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College football bowl schedule announced around expanded CFP

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College football bowl schedule announced around expanded CFP

The college football postseason will look very different in 2024-25 with the expansion of the Playoff to 12 games, including the first-round matchups at campus sites on Dec. 20 and 21. Now, we know how the Playoff schedule will impact the timing of the rest of the bowl games, as dates, kickoff times and TV networks were announced Thursday for the non-CFP bowls, with the exception of the Holiday Bowl.

The slate includes a pair of bowl games on the same day as Army-Navy and the Heisman ceremony, eight bowls on Dec. 28, and just three bowls on New Year’s Day — all CFP quarterfinals. Plus, four non-CFP bowl games will be played Jan. 2-4.

Date Bowl Location Time (ET) TV

Dec. 14

Celebration

Atlanta

Noon

ABC

Dec. 14

Camellia

Montgomery, Ala.

9 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 17

Boca Raton

Boca Raton, Fla.

5:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 17

Frisco

Frisco, Texas

9 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 18

LA

Inglewood, Calif.

9 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 19

New Orleans

New Orleans

7 p.m.

ESPN2

Dec. 20

Cure

Orlando, Fla.

Noon

ESPN

Dec. 20

Gasparilla

Tampa, Fla.

3:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach

Conway, S.C.

11 a.m.

ESPN

Dec. 23

Famous Idaho Potato

Boise, Idaho

2:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 24

Hawaii

Honolulu

8 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 26

Detroit

Detroit

2 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 26

Guaranteed Rate

Phoenix

5:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 26

68 Ventures

Mobile, Ala.

9 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 27

Armed Forces

Fort Worth, Texas

Noon or 3:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 27

Birmingham

Birmingham, Ala.

Noon or 3:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 27

Liberty

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 27

Las Vegas

Las Vegas

10:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 28

Fenway

Boston

11 a.m.

ESPN

Dec. 28

Pinstripe

New York

Noon

ABC

Dec. 28

New Mexico

Albuquerque, N.M.

2:15 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 28

Pop-Tarts

Orlando, Fla.

3:30 p.m.

ABC

Dec. 28

Arizona

Tucson, Ariz.

4:30 p.m.

CW

Dec. 28

Military

Annapolis, Md.

5:45 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 28

Alamo

San Antonio

7:30 p.m.

ABC

Dec. 28

Independence

Shreveport, La.

9:15 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 30

Music City

Nashville, Tenn.

2:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 31

ReliaQuest

Tampa, Fla.

Noon

ESPN

Dec. 31

Sun

El Paso, Texas

2 p.m.

CBS

Dec. 31

Citrus

Orlando, Fla.

3 p.m.

ABC

Dec. 31

Texas

Houston

3:30 p.m.

ESPN

Dec. 31

Fiesta

Glendale, Ariz.

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 1

Peach

Atlanta

1 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 1

Rose

Pasadena, Calif.

5 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 1

Sugar

New Orleans

8:45 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 2

Gator

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 3

First Responder

Dallas

4 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 3

Duke’s Mayo

Charlotte, N.C.

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 4

Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas

11 a.m.

ESPN2

TBD

Holiday

San Diego

TBD

TBD

Jan. 9

Orange

Miami

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 10

Cotton

Arlington, Texas

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

Jan. 20

National championship

Atlanta

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

How is the bowl schedule impacted by the expanded CFP?

I was curious to see how the 12-team Playoff calendar might impact the way ESPN schedules the other bowls, and the answer is … not much.

More than half of this season’s bowls will be played over an eight-day span between the Dec. 20-21 first-round games and the Dec. 31-Jan. 1 quarterfinals. But there will be a pair of bowls (Celebration and Camellia) airing on Dec. 14 — one before Army-Navy and the other after the Heisman Trophy presentation. The Citrus Bowl, played on Jan. 1 or 2 all but once since 1987, moves to 3 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve to serve as a lead-in to the first quarterfinal that night at the Fiesta Bowl, with the three other quarterfinals at the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl owning New Year’s Day.

One other notable twist: Four non-CFP bowls — the Gator (Jan. 2), First Responder (Jan. 3), Duke’s Mayo (Jan. 3) and Bahamas (Jan. 4) — will be played AFTER the quarterfinals. There’s then a break in the action before the semifinals on Jan. 9 (Orange) and Jan. 10 (Cotton).

Beyond the schedule, Thursday’s release was a reminder of a few new wacky bowl sponsors. None more so this year than the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin and Juice by Dre and Snoop. Yes, that’s really the name. — Stewart Mandel, senior college football columnist

Required reading

(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)

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