2025–26 NCAA football bowl games
| 2025–26 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Season | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of bowls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All-star games | 5 FBS, 1 FCS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl games | December 13, 2025 – January 19, 2026[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Championship | 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location of Championship | Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2025–26 NCAA football bowl games are an ongoing series of college football bowl games in the United States, most of which will be played to complete the 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive bowl games in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) began on December 13, 2025, and are scheduled to conclude with the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 19, 2026. Several all-star games will follow.
Schedule
Division I FBS bowl games
College Football Playoff bowl games
The College Football Playoff system is used to determine a national champion of Division I FBS college football. This will be the 12th year of the College Football Playoff era, and the second year using an expanded, 12-team format.
A committee of experts ranked the top 25 FBS teams after each of the final six weeks of the regular season. Upon release of the final rankings, the top five ranked conference champions were selected to compete in the playoff, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four ranked teams received a first-round bye.[1]
The first round of games will be played at campus sites on December 19 and 20, 2025. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played at the New Year's Six bowl games. The quarterfinal games will be played on December 31, 2025, and January 1, 2026, at the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. The semifinal games will be played on January 8 and 9, 2026, at the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl. The winners will advance to the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.[2][3]
| First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 1 – Orange Bowl, Hard Rock Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dec 20 – Autzen Stadium | 4 | Texas Tech | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan 9 – Peach Bowl, Mercedes-Benz Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oregon | 51 | 5 | Oregon | ||||||||||||||
| 12 | James Madison | 34 | Jan 1 – Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||
| Dec 19 – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | 1 | Indiana | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan 19 – Hard Rock Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Oklahoma | 24 | 9 | Alabama | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Alabama | 34 | Jan 1 – Sugar Bowl, Caesars Superdome | |||||||||||||||
| Dec 20 – Vaught–Hemingway Stadium | 3 | Georgia | ||||||||||||||||
| Jan 8 – Fiesta Bowl, State Farm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Ole Miss | 41 | 6 | Ole Miss | ||||||||||||||
| 11 | Tulane | 10 | Dec 31 – Cotton Bowl Classic, AT&T Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| Dec 20 – Kyle Field | 2 | Ohio State | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Texas A&M | 3 | 10 | Miami (FL) | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Miami (FL) | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
Non-CFP bowl games
The 2025–26 bowl game lineup had one change from the previous season: the Bahamas Bowl was replaced with the Xbox Bowl.[4] The Frisco Bowl was temporarily relocated to the Ford Center at The Star to accommodate renovations at Toyota Stadium.[5]
The bowl games that are not part of the College Football Playoff are:[6][7][8][9]
Division I FCS bowl game
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 2026 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13 | Noon | Celebration Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia |
ABC | South Carolina State Bulldogs (9–3) Prairie View A&M Panthers (10–3) |
MEAC SWAC |
South Carolina State 40 Prairie View A&M 38 (4OT) |
Division II bowl games
Three bowl games were held which featured teams that did not qualify for the Division II postseason tournament. This was up from only two bowls in the 2024 season, with the addition of the First Americans Bowl.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 6 | 1:00 pm | Heritage Bowl | Tiger Stadium Corsicana, Texas |
Livestream | Arkansas Tech West Texas A&M |
GAC LSC |
West Texas A&M 28 Arkansas Tech 27 |
| 2:00 pm | Albanese Candy Bowl | Hobart High School Hobart, Indiana |
Upper Iowa Hillsdale |
GLVC GMAC |
Upper Iowa 37 Hillsdale 28 | ||
| First Americans Bowl | Doc Wadley Stadium Tahlequah, Oklahoma |
East Central Northeastern State * |
GAC Independent |
Northeastern State 56 East Central 21 |
* – Host team
Division III bowl games
Division III held 14 bowl games in 2025, featuring teams that did not qualify for the Division III postseason tournament. This total is up one from the 13 held in 2024, with the return of the Lynah Bowl.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21 | 5:00 pm | Fusion Bowl | Campus sites | Northeast Sports Network (streaming) |
Curry * Merchant Marine |
CNE NEWMAC |
Curry 24 Merchant Marine 27 |
| Nov 22 | Noon | Centennial-MAC Bowl Series |
Centennial Digital Network MACtv (streaming) |
Carnegie Mellon * Misericordia |
Centennial MAC |
Misericordia 17 Carnegie Mellon 24 | |
| Dickinson Delaware Valley * |
Dickinson 13 Delaware Valley 14 | ||||||
| 1:00 pm | Ursinus * Lebanon Valley |
Lebanon Valley 13 Ursinus 31 | |||||
| Noon | Whitelaw Bowl | Brockport * Geneva |
Empire 8 PAC |
Geneva 10 Brockport 46 | |||
| Chapman Bowl | St. John Fisher * RPI |
Empire 8 Liberty |
RPI 35 St. John Fisher 24 | ||||
| 1:00 pm | Bushnell Bowl | Utica * Rowan |
Empire 8 NJAC |
Rowan 26 Utica 20 | |||
| Lynah Bowl | Hobart Maritime * |
Liberty NEWMAC |
Hobart 42 Maritime 14 | ||||
| Noon | Lakefront Bowl | Raabe Stadium Wauwatosa, Wisconsin |
JustAGame.com (streaming) |
Illinois College Aurora |
MWC NACC |
Aurora 49 Illinois College 14 | |
| 4:00 pm | Cape Henry Bowl | Salem Football Stadium Salem, Virginia |
FloSports (streaming) |
Wilkes Shenandoah |
Landmark ODAC |
Wilkes 37 Shenandoah 35 | |
| Noon | Cape Charles Bowl | Lycoming Washington and Lee |
Washington and Lee 14 Lycoming 12 | ||||
| 3:05 pm | Isthmus Bowl | Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium Sun Prairie, Wisconsin |
JustAGame.com (streaming) |
Washington (MO) Wisconsin–Stout |
CCIW WIAC |
Washington (MO) 23 Wisconsin–Stout 31 | |
| 1:00 pm | ForeverLawn Bowl | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Canton, Ohio |
FloSports (streaming) |
Wabash Ohio Northern |
NCAC OAC |
Ohio Northern 31 Wabash 32 | |
| 6:00 pm | Extra Points Bowl | Mount St. Joseph Westminster (PA) |
HCAC PAC |
Mount St. Joseph 21 Westminster (PA) 40 |
* – Host team
All-star games
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10 | Noon | Hula Bowl | Spec Martin Stadium DeLand, Florida |
CBS Sports Network | Team Aina Team Kai |
||
| Jan 18 | 11:00 am | Tropical Bowl | Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, Florida |
Varsity Sports Network | American Team National Team |
||
| Jan 27 | 8:00 pm | East–West Shrine Bowl | AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas |
NFL Network | East Team West Team |
||
| Jan 31 | 2:30 pm | Senior Bowl | Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama |
American Team National Team |
|||
| Feb 21 | 4:00 pm | HBCU Legacy Bowl | Yulman Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana |
Team Robinson Team Gaither |
Team selections
CFP top 25 standings and bowl games
The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee announced its final team rankings for the season on December 7, 2025.
The top five ranked conference champions, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams, were selected to compete in the College Football Playoffs. The top four ranked teams received a first-round bye. This was a change from the 2024–25 season, when the top four ranked conference champions were given a first-round bye.[1]
This was the first time that two Group of Five teams – Tulane and James Madison – were included in the playoffs.[10][11]
| Rank | Team | W–L | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indiana Hoosiers | 13–0 | Big Ten champions | Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) |
| 2 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 12–1 | Big Ten first place (tie) | Cotton Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) |
| 3 | Georgia Bulldogs | 12–1 | SEC champions | Sugar Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) |
| 4 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | 12–1 | Big 12 champions | Orange Bowl (CFP quarterfinal) |
| 5 | Oregon Ducks | 11–1 | Big Ten third place | CFP first-round game |
| 6 | Ole Miss Rebels | 11–1 | SEC first place (tie) | CFP first-round game |
| 7 | Texas A&M Aggies | 11–1 | SEC first place (tie) | CFP first-round game |
| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | 10–2 | SEC fifth place (tie) | CFP first-round game |
| 9 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 10–3 | SEC first place (tie) | CFP first-round game |
| 10 | Miami Hurricanes | 10–2 | ACC second place (tie) | CFP first-round game |
| 11 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 10–2 | Independent | Declined bowl bid |
| 12 | BYU Cougars | 11–2 | Big 12 first place (tie) | Pop-Tarts Bowl |
| 13 | Texas Longhorns | 9–3 | SEC fifth place (tie) | Citrus Bowl |
| 14 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 10–2 | SEC fifth place (tie) | ReliaQuest Bowl |
| 15 | Utah Utes | 10–2 | Big 12 third place | Las Vegas Bowl |
| 16 | USC Trojans | 9–3 | Big Ten fourth place (tie) | Alamo Bowl |
| 17 | Arizona Wildcats | 9–3 | Big 12 fourth place (tie) | Holiday Bowl |
| 18 | Michigan Wolverines | 9–3 | Big Ten fourth place (tie) | Citrus Bowl |
| 19 | Virginia Cavaliers | 10–3 | ACC first place | Gator Bowl |
| 20 | Tulane Green Wave | 11–2 | American champions | CFP first-round game |
| 21 | Houston Cougars | 9–3 | Big 12 fourth place (tie) | Texas Bowl |
| 22 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 9–3 | ACC second place (tie) | Pop-Tarts Bowl |
| 23 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 8–4 | Big Ten sixth place | ReliaQuest Bowl |
| 24 | James Madison Dukes | 12–1 | Sun Belt champions | CFP first-round game |
| 25 | North Texas Mean Green | 11–2 | American first place (tie) | New Mexico Bowl |
| Rank | Team | W–L | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | Kennesaw State Owls | 10–4 | CUSA champions | Myrtle Beach Bowl |
| – | Western Michigan Broncos | 10–4 | MAC champions | Myrtle Beach Bowl |
| – | Boise State Broncos | 9–5 | Mountain West champions | LA Bowl |
| – | Duke Blue Devils | 8–5 | ACC champions | Sun Bowl |
Bowl selection teams
The below lists of teams are based on team records as published by the NCAA, and bowl eligibility criteria.
Bowl-eligible teams
- ACC (11): California†, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Virginia, Wake Forest
- American (8): Army, East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, UTSA
- Big Ten (12): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon†, Penn State, USC†, Washington†
- Big 12 (10): Arizona†, Arizona State†, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State‡, Kansas State‡, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah
- CUSA (7): Delaware[f], FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, Missouri State[g], Western Kentucky
- MAC (5): Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
- Mountain West (7): Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah State
- Pac-12 (1): Washington State
- SEC (10): Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
- Sun Belt (9): Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy
- Independent (2): Notre Dame‡, UConn
Number of postseason berths available: 82
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82
†: Former Pac-12 teams were considered for bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins instead of their current conference for 2025.
‡ Iowa State, Kansas State, and Notre Dame opted out of their bowl games, but they were still bowl-eligible.
Teams declining a bowl
- ACC (1): Florida State†
- American (1): Temple†[h]
- Big Ten (1): Rutgers†
- Big 12 (5): Baylor†, Kansas†, UCF†, Iowa State, Kansas State
- SEC (1): Auburn†
- Independent (1): Notre Dame
† Florida State, Temple, Rutgers, Baylor, Kansas, UCF and Auburn were not bowl eligible, but were asked to participate in a bowl game due to bowl-eligible teams opting out.
Bowl-ineligible teams
- ACC (6): Boston College, Florida State, North Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
- American (6): Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice†, Temple, Tulsa, UAB
- Big Ten (6): Maryland, Michigan State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, Wisconsin
- Big 12 (6): Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma State, UCF, West Virginia
- CUSA (5): Liberty, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP
- MAC (8): Akron[i], Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, UMass
- Mountain West (5): Air Force, Colorado State, Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming
- Pac-12 (1): Oregon State
- SEC (6): Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State†, South Carolina
- Sun Belt (5): Appalachian State†, Georgia State, Louisiana–Monroe, Marshall, South Alabama
Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 54
† Appalachian State, Mississippi State, and Rice were not bowl eligible, but participated in a bowl game due to bowl-eligible teams opting out.
Conference summaries
Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games (Week 13–December 2).
Note: Clicking on a link in the Conference column will open an article about that conference's championship game, where applicable.
† The Pac-12 played the season with two teams – Washington State and Oregon State – and did not have a conference champion.
Conference performance in bowl games
CFP bowl games are denoted in bold type. First-round CFP playoff games are included, and denoted as CFP1.
Berths to be determined: Fiesta (2), Peach (2), Championship (2)
Notes:
- One CFP first-round game featured two SEC teams.
- The Birmingham Bowl will feature two Sun Belt teams.
- The Sugar Bowl will feature two SEC teams.
Notes
- ^ 11 College Football Playoff (CFP) games, 35 non-CFP FBS bowl games, and 1 FCS bowl game.
- ^ Dates reflect Division I team-competitive bowl games, and exclude all-star games and bowl games in lower divisions.
- ^ a b c d e Former Pac-12 team; considered for bowls with tie-ins to that conference for this bowl season.
- ^ The stadium is physically located in University Park, Texas, a separate city completely surrounded by the city of Dallas. All locations in University Park have a Dallas mailing address.
- ^ Allegiant Stadium is located outside the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated community of Paradise, Nevada. "Las Vegas" is the official mailing address for all unincorporated areas in the vicinity of the city, including Paradise.
- ^ Delaware was bowl ineligible due to their FCS-to-FBS transition, however as they posted a bowl-eligible record and there were not enough eligible teams, they were invited.[12][13]
- ^ Missouri State was bowl ineligible due to their FCS-to-FBS transition, however as they posted a bowl-eligible record and there were not enough eligible teams, they were invited.[14][15]
- ^ Temple later clarified that while they were offered a bid, they did not have enough time to accept the bid before it was offered to another school.[17]
- ^ Akron was bowl ineligible due to failing to meet NCAA academic standards.[18] They would have been bowl ineligible in any circumstance as they finished 5–7.
References
- ^ a b Dinich, Heather (May 22, 2025). "College Football Playoff Going to New Straight Seeding Model". ESPN. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 College Football Playoff Schedule, Dates, TV channel, Sites". NCAA. January 24, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ^ Flounders, Bob (April 23, 2025). "Rose Bowl Moving Its Iconic Starting Time for College Football Playoff". Penn Live. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ Neumann, Sam (December 4, 2025). "Xbox Bowl Permanently Replacing Bahamas Bowl in ESPN Postseason Schedule". Awful Announcing. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Guzmán Castaños, Marlenys (29 August 2025). "Frisco Bowl Moves To Ford Center At The Star For 2025". Local Profile. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2025". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
- ^ "College Football Bowl Ties, Affiliations for Each Conference 2025-2026". College Football News. January 26, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ Dochterman, Scott (December 26, 2026). "What's Next for the Bowls? How the Non-Playoff Postseason Is Bracing for the Future". The Athletic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
- ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan (June 5, 2025). "2025-26 College Football Bowl Schedule, Games, Dates, Locations, Kickoff Times, TV Channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
- ^ Fee-Platt, Jordy (December 7, 2025). "How Did Both Tulane and James Madison End Up in the College Football Playoff?". The Athletic. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ Busbee, Jay (December 9, 2025). "JMU, Tulane and Other G5 Schools Belong in CFP, No Matter What ESPN Says". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ @ConferenceUSA (November 29, 2025). "Post See new posts Conversation Conference USA @ConferenceUSA 🐔 BOWL BOUND HENS 🐔 @Delaware_FB will play in a bowl game in its first year in FBS 🙌 #NoLimitsOnUs" (Tweet). Retrieved November 29, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ @BowlSeason (November 29, 2025). "GO BLUE HENS! 6️⃣ wins and @Delaware_FB _fb is officially #BowlBound!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 29, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ @ConferenceUSA (November 29, 2025). "🐻 BOWL BOUND BEARS 🐻 @MoStateFootball will play in a bowl game in its first year in FBS 🙌 #NoLimitsOnUs" (Tweet). Retrieved November 29, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ @BowlSeason (November 29, 2025). "GO BEARS! 6️⃣ wins and @MoStateFootball is officially #BowlBound!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 29, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Meyer, Craig (December 7, 2025). "Which college football teams have declined bowl invitations?". USA Today. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ "A Clarification from Temple". Temple University. December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ Beaven, Michael (May 7, 2025). "Akron Zips Football Is Not Bowl Eligible Before 2025 NCAA Season Even Begins. Here's Why". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "American Conference Announces 2025 Football Award Winners".
- ^ a b c d e "CUSA Announces 2025 Postseason Awards".
- ^ a b "Mountain West Announces 2025 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors".
- ^ a b c d "2025 Sun Belt Conference Football Postseason Awards".
- ^ a b c "Georgia Tech's King, Miami's Bain Jr. Named ACC Players of the Year".
- ^ a b c d "Big Ten Announces Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Awards".
- ^ a b c d "Big 12 Conference Announces 2025 Football Awards".
- ^ a b c d e "MAC Announces 2025 Postseason Football Awards & All-Conference Teams".
- ^ a b c d "2025 SEC Football Individual Awards".