College football bowl game schedule: The entire postseason lineup through CFP

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College football bowl game schedule: The entire postseason lineup through CFP

Erick Smith, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sun, Dec 7, 2025 ·

12 min read

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This college football postseason lineup is full of familiar faces in the College Football Playoff and some newcomers to the field. The 11 games to decide the national champion will start with first-round games at campus sites on Dec. 19 and 20. Four winners will advance to face the four teams with first-round bye in quarterfinals on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

The semifinals will be played at the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, respectively. The national championship game will be held Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

But there's also more than just the chase for the national championship. A full lineup of bowl games will kickoff on Dec. 13 and run alongside all the playoff matchups

A look at the entire postseason schedule with dates, times and television details along with all the matchups that will take you through the holiday season and beyond:

LA Bowl: Washington 38, Boise State 10

Demond Williams passed for four touchdowns, and the Huskies held the Broncos to under 100 yards of offense in the first half to cruise to their ninth victory of the season. Boise State , playing just eight days after winning the Mountain West title, threw five interceptions between quarterbacks Max Cutforth and Maddux Madsen.

Salute to Veterans Bowl: Jacksonville State 17, Troy 13

The Gamecocks bounced back from their loss in the Conference USA championship to finish their season with nine wins after a 1-yard touchdown run by Andrew Paul in the fourth quarter to defeat the Trojans.

Cure Bowl: Old Dominion 24, South Florida 10

Both the Monarchs and Bulls were short-handed with their quarterback sitting out. Old Dominion trailed at halftime, but scored all the game's 17 points in the second half with touchdown runs by Trequan Jones and Quinn Henicle.

68 Ventures Bowl: Delaware 20, Louisiana-Lafayette 13

In their first FBS season, the Blue Hens earned their first bowl victory with a defense stand in the final seconds when the Ragin' Cajuns were close to a tying touchdown. Jo Silver led a ground attack with 115 yards and a score, and Nick Minicucci added a passing touchdown to provide the early scoring.

Xbox Bowl: Arkansas State 34, Missouri State 28

Arkansas State opened up a big lead before holding off a rally from first-time bowl participant Missouri State. Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns and wide receiver Corey Rucker passed 4,000 career receiving yards with 166 yards and a score.

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Western Michigan 41, Kennesaw State 6

The Broncos posted their 10th win of the season that also included a MAC title after starting fast with 27 points in the first quarter. Jalen Buckley had 174 yards and a score on just eight carries, and Broc Lowry threw for two touchdowns in the victory.

Gasparilla Bowl: North Carolina State 31, Memphis 7

The Wolfpack dominated from the start, scoring the first 24 points of the game with quarterback CJ Bailey throwing for two scores and running for another. NC State closed its season on a two-game win streak, while Memphis lost its fourth in row.

College Football Playoff: Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24

The Crimson Tide equaled the record for the biggest comeback in College Football Playoff history by overcoming a 17-0 deficit and avenging an earlier loss to the Sooners in the regular season. Ty Simpson threw for two scores, and Zabien Brown returned an interception 50 yards for a score to key the rally.

College Football Playoff: Miami 10, Texas A&M 3

The Hurricanes won a defensive struggle with a late touchdown pass from Carson Beck to Malachi Toney and then an interception by Bryce Fitzgerald in the end zone in the final seconds. Texas A&M managed just a third-quarter field goal and committed three turnovers.

College Football Playoff: Mississippi 41, Tulane 10

A rematch of a game comfortably won by the Rebels in September was another easy victory in the playoff. Ole Miss scored a touchdown after three plays and cruised into the quarterfinals. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 282 yards and one score in the victory.

College Football Playoff: Oregon 51, James Madison 34

Oregon blew up the first-round matchup with touchdowns on its first five possessions to lead 34-6 at halftime. The Ducks added a couple more scores in the third quarter before the Dukes had a strong finish. Dante Moore led the victory with 313 yards and four passing touchdowns.

Idaho Potato Bowl: Washington State 34, Utah State 21

Zevi Eckhaus threw for yards and three touchdowns to the lead the Cougars to a win against their future Pac-12 opponents. Maxwell Woods added 117 yards on the ground as Washington State piled up 628 yards of offense.

Boca Raton Bowl: Louisville 27, Toledo 22

The Cardinals wrapped up their third nine-win season in a row under Jeff Brohm with a defeat of the Rockets, who were without coach Jason Candle after his departure to Connecticut. Miller Moss threw for two scores and Isaac Brown for two touchdowns in the victory.

New Orleans Bowl: Western Kentucky 27, Southern Mississippi 16

The Hilltoppers overcame three turnovers with 267 yards passing combined by Maverick McIvor and Rodney Tisdale Jr and three rushing scores by three different ball, including a 54-yard run by Mavis Parrish in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

Frisco Bowl: Ohio 17, UNLV 10

With interim coach John Hauser leading the team after the firing of Brian Smith earlier this month, Sieh Bangura rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown to earn the Bobcats an upset bowl win. The Rebels were held scoreless in the first half and saw their run of 35 consecutive games with at least 20 points end.

Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii 35, California 31

Hawaii overcame a 21-0 deficit and defeated the Golden Bears when backup quarterback Luke Weaver entered the game and threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle in the final seconds. The Rainbow Warriors finished with nine wins for the first time since 2019.

GameAbove Sports Bowl: Northwestern 34, Central Michigan 7

Preston Stone threw for three touchdowns in his last college game, and the Wildcats forced four turnovers and shut out the Chippewas through three quarters to earn their sixth consecutive bowl victory.

Rate Bowl: Minnesota 20, New Mexico 17 (OT)

A diving touchdown catch by Jalen Smith in overtime gave the Golden Gophers their seven consecutive bowl win under coach P.J. Fleck. The winning reception by Smith was his second score of the game. Darius Taylor added 116 yards rushing and a touchdown for Minnesota.

First Responder Bowl: Texas-San Antonio 57, Florida International 20

After spotting the Panthers a 14-0 lead, the Roadrunners pulled away with 38 consecutive points and cruised to an easy victory. Owen McCown threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns and got help from Will Henderson III with two scores on the ground and one receiving.

Military Bowl: East Carolina 23, Pittsburgh 17

Anthony Smith caught four passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Pirates to their ninth win of season for the first time since 2013. Both the scoring passes came from quarterback Chaston Ditta, who was making his first career start.

Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 22, Clemson 10

The Nittany Lions finished their season with four wins in a row as quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer threw for a career-high 262 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Penn State held the Tigers to just 43 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per play.

Fenway Bowl: Army 41, Connecticut 16

The Black Knights piled up 368 yards and five touchdowns rushing to pull away from the Huskies after the game was 14-10 at halftime. Godspower Nwawuihe lead the way for Army with 171 yards on the ground and scoring runs of 43 and 70 yards.

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Brigham Young 25, Georgia Tech 21

The Cougars started the fourth quarter trailing by 11 before scoring the game's final 15 points with Jovesa Damuni and Enoch Nawahine adding touchdown runs. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for 325 yards and a touchdown to Chase Roberts.

Arizona Bowl: Fresno State 18, Miami (Ohio) 3

E.J. Warner regain the starting job for the Bulldogs and threw for 214 yards and one touchdown. Dylan Lynch added four field goals as Fresno State held the RedHawks to 192 yards in its nine win of season.

New Mexico Bowl North Texas 49, San Diego State 47

The Mean Green earned a program-best 12th win of the season behind a running game that saw Caleb Hawkins total 198 yards and Ashton Gray reach 152 yards with both scoring twice. Bert Emanuel Jr. had 170 yards and two touchdowns on the ground for the Aztecs.

Gator Bowl: Virginia 13, Missouri 7

The Cavaliers bounced back from a loss in the ACC title game that kept them out of the College Football Playoff to post their first 11-win season. Virginia trailed 7-3 at halftime but a Harrison Waylee touchdown run in the third quarter gave it the lead for good.

Texas Bowl: Houston 38, LSU 35

The Cougars prevailed in a back-and-forth game to secure their 10th win of the season. Conner Weigman threw for four touchdowns, and Dean Connors ran for 126 yards and a score in the victory.

Birmingham Bowl: Georgia Southern 29, Appalachian State 10

OJ Arnold led a strong running game with 152 yards, and the Eagles intercepted the Mountaineers four times to cruise to their second defeat of their Sun Belt rivals this season.

Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech 23, Coastal Carolina 14

Louisiana Tech rallied with 17 points in the fourth quarter to take down the short-handed Chanticleers. Trey Kukuk threw a 52-yard touchdown to Marion Jackson and had a long run to set up another score in the comeback.

Music City Bowl: Illinois 30, Tennessee 28

David Olano kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give the Illini consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time in school history. Luke Altmyer threw for 196 yards and a touchdown and ran for 54 yards and a score to pace Illinois, which overcame a kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Volunteers the lead with five minutes left.

Alamo Bowl: TCU 30, Southern California 27 (OT)

Jeremy Payne scored on a 35-yard pass from Ken Seals in overtime to give the Horned Frogs their ninth win of the season. Seals, starting in place of departed quarterback Josh Hoover, threw for 258 yards and Payne added 73 yards rushing and a score.

ReliaQuest Bowl: Iowa 34, Vanderbilt 27

Iowa got two touchdowns passing and another rushing from quarterback Mark Gronowski , and the Hawkeyes defense did enough to slow down Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia, who threw for 347 in the loss.

Sun Bowl: Duke 42, Arizona State 39

Darian Mensah threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, including a scoring pass with 2:10 left to earn the win for the Blue Devils . Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Sims quarterback had 375 yards passing and had five total scores as the teams set a Sun Bowl record with 1,158 yards of offense.

Citrus Bowl: Texas 41, Michigan 27

Dealing with multiple players opting out, the Longhorns rallied in the second half with the help of three interceptions of Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood and the play of Arch Manning , who threw for 221 yards and added a 60-yard touchdown run to seal the game.

Las Vegas Bowl: Utah 44, Nebraska 22

Devon Dampier threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and added 148 yards and three scores on the ground to lead the Utes , who spotted the Cornhuskers a 14-7 lead before scoring the next 38 points.

Cotton Bowl: Miami 24, Ohio State 14

The Hurricanes pulled of their second upset of the College Football Playoff with a physical effort against the defending champion Buckeyes. Keionte Scott returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown to put Miami up 14-0, and CharMar Brown added a clinching scoring run with 54 seconds left to secure the win.

Orange Bowl: Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0

The Ducks forced four turnovers and got 234 yards passing from Dante Moore as they blanked the Big 12 champion Red Raiders. Jordon Davidson added two rushing touchdowns in the win that sends Oregon to the Peach Bowl.

Rose Bowl: Indiana 38, Alabama 3

The Hoosiers remained undefeated after dominating the Crimson Tide in their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1967 season. Fernando Mendoza led the offense with three touchdown passes, and the Indiana run game piled up 215 yards.

Sugar Bowl: Mississippi 39, Georgia 34

In a back-and-forth showdown, Lucas Carneiro kicked the go-ahead field goal with six seconds left to send the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns in the victory as Ole Miss avenge its only loss of the regular season.

Armed Forces Bowl: Texas State 41, Rice 10

Brad Jackson threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and Lincoln Pare added 106 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Bobcats blew open a close game with 31 points in the second half.

Liberty Bowl: Navy 35, Cincinnati 13

Blake Horvath had two touchdown passes and added a scoring run in his final game as the Midshipmen cruised to their 11th win of the season to tie a school record. The short-handed Bearcats managed just 239 yards of offense.

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest 43, Mississippi State 29

Robby Ashford threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another two scores in leading the Demon Deacons to their ninth win of the season.

Holiday Bowl: SMU 24, Arizona 19

The Mustangs scored the game's first 24 points with T.J. Harden contributing two touchdown runs before holding off a rally from the Wildcats in the second half behind three touchdown passes from Noah Fifita.

Fiesta Bowl: Miami 31, Mississippi 27

A Carson Beck 3-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left sent the Hurricanes to the national championship game after a back-and-forth fourth quarter. The Rebels took a 27-24 lead with left on Trinidad Chambliss touchdown pass to Dae'Quan Wright with 3:13 remaining.

Peach Bowl: Indiana 56, Oregon 22

Indiana stayed unbeaten with a dominating first half that ended with a 35-7 lead and included three forced turnovers, including an interception for a touchdown on the game's first play. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza threw for five touchdowns and had just three incompletions.

College Football Playoff championship game

DETAILS:Monday, Jan. 19, Miami Gardens, Fla., 7:30 p.m., ESPN

MATCHUP:Miami (13-2) vs. Indiana (15-0)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football bowl schedule: Previewing the CFP and postseason

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