATT Stadium, Arlington, TX, CFP Semifinal |
Monday, January 20th
| Bowl | Team | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Championship | TBA | TBA | 7:30 PM, ESPN, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, CFP Final |
Watching ESPN, they’re all railing against the auto-bids being 1-4.
I personally love that there’s so much emphasis on conference champions. It removes a lot of subjectivity. Plus, those left out of the byes have the easiest first round + home game, something Notre Dame signed off on when they created the playoffs.
What do y’all think?
I like this take.
My argument is this: all four “power” conferences had newcomers in the championship games, two of which won and the other two came down to the wire and lost by 3 points. Those four conferences really aren’t that different from each other at the top. Boise State is interesting, but isn’t this one of the best “G5” teams there’s been? It’s like Cincinnati making the 4-team playoff a few years ago (and UCF, Houston, etc before). So they deserve to be rewarded, IMO.
The ESPN commentators were railing against the auto-bids during the games yesterday, too (especially Joe Tessitore). Made them really annoying to watch.
I agree with the auto bids as well, even though they remove a Neyland playoff game this year. I also must say that I was wrong about the playoff devaluing the regular season, and I think its at least partly due to the auto bids shaking things up in the bubble conversation.