Update (November 6): The article contains the most updated information on the 2026-27 college football bowl game schedule.
Every regular season must end, and for many college football teams, that means postseason bowl games. One of college athletics’ longest traditions, the pool of bowl games has only gotten larger and more complex with the introduction of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014. Here’s how NCAA bowl games work, how teams are selected and the full 2026-27 bowl schedule, plus where to find bowl game tickets and College Football Playoff tickets.
What Are College Football Bowl Games?
College football bowl games traditionally close a winning team’s season. Aptly nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl inspired the term “bowl game” after the Tournament East-West game, first played in 1902, moved to the new bowl-shaped stadium in Pasadena, California, in 1923. However, the meaning of a bowl game quickly shifted from the shape of the attendance-shattering stadium to the high stakes and marquee matchups that form college football’s postseason play.
In the previous era when the media voted on the National Championship, bowl game wins were crucial to a team’s final ranking. Nowadays, however, a bowl game appearance comes with perks like nationwide notoriety, financial rewards to the school and conference and additional practice time. Since 2024, select bowl games also determine which teams advance to the national championship game.
How Do Bowl Games Work?
In college football’s current format, over 40 bowl games are played primarily within the NCAA’s Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), though teams can be invited from the lower-tier Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II and Division III. Running from mid-December to early January, the bowl season usually consists of Group of Six matchups in the first week, the Power Four conferences in the second and the concluding New Year’s Six games: the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. The 2026-27 bowl season kicks off with the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday, December 12.
Since the introduction of the CFP in 2014, bowl games have been followed by the College Football Playoff National Championship. Although the two were largely separate at the start, new CFP rules applied for the 2024 season required a bowl game victory on the path to the National Championship. In its updated format, the New Year’s Six bowl games host the tournament’s quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on a rotating basis, with three bowls maintaining the historic January 1 date and three taking place at a later date.
In 2026-27, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl hosts a quarterfinal on Wednesday, December 30, while the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl Game host quarterfinals on Friday, January 1. Two weeks later, the Capital One Orange Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl host the semifinals on Thursday, January 14 and Friday, January 15, respectively.
For the 2026 season, winners of the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl semifinals will face each other in the 2027 CFP National Championship on Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. To learn more about the recent changes in the postseason format, check out our guide to the College Football Playoff.
Key Factors Influencing Bowl Game Decisions
Historically, bowl games and their participants are determined by eligibility, rankings, conference affiliation, region, academic performance or long-standing rivalries. With exceptions, a team generally qualifies for a bowl game appearance by earning at least six wins in the regular season. Eligibility rules became less strict as more bowl games were created, first to include teams with an even 6-6 record, then to high-performing teams with fewer wins.
The CFP Selection Committee also plays a key role in how bowl games are determined. Each week starting in November, the 13-member committee ranks the top 25 teams, leading to a final ranking that locks in the 12-team CFP bracket and settles which teams are eligible to play in the quarterfinal and semifinal bowl games. Conference championship weekend helps shape that field, since the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions receive automatic bids. The Big 12 Championship is Friday, December 4, followed by the ACC Championship, Big Ten Championship and SEC Championship on Saturday, December 5. The 2026 CFP bracket will be announced on Selection Day, Sunday, December 6, at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Outside of the CFP, there is more flexibility in selecting bowl game teams based on conference, location or other ranking systems like the weekly Associated Press Top 25 poll. Long-running bowl games have also built historic affiliations with conferences, such as the Sugar Bowl with the SEC or the Orange Bowl with the former Big Eight. Beginning in 2026, those conference tie-ins no longer decide CFP bowl assignments. Instead, the top seeds choose their bowl path. However, a team’s best bet to make a bowl is to win their conference outright in the regular season.
Most important is that bowl games have become a cherished tradition to locals in college towns that don’t always receive the bright lights of the national stage.
Historical Perspectives and Notable Bowl Games
From the first Rose Bowl, the field of the college football bowl game has only gotten bigger. However, as bowl games gained more attention, the NCAA wanted its successful season-ending events to have a better bearing on the eventual National Champion. After years of the NCAA’s top ranking being crowned by a postseason poll of journalists, FBS conferences agreed to create a simpler process, first with the Bowl Coalition in 1992 and later the Bowl Alliance in 1995.
The current postseason combo of bowl games and the College Football Playoff replaced the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which lasted from 1998 to 2013. In its newest format, the season’s top performing teams can more easily face each other without in-conference commitments or outside factors. The CFP also introduced the FBS to tournament brackets, the popular playoff format used by the FCS and lower football divisions as well as college basketball’s March Madness.
Beyond the accolades, increased media coverage and elevated fan hype, bowl games are special because of their historically high level of competition. From Alabama’s record-46 bowl wins to Virginia Tech’s 27-season streak of consecutive bowl game appearances, the NCAA’s historic series continues to push the limits.
Memorable bowl moments include Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana’s “Chicken Soup Game” at the 1979 Cotton Bowl, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie’s “Hail Flutie” pass at the 1984 Orange Bowl, the Tom Brady-led Michigan Wolverines’ overtime win at the 2000 Orange Bowl, Texas quarterback Vince Young’s game-winning touchdown at the 2006 Rose Bowl and Boise State’s “Statue of Liberty” play at the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. More recently, Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba set the FBS bowl game record for single-game receiving yards in the 2022 Rose Bowl. Meanwhile, his teammate and quarterback C.J. Stroud broke the Rose Bowl record for passing yards during the same game.
How Many College Bowl Games Are There in 2026-27?
The 2026 NCAAF season will host 47 bowl games, including 11 CFP matchups. New to the bowl game schedule this season are two inaugural games in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Bowl and the TransPerfect San Juan Bowl, along with the return of the Poinsettia Bowl after a nearly 10-year break.
2026-27 College Football Bowl Game Schedule
- 12/12 – Cricket Celebration Bowl Presented by Toyota @ Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
- 12/15 – IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl @ Montgomery, AL @ Cramton Bowl
- 12/15 – Frisco Football Classic @ Frisco, TX @ Ford Center at The Star
- 12/16 – TransPerfect San Juan Bowl @ San Juan, PR @ Hiram Bithorn Stadium
- 12/18 – Boca Raton Bowl @ Boca Raton, FL @ Flagler Credit Union Stadium
- 12/18 – Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl @ Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
- 12/18 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
- 12/19 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
- 12/19 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
- 12/19 – CFP First Round Game @ TBD @ Higher-Seeded Team’s Home Field*
- 12/21 – Myrtle Beach Bowl @ Conway, SC @ Brooks Stadium
- 12/21 – Famous Idaho Potato Bowl @ Boise, ID @ Albertsons Stadium
- 12/22 – Puerto Rico Bowl @ Bayamón, PR @ Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
- 12/22 – StaffDNA Cure Bowl @ Orlando, FL @ Acrisure Bounce House
- 12/22 – Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl @ Shreveport, LA @ Independence Stadium
- 12/23 – New Orleans Bowl @ New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome
- 12/23 – Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl @ Fort Worth, TX @ Amon G. Carter Stadium
- 12/23 – SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl @ San Diego, CA @ Snapdragon Stadium
- 12/23 – Frisco Bowl @ Frisco, TX @ Ford Center at The Star
- 12/24 – Isleta New Mexico Bowl @ Albuquerque, NM @ University Stadium
- 12/24 – Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl @ Honolulu, HI @ Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex
- 12/26 – Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl @ Bronx, NY @ Yankee Stadium
- 12/26 – Wasabi Fenway Bowl @ Boston, MA @ Fenway Park
- 12/26 – Duke’s Mayo Bowl @ Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium
- 12/26 – 68 Ventures Bowl @ Mobile, AL @ Hancock Whitney Stadium
- 12/26 – Cactus Bowl @ Tempe, AZ @ Mountain America Stadium
- 12/28 – Freedom Mortgage Military Bowl @ Annapolis, MD @ Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
- 12/28 – Trust & Will Holiday Bowl @ San Diego, CA @ Snapdragon Stadium
- 12/29 – JLab Birmingham Bowl @ Birmingham, AL @ Protective Stadium
- 12/29 – Pop-Tarts Bowl @ Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
- 12/29 – Valero Alamo Bowl @ San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
- 12/30 – TaxSlayer Gator Bowl @ Jacksonville, FL @ EverBank Stadium
- 12/30 – Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl @ Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
- 12/30 – Vrbo Fiesta Bowl @ Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium*
- 12/31 – ReliaQuest Bowl @ Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
- 12/31 – Old El Paso Sun Bowl @ El Paso, TX @ Sun Bowl Stadium
- 12/31 – Las Vegas Bowl XXXV @ Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium
- 12/31 – Kinder’s Texas Bowl @ Houston, TX @ Reliant Stadium
- 01/01 – Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic @ Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium*
- 01/01 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl @ Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium*
- 01/01 – Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential @ Pasadena, CA @ Rose Bowl*
- 01/02 – Citrus Bowl @ Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium
- 01/02 – SERVPRO First Responder Bowl @ Dallas, TX @ Gerald J Ford Stadium
- 01/02 – AutoZone Liberty Bowl @ Memphis, TN @ Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
- 01/02 – Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, presented by Gin and Juice by Dre and Snoop @ Tucson, AZ @ Casino Del Sol Stadium
- 01/14 – Capital One Orange Bowl @ Miami Gardens, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium*
- 01/15 – Allstate Sugar Bowl @ New Orleans, LA @ Caesars Superdome*
- 01/25 – College Football Playoff National Championship @ Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium*
- 01/30 – Senior Bowl @ Mobile, AL @ Hancock Whitney Stadium
* = College Football Playoff game
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