History of college football bowl games
The first college football bowl game was the 1902 Rose Bowl, created to entice people to visit sunny Pasadena, California. Michigan, coached by the legendary Fielding H. Yost, beat Stanford 49-0 on 1st January at Tournament Park and started the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games.
Tournament Park would host the Rose Bowl game until 1923, when the Rose Bowl stadium was built three miles away. Before long, other cities caught on and started hosting their own bowl games, like the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Cotton Bowl.
By the mid-20th century, bowl games became much more popular and were televised nationally. You could watch college football teams playing in all sorts of exotic locations. This naturally attracted more sponsorship, money, fans, and therefore, more bowl games.
Fast forward to the 80s and 90s and there were over 20 bowl games being played per season.
With fans growing weary of the ambiguity around the decision on which team should be the national champion, the College Football Playoff was established in 2014. This format, a four-team semi-final, featured Alabama, Florida State, Oregon and Ohio state to determine would decide the winner of the national championship. Ohio State, led by third-string quarterback Cardale Jones, beat Oregon 42-20 in this inaugural CFP final.
This year, the College Football Playoff will be contested by Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama.
How does it work and what are the traditions?
There are 43 total bowl games in the 2023-24 season, including two college football playoff semifinals and the national championship game on January 8th. The names of these games, influenced by sponsors, range from sublime to ridiculous, and have their own unique, weird and wonderful traditions.
The coach of the winning team in the Duke's Mayo Bowl has approximately 4.5 gallons of watered down Duke's mayonnaise poured on them after the trophy ceremony. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was the lucky recipient after the Gamecocks' 38-21 win over North Carolina in the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl. North Carolina face West Virginia in this year's game on 27th December.
Instead of mayonnaise, or the traditional Gatorade, a huge bucket of French fries is dumped on the winning coach’s head at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. This will be competed for by Utah State and Georgia State on 23rd December. The bowl logo is a giant baked potato that covers the middle of the famous blue field at Albertsons Stadium, home of Boise State and the trophy is a crystal bowl filled with potatoes.
For potatoes, read oranges in the trophy presented to the winner of the Orange Bowl, which will be fought out between No.5 Florida State and No.6 Georgia this year.
Generally, teams must win six or more regular season games to be bowl eligible, although there are exceptions (for example, Minnesota finished 5-7 but was granted an NCAA exemption based on their Academic Progress Rate score and due to a lack of 6-6 teams to fill out the field).
Bowl game matchups are determined by a variety of factors, including a team's win-loss record, conference affiliation, and ranking in polls such as the AP Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings. Some bowl games, such as the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, have specific tie-ins with certain conferences and are required to invite teams from those conferences. Other bowl games, such as the Citrus Bowl and Camping World Bowl, have more flexibility in their choice, often inviting teams based on their popularity and potential to draw a large audience.
The two bowl games which will serves as College Football Playoff Semifinals are the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl, both set for Monday, January 1st. This is the final year of the four-team playoff - in 2024 and beyond, the CFP will transition to a 12-team format.
Some players bound for NFL might miss these games. USC's Caleb Williams and Brenden Rice are notable examples after their declarations for the NFL draft, but it gives fans the opportunity to look at some emerging talent ahead of next year. Bowl games give fans a great day out to celebrate and a memorable end to season.
Here is this year's line up;:
The 2023-24 Bowl Games
Saturday, December 16th
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. Ohio - Brooks Stadium - Conway, South Carolina.
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Howard vs. Florida A&M - Mercedez-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State - Caesars Superdome - New Orleans, Louisiana.
Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl
Appalachian State vs. Miami (Ohio) - FBC Mortgage Stadium - Orlando, Florida.
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico State vs. Fresno State - University Stadium - Albuquerque, New Mexico.
LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk
Boise State vs. UCLA - SoFi Stadium - Inglewood, California.
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Texas Tech vs. Cal - Independence Stadium - Shreveport, Louisiana.
Monday, December 18th
Famous Toastery Bowl
Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion -
Jerry Richardson Stadium - Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tuesday, December 19th
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl
Marshall vs. UTSA - Toyota Stadium - Frisco, Texas.
Thursday, December 21st
Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
South Florida vs. Syracuse - FAU Stadium - Boca Raton, Florida.
Friday, December 22nd
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
UCF vs. Duke - Raymond James Stadium - Tampa, Florida.
Saturday, December 23rd
Camellia Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois - Cramton Bowl - Montgomery, Alabama.
Birmingham Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Troy - Protective Stadium - Birmingham, Alabama.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
James Madison vs. Air Force - Amon G. Carter Stadium - Fort Worth, Texas.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Utah State vs. Georgia State - Albertsons Stadium - Boise, Idaho.
68 Ventures Bowl
South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan - Hancock Whitney Stadium - Mobile, Alabama.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Northwestern vs. Utah - Allegiant Stadium - Las Vegas, Nevada.
Easypost Hawai’i Bowl
San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina - Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex - Honolulu, Hawaii.
Tuesday, December 26th
Quick Lane Bowl
Bowling Green vs. Minnesota - Ford Field - Detroit, Michigan.
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Texas State vs. Rice - Dallas, Texas - Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Kansas vs. UNLV - Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona.
Wednesday, December 27th
Military Bowl Presented by GoBowling.com
Tulane vs. Virginia Tech - Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium - Annapolis, Maryland.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
North Carolina vs. West Virginia - Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, North Carolina.
DIRECTV Holiday Bowl
No. 15 Louisville vs. USC - Petco Park - San Diego, California.
TaxAct Texas Bowl
No. 20 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M - NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas.
Thursday, December 28th
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
No. 24 SMU vs. Boston College - Fenway Park - Boston, Massachusetts.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Miami vs. Rutgers - Yankee Stadium - New York, New York.
Pop-Tarts Bowl
NC State vs. Kansas State - Camping World Stadium - Orlando, Florida.
Valero Alamo Bowl
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Arizona - Alamodome - San Antonio, Texas.
Friday, December 29th
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
No. 22 Clemson vs. Kentucky - EverBank Field - Jacksonville, Florida.
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl
No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame - Sun Bowl Stadium - El Paso, Texas.
Autozone Liberty Bowl
Iowa State vs. Memphis - Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium - Memphis, Tennessee.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Missouri - AT&T Stadium - Arlington, Texas.
Saturday, December 30th
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 11 Ole Miss - Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia.
Transperfect Music City Bowl
Auburn vs. Maryland - Nissan Stadium - Nashville, Tennessee.
Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Georgia - Hard Rock Stadium - Miami, Florida.
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Toledo vs. Wyoming - Arizona Stadium - Tucson, Arizona.
Monday, January 1st
ReliaQuest Bowl
No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin - Raymond James Stadium - Tampa, Florida.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee - Camping World Stadium - Orlando, Florida.
VRBO Fiesta Bowl
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty - State Farm Stadium - Glendale, Arizona.
College Football Playoff Semifinals:
Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama - Rose Bowl Stadium - Pasadena, California.
Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas - Caesars Superdome - New Orleans, Louisiana.
Monday, January 8th
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T
Michigan/Alabama vs. Washington/Texas - NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas.