2025 Bowl Games: Schedule, College Football Playoff bracket, dates, kickoff times, NCAA top 25 rankings

College football bowl games have been set for the 2025-26 season; we covered every minute and every decision

College football's postseason schedule is now officially set.

Sunday's lengthy selection process began when the College Football Playoff field was announced, with two major points of controversy. The first was Alabama remaining at No. 9 despite a lopsided loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, and then Miami jumping Notre Dame for the 10-seed to nab the final at-large berth in the culmination of the most contentious ranking battle this season.

As a result, the Hurricanes will go on the road to face Texas A&M and Alabama will travel for a rematch with Oklahoma as the two standout games of the first round. The first round is rounded out by another rematch between Tulane and Ole Miss, and James Madison taking on Oregon as the biggest underdog of this year's playoff.

Once the playoff bracket was set, the bowl-game dominoes began to fall, with the biggest surprise coming late in the afternoon when Notre Dame announced it was declining to play in a bowl game after being snubbed by the CFP. The Irish were expected to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against BYU, but organizers had to pivot to Georgia Tech as the Cougars' opponent.

After Notre Dame bowed out, several bowls had to scramble to set their matchups, with the schedule ultimately getting filled out late Sunday afternoon. Some of the headliners of the 2025 bowl season include the Citrus Bowl (Michigan vs. Texas), ReliaQuest Bowl (Vanderbilt vs. Iowa), Music City Bowl (Tennessee vs. Illinois), New Mexico Bowl (North Texas vs. San Diego State) and Pinstripe Bowl (Clemson vs. Penn State).

You can find the complete TV schedule and matchups for college football's bowl season and the playoff below.

All times below Eastern

CFP Rankings | Breaking down 12-team bracket

College Football Playoff schedule

Championship game: Jan. 19 -- Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida
Peach Bowl semifinal: Jan. 9 -- 
Fiesta Bowl semifinal: Jan. 8 -- 

Quarterfinals

• Rose Bowl, Jan. 1: (1) Indiana vs. (8/9) Winner
• Cotton Bowl, Dec. 31: (2) Ohio State vs. (7/10) Winner
• Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1: (3) Georgia vs. (6/11) Winner
• Orange Bowl, Jan. 1: (4) Texas Tech vs. (5/12) Winner

First round

• (12) James Madison at (5) Oregon | Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. | Winner faces (4) Texas Tech
• (9) Alabama at (8) Oklahoma | Dec. 19, 8 p.m. | Winner faces (1) Indiana
• (11) Tulane at (6) Ole Miss | Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. | Winner faces (3) Georgia
  
• (10) Miami at (7) Texas A&M | Dec. 20, Noon | Winner faces (2) Ohio State

2025 Bowl Games

Date	Time (TV channel)	Bowl	Location	Matchup
Dec. 13 (Saturday)	12 p.m. ABC	Cricket Celebration Bowl	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia	South Carolina State vs. Prairie View A&M
Dec. 13 (Saturday)	8 p.m. ESPN	LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk	SoFi Stadium Inglewood, California	Boise State vs. Washington
Dec. 16 (Tuesday)	9 p.m. ESPN	Salute to Veterans Bowl	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama	Troy vs. Jacksonville State
Dec. 17 (Wednesday)	5 p.m. ESPN	Cure Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	Old Dominion vs. South Florida
Dec. 17 (Wednesday)	8:30 p.m. ESPN	68 Ventures Bowl	Hancock White Stadium Mobile, Alabama	Louisiana vs. Delaware
Dec. 18 (Thursday)	9 p.m. ESPN2	Xbox Bowl	Ford Center Frisco, Texas	Arkansas State vs. Missouri State
Dec. 19 (Friday)	11 a.m. ESPN	Myrtle Beach Bowl	Brooks Stadium Conway, South Carolina	Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan
Dec. 19 (Friday)	2:30 p.m. ESPN	Gasparilla Bowl	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida	Memphis vs. NC State
Dec. 22 (Monday)	2 p.m. ESPN	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Albertsons Stadium Boise, Idaho	Utah State vs. Washington State
Dec. 23 (Tuesday)	2 p.m. ESPN	Boca Raton Bowl	Flagler Credit Union Stadium Boca Raton, Florida	Toledo vs. Louisville
Dec. 23 (Tuesday)	5:30 p.m. ESPN	New Orleans Bowl	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana	Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
Dec. 23 (Tuesday)	9 p.m. ESPN	Frisco Bowl	Ford Center at The Star Frisco, Texas	UNLV vs. Ohio
Dec. 24 (Wednesday)	8 p.m. ESPN	Hawai'i Bowl	Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, Hawaii	Cal vs. Hawai'i
Dec. 26 (Friday)	1 p.m. ESPN	GameAbove Sports Bowl	Ford Field Detroit, Mich.	Central Michigan vs. Northwestern
Dec. 26 (Friday)	4:30 p.m.  ESPN	Rate Bowl	Chase Field Phoenix, Ariz.	New Mexico vs. Minnesota
Dec. 26 (Friday)	8 p.m.  ESPN	First Responder Bowl	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, Texas	FIU vs. UTSA
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	11 a.m. ESPN	Military Bowl	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Maryland	Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	12 p.m. ABC	Pinstripe Bowl	Yankee Stadium Bronx, New York	Penn State vs. Clemson
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	2:15 p.m. ESPN	Fenway Bowl	Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts	UConn vs. Army
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	3:30 p.m. ABC	Pop-Tarts Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	Georgia Tech vs. BYU
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	4:30 p.m. The CW	Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented By Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop	Arizona Stadium Tucson, Arizona	Fresno State vs. Miami (OH)
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	5:45 p.m. ESPN	New Mexico Bowl	Branch Field at University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	North Texas vs. San Diego State
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	7:30 p.m.  ABC	Gator Bowl	EverBank Stadium Jacksonville, Florida	Missouri vs. Virginia
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	9:15 p.m. ESPN	Texas Bowl	NRG Stadium Houston, Texas	LSU vs. Houston
Dec. 29 (Monday)	2 p.m. ESPN	Birmingham Bowl	Protective Stadium Birmingham, Alabama	Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State
Dec. 30 (Tuesday)	2 p.m. ESPN	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana	Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech
Dec. 30 (Tuesday)	5:30 p.m. ESPN	Music City Bowl	Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tennessee	Tennessee vs. Illinois
Dec. 30 (Tuesday)	9 p.m. ESPN	Alamo Bowl	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas	USC vs. TCU
Dec. 31 (Wednesday)	12 p.m. ESPN	ReliaQuest Bowl	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida	Vanderbilt vs. Iowa
Dec. 31 (Wednesday)	2 p.m. CBS	Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas	Duke vs. Arizona State
Dec. 31 (Wednesday)	3 p.m. ABC	Citrus Bowl	Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida	Michigan vs. Texas
Dec. 31 (Wednesday)	3:30 p.m. ESPN	Las Vegas Bowl	Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada	Nebraska vs. Utah
Jan. 2 (Friday)	1 p.m. ESPN	Armed Forces Bowl	Amon Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas	Texas State vs. Rice
Jan. 2 (Friday)	4:30 p.m. ESPN	Liberty Bowl	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Memphis, Tennessee	Navy vs. Cincinnati
Jan. 2 (Friday)	8 p.m. ESPN	Mayo Bowl	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina	Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest
Jan. 2 (Friday)	8 p.m. FOX	Holiday Bowl	Snapdragon Stadium San Diego, California	Arizona vs. SMU

[Dec 7, 2025 at 5:39 pm ET · Chris Dukes]

Duke and Arizona State will face off in the 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 live on CBS at 2 p.m. ET. The bowl features the ACC Champion Blue Devils -- coming off a thrilling victory in their league title game -- meeting an Arizona State squad just one year removed from a College Football Playoff appearance. It's a big-time matchup between two of college football's up-and-coming programs.