2025-26 College Football Bowl Games and Playoff: List and Commentary (published 12-15-2025; article #540)

“A Bucket of Footballs for a Punt, Pass, and Kick Competition,” by Mick Haupt on Unsplash, 2/8/2024. Free to use under the Unsplash License.

Introduction

I suppose that a huge bucket, instead of a bowl, would be needed to hold all the footballs for the plethora of 2025-26 college football bowl games. Perhaps, an even larger bucket than the one in the above image would be required. How about a couple of semitrailer loads of footballs?

Greetings, sports enthusiasts, to the 20th entry in the Sports Topic Section! For the fourth year in a row, this article is another public service to college football aficionados. The previous three public service presentations were on 12/10/2022, 12/10/2023, and 12/17/2024.

First up are the 47, count 'em, 47, games, the same total as last year. They include 36 regular bowl games, plus the 11 College Football Playoff games. Next up, the Championship Playoff games are bracketed out from the menagerie of bowl games. The conclusion contrasts this season's performance by the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Bowl Games

Are you ready, dear reader, for your eyes to glaze over and your mind to turn to mush? That's what happened to me when I composed the following more reader-friendly list. The sources are ESPN: 2025-26 College Football Playoff, bowl schedule and NCAA: 2025-26 college football bowl game schedule, scores, TV channels, times. By the way, I inserted a few pithy comments here and there.

I emboldened the ten bowl games that should be played. Those are, in scheduled order, the Gator Bowl, Sun Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Peach Bowl. The other mediocre bowls should simply be flushed. Further, I underlined 11 of the 16 Sun-Earth Conference (as it should be named), SEC, teams that are in bowl games. Not included are Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

Saturday, Dec. 13: 2 games
-- Celebration Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta), 12 PM, ABC: If anyone cared, South Carolina State defeated Prairie View A&M, 40-38, in four overtimes.
-- LA Bowl (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA), 8 PM, ABC: As if it mattered, Boise State lost to Washington, 10-38.

Tuesday, Dec. 16: 1 game
-- Salute to Veterans Bowl (Montgomery, AL), 9 PM, ESPN: Troy vs. Jacksonville State. Veterans deserve our salute.

Wednesday, Dec. 17: 2 games
-- Cure Bowl (Orlando, FL), 5 PM, ESPN: Old Dominion vs. South Florida
-- 68 Ventures Bowl (Mobile, AL), 8:30 PM, ESPN: Louisiana vs. Delaware

Thursday, Dec. 18: 1 game
-- Xbox Bowl (Frisco, TX), 9 PM, ESPN2: Arkansas State vs. Missouri State. An Xbox Bowl? Really? Why?

Friday, Dec. 19: 3 games
-- Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, SC), 11 AM, ESPN: Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan
-- Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, FL), 2:30 PM, ESPN: Memphis vs. NC State
-- College Football Playoff First Round Game (Norman, OK), 8 PM, ESPN, ABC: #8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Alabama. Go Oklahoma! I detest Alabama!

Saturday, Dec. 20: 3 CFP games
-- College Football Playoff First Round Game (College Station, TX), 12 PM, ESPN, ABC: #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Miami (FL). Texas A&M is my pick.
-- College Football Playoff First Round Game (Oxford, MS), 3:30 PM, TNT, HBO Max: #6 Ole Miss vs. #20 (#11 seed) Tulane. I hope that Tulane, which doesn't have a chance, wins. I despise Lane “Skippin'” Kiffin, who skipped from Ole Miss to LSU after the regular season ended.
-- College Football Playoff First Round Game (Eugene, OR), 7:30 PM, TNT, HBO Max: #5 Oregon vs. #24 (#12 seed) James Madison. Oregon should have a lopsided victory.

Monday, Dec. 22: 1 game
-- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, ID), 2 PM, ESPN: Washington State vs. Utah State. This Appalachian Irishman loves potatoes, especially mashed. My “long-suffering” wife ensures that I have them for supper every evening. Of course, I help out with peeling them.

Tuesday, Dec. 23: 3 games
-- Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, FL), 2 PM, ESPN: Toledo vs. Louisville. Yes, the “Mouse Mouth” Bowl is back again.
-- New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA), 5:30 PM, ESPN: Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss
-- Frisco Bowl (Frisco, TX), 9 PM, ESPN: UNLV vs. Ohio

Wednesday, Dec. 24: 1 game
-- Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu), 8 PM, ESPN: Cal vs. Hawai'i. “Hawai'i” is a variant of the standard “Hawaii.”

Friday, Dec. 26: 3 games
-- GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit, MI), 1 PM, ESPN: Central Michigan vs. Northwestern
-- Rate Bowl (Phoenix, AZ), 4:30 PM, ESPN: New Mexico vs. Minnesota
-- First Responder Bowl (Dallas, TX), 8 PM, ESPN: Florida International vs. UTSA. I support first responders, just not this bowl.

Saturday, Dec. 27: 8 games
-- Military Bowl (Annapolis, MD), 11 AM, ESPN: Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina. I uphold the military, but this bowl never interests me.
-- Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, NY), 12 PM, ABC: Penn State vs. Clemson
-- Fenway Bowl (Boston, MA), 2:15 PM, ESPN: UConn vs. Army
-- Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, FL), 3:30 PM, ABC: Georgia Tech vs. BYU. Let's narrow it down. Why not call this one the “Crunchy Poppers Bowl”?
-- Arizona Bowl (Tucson, AZ), 4:30 PM, The CW Network: Miami (OH) vs. Fresno State
-- New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM), 5:45 PM, ESPN: North Texas vs. San Diego State
-- Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL), 7:30 PM, ABC: Virginia vs. Missouri
-- Texas Bowl (Houston, TX), 9:15 PM, ESPN: LSU vs. Houston

Monday, Dec. 29: 1 game
-- Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, AL), 2 PM, ESPN: Georgia Southern vs. App State

Tuesday, Dec. 30: 3 games
-- Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA), 2 PM, ESPN: Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech
-- Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN), 5:30 PM, ESPN: Tennessee vs. Illinois. Both teams are unranked and 8-4. Go Vols!
-- Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX), 9 PM, ESPN: #16 Southern Cal vs. TCU

Wednesday, Dec. 31: 5 games
-- ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, FL), 12 PM, ESPN: Iowa vs. Vanderbilt
-- Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX), 2 PM, CBS: Arizona State vs. Duke
-- Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL), 3 PM, ABC: #13 Texas vs. #18 Michigan
-- Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV), 3:30 PM, ESPN: Nebraska vs. #15 Utah
-- Cotton Bowl: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Arlington, TX), 7:30 PM, ESPN: #2 Ohio State vs. winner of #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Miami (FL)

Thursday, Jan. 1: 3 games
-- Orange Bowl: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Miami Gardens, FL), 12 PM, ESPN: #4 Texas Tech vs. winner of #5 Oregon vs. #24 (#12 seed) James Madison
-- Rose Bowl: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (Pasadena, CA), 4 PM, ESPN: #1 Indiana vs. winner of #8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Alabama
-- Sugar Bowl: College Football Playoff Quarterfinal (New Orleans, LA), 8 PM, ESPN: #3 Georgia vs. winner of #6 Ole Miss vs. #20 (#11 seed) Tulane

Friday, Jan. 2: 4 games
-- Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX), 1 PM, ESPN: Rice vs. Texas State
-- Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN), 4:30 PM, ESPN: Navy vs. Cincinnati
-- Duke's Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC), 8 PM, ESPN: Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State
-- Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA), 8 PM, FOX: Arizona vs. SMU

Thursday, Jan. 8: 1 CFP Semifinal game
-- Fiesta Bowl: College Football Playoff Semifinal (Glendale, AZ), 7:30 PM, ESPN: winners of the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff Quarterfinal and the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff Quarterfinal

Friday, Jan. 9: 1 CFP Semifinal game
-- Peach Bowl: College Football Playoff Semifinal (Atlanta, GA), 7:30 PM, ESPN: winners of the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff Quarterfinal and the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff Quarterfinal

Monday, Jan. 19: College Football Playoff National Championship Game
Miami, FL, 7:30 PM, ESPN: winners of the Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal and the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal

Whew! What a list! Would Universal-Rundle like to sponsor the Toilet Bowl? It could happen. Our house has two Universal-Rundle brand toilets.

Championship Playoff

Now, let's parse out the eleven College Football Playoff (CFP) games from the menagerie of bowl games. According to the rules, #20 CFP Tulane (American Conference, 11-2) is seeded #11 because of their conference win. Further, #24 CFP James Madison (Sun Belt Conference, 12-1) is seeded #12, since they won their conference. As a result, #11 CFP Notre Dame (FBS Independent, 10-2) and #12 CFP BYU (Big 12, 11-2), teams that I dislike, were excluded from the CFP. The CFP should be based on the top 12 teams, despite conference champions. That's my opinion. Feel free to make it yours!

The following bracket is downloaded from CollegeFootballPlayoff.com: 2025-26 College Football Playoff. Clicking the image below opens and enlarges it for easier reading.

Lord willing, come Thursday, 1/1/2026, at 8 PM, my eyes will be glued to the Sugar Bowl, College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, in New Orleans on ESPN! The 3rd-seeded Georgia Bulldogs will face the winner of the Saturday, 12/20/2025, College Football Playoff first-round game between 6th-seeded Ole Miss and 11th-seeded Tulane. Go Dawgs!

Conclusion

In closing, let's recap and contrast this season's gridiron performance by the Georgia Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers. As the season unfolded, I kept a record for both teams.

First up is my favorite team, the Georgia Bulldogs. My preseason prediction was that Georgia would end up 11-1, with a loss at home to preseason-ranked #1 Texas. Georgia won that week-12 (Saturday, 11/15) game. Instead, and to my intense frustration, Georgia could not defend its home turf against the “Evil Empire” (Alabama) in week five (Saturday, 9/27). Of course, on Saturday (12/6, 4 PM), #3 Georgia dominated #9 Alabama, 28-7, in the SEC Championship game! It was retribution for the regular season loss. Go Dawgs! Let's hope for another national championship in the College Football Playoff!

For Tennessee, my second favorite team, I predicted an 8-4 season, with losses at home to Georgia, on the road at Mississippi State, on the road against Alabama, and away at Florida. Of course, the Vols on the road beat Mississippi State (week five, Saturday, 9/27), lost at home to Oklahoma (week ten, Saturday, 11/1), won on the road against Florida for the first time since 2003 (week 13, Saturday, 11/22), and in the final regular season game were stomped at home by Vanderbilt (week 14, 11/29). They still went 8-4 for the season. In the postseason, the unranked Vols are in the lackluster Music City Bowl in Nashville (Tuesday, 12/30/2025, 5:30 PM) to face unranked Illinois (Big Ten, 8-4). Yawn. Go Vols! In the future, Tennessee may be able to go 11-1, with the only loss to Alabama, when Georgia isn't on the schedule. For future seasons, when Alabama and Georgia are on the schedule, Tennessee may go 10-2.

The 2026-2029 Sun-Earth Conference (SEC), as it should be called, football schedules are available at “SEC schedule release for 2026-2029 college football seasons,” ESPN, 9/23/2025. Once again, this article implores the renaming of the Southeastern Conference to the Sun-Earth Conference!

What do you think? Can we start a petition to rename the conference?

House Mountain Hike #204, 11-29-2025: Why Were Two Young Men Carrying a Fallen Tree? What Did I Do After the Hike? (published 12-1-2025; article #539)

Introduction

This Appalachian Irishman prevailed over yet another hike, his 204th, on his beloved and nearby House Mountain State Natural Area. Last Saturday afternoon, from 1:10 to 3:33 PM, I reveled in two hours and 23 minutes in the woods. The temperature was in the 40s Fahrenheit, and the sky turned from mostly sunny to cloudy, an indication of the rain that started around 9 PM.

On the previous day, Friday, 11/28/2025, the crisp, clear, and sunny weather was better for hiking, despite the gusting wind. Instead of hiking, my wife and I attended the Cherokee Lady Chiefs' basketball game, 12:20 PM start time, at Grainger County High School. The youngest daughter of my youngest brother and his wife is on the team. The Lady Chiefs defeated South Greene, 64-32! We enjoyed the game and time with family.

Continuing now with this 82nd entry in the Hiking Topic Section, I will highlight memorable moments along the hike, answering the burning question, “Why were two young men carrying a fallen tree?” Afterward, for inquiring minds, I will answer the query, “What did I do after the hike?” All in all, it was a good “man day” for this 65-year-young feller!

Hiking Up and Down the East Trail

This section divides into the hike up the east trail, time at the upper-middle bluff, and the hike back down and out on the same east trail. Usually, I hike up the west trail, which is more challenging. For this hike, however, I wanted to “go east, young man, go east!”

Hiking Up: Two Young Men Carrying a Fallen Tree!

After making a parking spot for my 2006 Frontier, I started up the connector trail at 1:10 PM. Choosing east this time, I started trekking up, down, and around in the low-lying section of the trail. The east trail is one mile from the base to the ridge. The relatively easy lower section takes up about seven-tenths of that mile. The final three-tenths with the switchbacks are challenging.

Not too far along into my hike in, I paused to allow a group of about ten young folks in their 20s to pass on their way out. Amazed, I saw two young men carrying across their shoulders a six-to-eight-foot-long section of a fallen tree! Now, I have seen some bizarre things on House Mountain, such as young women hiking in the mud wearing flip-flops. I have seen snow form and fall within clouds on the ridge. Most interestingly, on a Resurrection Sunday (Easter) afternoon hike, I saw a young man hiking in a suit and tie. The encounter is memorialized in my 4/13/2009 entry. Before this hike, however, I had never seen anyone carrying out a fallen tree!

Of course, I had to ask, ”Why are you guys carrying out a section of fallen tree?” One of the young men, shifting his section of the tree slightly on his shoulder, replied, “It's a souvenir!” Yes, he was grinning!

Everyone needs a hobby. This website is a hobby of mine. I have a small collection of House Mountain rocks, souvenirs from my 100th hike (Tuesday, 12/31/2013, in a plaque), my 125th hike (Sunday afternoon, 10/18/2015), my 150th hike (Sunday afternoon, 4/29/2018), my 175th hike (Wednesday, 12/30/2020, article), and my 200th hike (Sunday afternoon, 3/23/2025, in the 3/26/2025 article). I have never thought about hauling out a section of a fallen tree as a keepsake! What's up with young people these days?

At the Upper-Middle Bluff

At the highest and very eroded upper switchback, never try getting around the rocky erosion by crawling up the steep and leaf-covered wooded area west of the switchback! I tried, failed, slid back down, and then climbed over the eroded switchback. That mistake took several minutes. Finally, I reached the ridgeline at 1:54 PM. A trail marker and bench are at the location.

Turning right or northeast, I relished the fairly level ridge trail that leads to the upper-middle bluff. The hike takes 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your speed. Before reaching the bluff, the mostly sunny sky became cloudy.

Once again, despite the clouds, I delighted in the view from that bluff. A minute before I started hiking back down and out on the same east trail, I photographed the following view looking northwest from the bluff:

A husband, wife, and their dog were just leaving when I arrived. I had the thoughtful solitude of the bluff to myself. Of course, the Lord was with me.

Hiking Down and Out

Well, the time was 2:25 PM, and I had plans for after the hike. So, I reversed course and hiked back down the same east trail.

Being overly cautious due to my surgically reconstructed right kneecap and right heel, I took my time descending the upper switchbacks. Once unencumbered from them, hiking along the remaining seven-tenths of a mile in the lower area was easy.

Interestingly, while still hiking carefully down the upper switchbacks, the same husband, wife, and dog, who were leaving the bluff when I arrived, were catching up to me from behind. I let them pass, explaining my carefulness and my “bionic” joints. Once in the lower area, however, they paused, and I caught up to them. Conversing briefly as I passed, I continued on at a normally quick pace. The couple and their dog never did catch back up to me.

I touched the trail marker near the picnic shelter at 3:33 PM, marking the end of my hike. Two hours and 23 minutes in the woods was better than not having been there!

What Did I Do After the Hike?

Once back at my truck, I called the “long-suffering” Mrs. Appalachian Irishman to let her know that I was on my way to her father's house. She had my brush and branch cutting tools in our 2012 Sentra. I was ready to do some cutting up, no kidding!

My wife's two sisters did not want to cut up with me, but my wife did. A wooden bridge crosses the creek at the back of the property. Years ago, my father-in-law and I built that bridge. Several scrub trees, vines, and branches from larger trees needed to be cleared.

My wife and I started trimming and cutting just after the collegiate football game in Knoxville between the Tennessee Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores had started. Well, my wife picked up and piled the trimmings and cuttings. I was the only one who was cutting up, again, no kidding!

After finishing up and saying goodbye, we returned home in separate vehicles. The aforementioned football game was at halftime by then. The score was tied, 14 to 14.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the Vols went down in an embarrassing defeat on their home field. The final score was Commodores 45, Vols 24. As I said to my wife after the game, “Sometimes, birds do fly backwards north for the winter.” Years ago, when birds always flew south for the winter, the Vols could easily beat Vanderbilt. It seems that the tables have turned.

All in all, the hike plus clearing brush for my father-in-law was a good “man day.” Hey, I am still a 65-year-young feller!