College football bowl watch guide: Schedule, odds and most interesting matchups

With conference championships all wrapped up, the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff is finally upon us and every bowl game is set for the next month. The expanded CFP format should yield both unbridled chaos and undeniable strangeness. We’ll be watching a national title game in the third week of January?!

College football is not a zero-sum game, of course. There are still dozens of bowl-eligible programs beyond the playoff scope. Many of the postseason matchups look to be entertaining, some even hilarious. Here’s your guide to bowl season, with a few superlatives followed by the full bowl schedule.

Best gimmick

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami

Look, neither team is thrilled to be in this spot. Mario Cristobal’s group was undefeated and No. 4 in the nation heading into the second week of November. Then, to evoke Busta Rhymes, disaster struck in the form of a five-point loss at Georgia Tech and a four-point loss at Syracuse. Seriously, who had Miami missing the ACC Championship Game? The dispiriting end to the season dropped the Hurricanes to No. 13 in the final CFP rankings.

Iowa State follows closely behind at No. 18. The Cyclones made their conference title game, only to get smoked, 45-19, by Arizona State on Saturday night.

Instead of looking at potential playoff byes, these programs will play for pastries. At least this bowl is loaded with positive (if surreal) vibes. The titular mascot holds a sign that reads “dreams really do come true” before entering a giant toaster. The winning coach gets showered in frosted strudels. The trophy is wrapped in foil. And yes, players absolutely get to eat the anthropomorphized Pop-Tart.

Even if the top-line talents like Miami quarterback Cam Ward opt out, the Pop-Tarts Bowl is everything a non-playoff postseason game should be.

Best early game

Gasparilla Bowl: Florida vs. Tulane

It won’t make for water cooler conversation — unless that water cooler is somewhere around the Gulf of Mexico — but the Gasparilla Bowl could make for the best watch of the early slate. Tulane reached the AAC Championship Game in its first year under coach Jon Sumrall and Florida suddenly has a lot of momentum and a fun, young quarterback.

Florida’s season looked off the rails for a while, before the Gators closed with three consecutive wins. They upset a pair of quality SEC foes in LSU and Ole Miss and thumped in-state rival Florida State. That trivet plate under Billy Napier has been turned off, at least for the moment. True freshman quarterback DJ Lagway has sparked much of that turnaround, starting most of the second half of the season since Graham Mertz went down with an injury.

Meanwhile, Tulane is 9-4 and averaged more than 37 points per game, good for ninth in the country. Quarterback Darian Mensah led the conference in yards per attempt and completion percentage, but he will reportedly enter the transfer portal. But this offense is more than just its QB. Makhi Hughes is a force in the backfield, with 17 total touchdowns and more than 1,500 scrimmage yards. He’s a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. And Mario Williams topped the AAC in receiving yards.

Weirdest matchup

Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Navy

This is Navy’s first game against an SEC opponent since 2011, when it played at South Carolina. Stranger still, this is its first postseason game against an SEC opponent since the 1955 Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss.

Oklahoma has sent 389 alumni to the NFL, including seven top-five draft picks since 2010. Navy is at 33, with two total first-round picks… in the 1948 draft.

The football matchup itself is also rather strange. Both programs played Tulane this year, with the Sooners winning by more than two touchdowns and the Midshipmen losing 35-0. Oklahoma is also 13th in the country in rushing defense, while Navy is eighth on the ground with almost 250 yards per game.

Between Navy’s wing-T offense and Oklahoma’s supreme volatility (they dominated Alabama, but finished 2-6 in the SEC), this should be one of the weirder outings of bowl season.

Most fun bowl game… if it were last year

ReliaQuest Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama

A year ago we were getting ready for this matchup to be a CFP semifinal. Now? The stakes are, uhh, a bit lower.

Alabama is the first team boxed out of the playoff picture, finishing the regular season at No. 11 in the CFP rankings. The Crimson Tide should have no shame in losing at Tennessee, but a loss at Vanderbilt and a 24-3 drubbing at Oklahoma? Yikes. This is still a quality football team, 17th in points per game and 10th in scoring defense, but motivation and opt outs could sap the Crimson Tide.

Michigan will play its first non-CFP bowl game since 2019, when the Wolverines played the Crimson Tide in the Citrus Bowl. Of course, these teams also played last year at the Rose Bowl, with Michigan slamming the door on the Nick Saban era. The Wolverines will likely be massive underdogs, after going 5-4 in Big Ten play and finishing 112th in points scored. Everything here is for the epilogue, though. Michigan’s upset of Ohio State is its de facto world championship and saved Sherrone Moore’s first season.

College Football Playoff first-round schedule

Friday, Dec. 20

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame

8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 21

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State

Noon ET on ESPN

No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas

4 p.m. ET on TNT

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State

8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Full bowl game schedule

Saturday, Dec. 14

Salute to Veterans Bowl: South Alabama vs. Western Michigan

9 p.m. ET on ESPN at the Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.)

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Frisco Bowl: Memphis vs. West Virginia

9 p.m. ET on ESPN at Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas)

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. James Madison

5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at FAU Stadium (Boca Raton, Fla.)

LA Bowl: Cal vs. UNLV

9 p.m. ET on ESPN at SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif.)

Thursday, Dec. 19

New Orleans Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston

7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 at Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)

Friday, Dec. 20

Cure Bowl: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State

Noon ET on ESPN at Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.)

Gasparilla Bowl: Tulane vs. Florida

3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.)

Monday, Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA

11 a.m. ET on ESPN at Brooks Stadium (Conway, S.C.)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State

2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)

Tuesday, Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl: South Florida vs. San José State

8 p.m. ET on ESPN at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu)

Thursday, Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl: Pitt vs. Toledo

2 p.m. ET on ESPN at Ford Field (Detroit)

Rate Bowl: Rutgers vs. Kansas State

5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Chase Field (Phoenix)

68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green

9 p.m. ET on ESPN at Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, Ala.)

Friday, Dec. 27

Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Navy

11 a.m. ET on ESPN at Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas)

Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt

3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Protective Stadium (Birmingham, Ala.)

Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Arkansas

7 p.m. ET on ESPN at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (Memphis)

Holiday Bowl: Syracuse vs. Washington State

8 p.m. ET on FOX at Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego)

Las Vegas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. USC

10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)

Saturday, Dec. 28

Fenway Bowl: North Carolina vs. UConn

11 a.m. ET on ESPN at Fenway Park (Boston)

Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College vs. Nebraska

Noon ET on ABC at Yankee Stadium (Bronx, N.Y.)

New Mexico Bowl: Louisiana vs. TCU

2:15 p.m. ET on ESPN at University Stadium (Albuquerque, N.M.)

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami

3:30 p.m. ET on ABC at Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.)

Arizona Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Colorado State

4:30 p.m. ET on The CW at Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Ariz.)

Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. NC State

5:45 p.m. ET on ESPN at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Md.)

Alamo Bowl: BYU vs. Colorado

7:30 p.m. ET on ABC at the Alamodome (San Antonio)

Independence Bowl: Marshall vs. Army

9:15 p.m. ET on ESPN at Independence Stadium (Shreveport, La.)

Monday, Dec. 30

Music City Bowl: Missouri vs. Iowa

2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Nissan Stadium (Nashville)

Tuesday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan

Noon ET on ESPN at Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.)

Sun Bowl: Louisville vs. Washington

2 p.m. ET on CBS at the Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas)

Citrus Bowl: South Carolina vs. Illinois

3 p.m. ET on ABC at Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.)

Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. LSU

3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at NRG Stadium (Houston)

Thursday, Jan. 2

Gator Bowl: Duke vs. Ole Miss

7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Friday, Jan. 3

First Responder Bowl: North Texas vs. Texas State

4 p.m. ET on ESPN at Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas)

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech

7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)

Saturday, Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs. Liberty

11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (Nassau, Bahamas)

(Photo credit: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)