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.
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 your 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?
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