2024–25 NCAA football bowl games explained

The 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games are a series of college football bowl games in the United States, played to complete the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive bowl games in the FBS will begin on December 14, 2024, and will conclude with the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 20, 2025. Several all-star games will then be contested.^[1]

Schedule

The schedule for the 2024–25 bowl games was announced on June 6, 2024.^[2]

Division I FBS bowl games

College Football Playoff bowl Games

See main article: 2024–25 College Football Playoff.

The College Football Playoff system is used to determine a national championship of Division I FBS college football. A committee of experts will rank the top 25 teams in the nation after each of the last six weeks of the regular season. This is the eleventh year of the College Football Playoff era.

For the 2024–25 season, the playoffs have been expanded from four teams to twelve teams. The top five ranked conference champions will be selected to compete, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four conference champions will receive a first-round bye. The first round of games will be played at campus sites. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played at the New Year's Six bowl games.^{[3] [4]}

The four first-round games will be played on December 20 and 21, 2024, at campus sites. The quarterfinal games will be played on December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2025, at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. The semifinal games will be played on January 9 and 10, 2025, at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl. The winners will advance to the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.^[5]

All times are EST (UTC−5).

College Football Playoff Games

Date	Time	Game	Site	Television	Teams	Affiliations	Results	Attendance
Dec.20	8:00pm	Non-bowl game (First round)	Campus site	ABC/ESPN
Dec.21	Noon	Non-bowl game (First round)	Campus site	TNT Sports
	4:00pm	Non-bowl game (First round)	Campus site
	8:00pm	Non-bowl game (First round)	Campus site	ABC/ESPN
Dec.31	7:30pm	Fiesta Bowl (Quarterfinal)	State Farm Stadium Glendale, Arizona	ESPN
Jan.1	1:00pm	Peach Bowl (Quarterfinal)	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia
	5:00pm	Rose Bowl (Quarterfinal)	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California
	8:45pm	Sugar Bowl (Quarterfinal)	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan.9	7:30pm	Orange Bowl (Semifinal)	Hard Rock Stadium Miami, Florida
Jan.10	7:30pm	Cotton Bowl (Semifinal)	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas
Jan.20	7:30pm	College Football Playoff National Championship	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia

Non-CFP bowl games

Several changes, as compared to the 2023–24 bowl season, were announced:

• The Holiday Bowl changed venues, from Petco Park to Snapdragon Stadium.^[6]
• The Cure Bowl also changed venues, from FBC Mortgage Stadium to Camping World Stadium.^[7]
• On October 8, 2024, strategic investment company GameAbove, through its GameAbove Sports brand, was announced as the new title sponsor for the former Quick Lane Bowl, renaming it the GameAbove Sports Bowl.^[8]
• On October 15, 2024, military contractor Integrated Solutions for Systems (IS4S) was announced as the new title sponsor of the Camellia Bowl, with the game being renamed as the Salute to Veterans Bowl.^[9]
• On October 17, 2024, the former Guaranteed Rate Bowl was renamed as the Rate Bowl, due to a rebranding by its title sponsor, as Guaranteed Rate became simply Rate.^[10]

Below is the schedule for the non-CFP bowl games.^[11]

Date	Time (EST)	Game	Site	Television	Teams	Affiliations	Results	Attendance	U.S. viewers (millions)
Dec.14	9:00 pm	Salute to Veterans Bowl	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama	ESPN	Western Michigan Broncos (6–6) South Alabama Jaguars (6–6)	MAC Sun Belt
Dec.17	9:00 pm	Frisco Bowl	Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas		West Virginia Mountaineers (6–6) Memphis Tigers (10–2)	Big 12 American
Dec.18	5:30 pm	Boca Raton Bowl	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida
	9:00 pm	LA Bowl	SoFi Stadium Inglewood, California
Dec.19	7:00 pm	New Orleans Bowl	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana	ESPN2
Dec.20	Noon	Cure Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	ESPN
	3:30 pm	Gasparilla Bowl	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida
Dec.23	11:00 am	Myrtle Beach Bowl	Brooks Stadium Conway, South Carolina
	2:30 pm	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Albertsons Stadium Boise, Idaho
Dec.24	8:00 pm	Hawaii Bowl	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, Hawaii		San Jose State Spartans (7–5) South Florida Bulls (6–6)	MW American
Dec.26	2:00 pm	GameAbove Sports Bowl	Ford Field Detroit, Michigan
	5:30 pm	Rate Bowl	Chase Field Phoenix, Arizona
	9:00 pm	68 Ventures Bowl	Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama
Dec.27	Noon or 3:00 pm	Birmingham Bowl	Protective Stadium Birmingham, Alabama
	Noon or 3:00 pm	Armed Forces Bowl	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas
	7:00 pm	Liberty Bowl	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Memphis, Tennessee
	8:00 pm	Holiday Bowl	Snapdragon Stadium San Diego, California	Fox
	10:30 pm	Las Vegas Bowl	Allegiant Stadium Paradise, Nevada	ESPN
Dec.28	11:00 am	Fenway Bowl	Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts
	Noon	Pinstripe Bowl	Yankee Stadium The Bronx, New York	ABC
	2:15 pm	New Mexico Bowl	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	ESPN
	3:30 pm	Pop-Tarts Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	ABC
	4:30 pm	Arizona Bowl	Arizona Stadium Tucson, Arizona	The CW
	5:45 pm	Military Bowl	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Maryland	ESPN
	7:30 pm	Alamo Bowl	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas	ABC
	9:15 pm	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana	ESPN
Dec.30	2:30 pm	Music City Bowl	Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tennessee
Dec.31	Noon	ReliaQuest Bowl	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida
	2:00 pm	Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas	CBS
	3:00 p.m.	Citrus Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	ABC
	3:30 pm	Texas Bowl	NRG Stadium Houston, Texas	ESPN
Jan.2	7:30 pm	Gator Bowl	EverBank Stadium Jacksonville, Florida
Jan.3	4:00 pm	First Responder Bowl	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, Texas
	7:30 pm	Duke's Mayo Bowl	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan. 4	11:00 am	Bahamas Bowl	Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, The Bahamas	ESPN2

Division I FCS bowl game

See also: 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) has one bowl game, the Celebration Bowl. Played between HBCUs, it serves as a de facto Black college football national championship. The FCS also has a postseason bracket tournament that culminates in the 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

Division II bowl games

See also: 2024 NCAA Division II football season.

Division III bowl games

See also: 2024 NCAA Division III football season.

All-Star games

The East–West Shrine Bowl changed location from Frisco, Texas to Arlington, Texas.

Date	Time (EST)	Game	Site	Television	Participants	Results	Ref.
January 11, 2025	Noon		FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, Florida	CBS Sports Network	Team Kai Team Aina		[12]
January 18, 2025	Noon	Tropical Bowl	Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, Florida	Varsity Sports Network	American Team National Team		[13]
January 30, 2025	8:00 pm		AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas	NFL Network	West Team East Team		[14]
February 1, 2025	1:30 pm	Senior Bowl	Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama		National Team American Team		[15]
February 22, 2025	4:00 pm		Yulman Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana		Team Robinson Team Gaither		[16]

Team selections

See main article: Bowl eligibility and Bids to college bowl games.

CFP top 25 standings and bowl games

See main article: 2024–25 College Football Playoff.

See also: 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings. The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee will announce its final team rankings for the season on December 8, 2024.^[17]

For the 2024–25 season, the playoffs have been expanded from four teams to twelve teams. The top five ranked conference champions will be selected to compete, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four conference champions will receive a first-round bye.^{[18] [19]}

Rank	Team	W–L	Conference and standing	Bowl game
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Bowl eligibility

The below lists of teams are based on team records as published by the NCAA,^[20] and bowl eligibility criteria.^[21]

Bowl-eligible teams

• ACC (13): Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
• American (8): Army, East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, UTSA
• Big Ten (12): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, USC, Washington
• Big 12 (9): Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia
• CUSA (4): Jacksonville State, Liberty, Sam Houston, Western Kentucky
• MAC (7): Bowling Green, Buffalo, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
• Mountain West (5): Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Jose State, UNLV
• Pac-12 (1): Washington State
• SEC (13): Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
• Sun Belt (8): Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall, South Alabama, Texas State
• Independent (2): Notre Dame, UConn

Number of postseason berths available: 82
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82

Bowl-ineligible teams

• ACC (4): Florida State, Stanford, Virginia, Wake Forest
• American (6): Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice, Temple, Tulsa, UAB
• Big Ten (6): Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin
• Big 12 (7): Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, UCF, Utah
• CUSA (6): FIU, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, UTEP
• MAC (5): Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State
• Mountain West (7): Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming
• Pac-12 (1): Oregon State
• SEC (3): Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi State
• Sun Belt (6): Appalachian State, Georgia State, Louisiana–Monroe, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Troy
• Independent (1): UMass

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 52

Conference summaries

Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games.

Conference	Championship game				Players of the year				Coach of the year
	Date	Venue (Location)	Matchup	Result	Overall/MVP	Offensive	Defensive	Special teams
ACC		Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)	SMU vs. Clemson		Cam Ward, QB, Miami[22]	Cam Ward, QB, Miami	Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE, Boston College
American	Dec. 6	Michie Stadium (West Point, New York)				Bryson Daily, QB, Army[23]	Jimmori Robinson, LB, UTSA	Jonah Delange, K UAB	Jeff Monken, Army
Big Ten	Dec. 7	Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana)	Oregon vs. Penn State			Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon	Abdul Carter, DE, Penn State	Dominic Zvada, PK, Michigan; Eddie Czaplicki, P, USC; & Kaden Wetjen, RS, Iowa	Curt Cignetti, Indiana (coaches & media)
Big 12	Dec. 7	AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)	Arizona State vs. Iowa State
CUSA	Dec. 6	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium (Jacksonville, Alabama)	Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State
MAC	Dec. 7	Ford Field (Detroit, Michigan)	Miami (OH) vs. Ohio
MW	Dec. 6	Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)	UNLV at Boise State			Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State[24]	Jackson Woodard, LB, UNLV	Ricky White III, WR, UNLV	Spencer Danielson, Boise State
SEC	Dec. 7	Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)	Georgia vs. Texas
Sun Belt	Dec. 7	Cajun Field (Lafayette, Louisiana)	Marshall (East) at Louisiana (West)

Conference performance in bowl games

See also: Bowl Challenge Cup. Table reflects announced matchups only.

Conference	Total games	Wins–losses (pct.)	Bowls
			class=unsortable	To be played	class=unsortable	Won	class=unsortable	Lost
ACC		0–0
American	2	0–0	Frisco. Hawaii
Big Ten		0–0
Big 12	1	0–0	Frisco
CUSA		0–0
MAC	1	0–0	Salute to Veterans
Mountain West	1	0–0	Hawaii
Pac-12		0–0
SEC		0–0
Sun Belt	1	0–0	Salute to Veterans
Independent		0–0

Notes and References

1. Web site: College Football Expand 12 Teams Starting With The 2024 Season. NCAA. December 1, 2022. January 5, 2024.
2. Web site: Jim . Reineking . June 6, 2024 . College Football 2024 Season Bowl Game and Playoff Schedule . USA Today . August 24, 2024.
3. Web site: Barrett . Sallee . January 9, 2024 . College Football Playoff Bracket, Predictions: Early Picks as Format Expands to 12 Teams in 2024 Season . CBS Sports . August 24, 2024.
4. Web site: . February 20, 2024 . 5-7 Format Confirmed for 12-Team Playoff . College Football Playoff . August 24, 2024.
5. Web site: . August 21, 2024 . 2024-25 College Football Playoff Schedule, Dates, TV Channel, Sites . NCAA . August 25, 2024.
6. 2024 DirecTV Holiday Bowl Set for December 27th . holidaybowl.com . August 27, 2024 . October 19, 2024.
7. Web site: 2024 StaffDNA Cure Bowl Scheduled for December 20 on ESPN . curebowl.com . June 6, 2024 . December 4, 2024.
8. Web site: 2024-10-08 . GameAbove Sports Announced as New Title Sponsor for College Football Bowl Game at Ford Field . 2024-10-08 . Detroit Lions.
9. Web site: Stephenson . Creg . 2024-10-15 . Montgomery's bowl game gets new name, title sponsor . 2024-10-15 . al . en.
10. Bowl Season's Only Big Ten-Big 12 Conference Matchup Renamed to Rate Bowl as Part of Title Partner Rebrand . fiestabowl.org . October 17, 2024 . October 17, 2024.
11. Patrick . Andres . July 18, 2024 . 2024-25 College Football Bowl Schedule: Full List of Games and Locations . Sports Illustrated . August 24, 2024.
12. Web site: Tickets . hulabowl.com . October 18, 2024.
13. Web site: Agenda – Trillion Tropical Bowl . tropicalbowl.com . October 18, 2024.
14. Web site: Events . shrinebowl.com . September 7, 2024.
15. Web site: Reese's Senior Bowl . usajaguars.evenue.net . September 7, 2024.
16. Web site: Home . hbculegacybowl.com . September 7, 2024.
17. News: Will . Backus . August 15, 2024 . College Football Playoff Rankings Schedule: Complete List of Dates, Times Announced for 2024 Season . CBS Sports . August 25, 2024.
18. Web site: Barrett . Sallee . January 9, 2024 . College Football Playoff Bracket, Predictions: Early Picks as Format Expands to 12 Teams in 2024 Season . CBS Sports . August 24, 2024.
19. Web site: . February 20, 2024 . 5-7 Format Confirmed for 12-Team Playoff . College Football Playoff . August 24, 2024.
20. Web site: NCAA College Football FBS Standings . NCAA.com.
21. Web site: College Bowl Tracker . thelines.com.
22. Web site: Miami’s Ward and BC’s Ezeiruaku Garner ACC Player of the Year Honors .
23. Web site: American Announces 2024 Football Award Winners .
24. Web site: Mountain West Announces 2024 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors .