College football bowl schedule: Tracking the selections for all 32 bowl games in 2020-21

Bill Bender

College football bowl schedule: Tracking the selections for all 32 bowl games in 2020-21 image

Bowl season starts before the 2020 college football season ends.  

That is par for the course for what has been an unprecedented college football season played through the COVID-19 pandemic. Several teams have accepted bowl bids, and SMU will play UTSA in the Tropical Care Smoothie Bowl on Saturday. 

MORE: Eight College Football Playoff scenarios

That is the start of what promises to be a bowl season that will include teams opting out and bowl ties being tested from now until the College Football Playoff championship game. Stadium's Brett McMurphy first reported several of the early bowl matchups

This season's semifinals are scheduled for Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl Game, which was moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The Playoff championship game will be Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. 

Sporting News tracks the 2020-21 college football bids here.  

College football bowl schedule 2020-21

Monday, Dec. 21

Myrtle Beach Bowl North Texas vs. Appalachian State 2:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Tuesday, Dec. 22 

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Nevada vs. Tulane 3:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Boca Raton Bowl UCF vs. BYU 7 p.m. ET ESPN

Wednesday, Dec. 23

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana Tech 3 p.m. ET ESPN
Montgomery Bowl* Memphis vs. FAU 7 p.m. ET ESPN/ESPN2

Thursday, Dec. 24

New Mexico Bowl Hawaii vs. Houston 3:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Friday, Dec. 25

Camellia Bowl Buffalo vs. Marshall   2:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 26

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl UAB vs. South Carolina 12 p.m. ET ABC
Cure Bowl Liberty vs. Coastal Carolina 12 p.m. ET ESPN
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl UTSA vs. Lousiana 3:30 p.m. ET ABC
LendingTree Bowl Georgia State vs. Western Kentucky 3:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Cheez-It Bowl Oklahoma State vs. Miami 5:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl Texas vs. Colorado  9 p.m. ET ESPN

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Duke's Mayo Bowl Wisconsin vs. Wake Forest 12 p.m. ET ESPN
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Missouri vs. Iowa  3:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Thursday, Dec. 31

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Mississippi State vs. Tulsa  12 p.m. ET ESPN
AutoZone Liberty Bowl West Virginia vs. Tennessee 4 p.m. ET ESPN
Arizona Bowl San Jose State vs. Ball State 4 p.m. ET CBSSN
Texas Bowl TCU vs. Arkansas 8 p.m. ET ESPN

Friday, Jan. 1

Vrbo Citrus Bowl Northwestern vs. Auburn 1 p.m. ET ABC

Saturday, Jan. 2

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Kentucky vs. N.C. State 12 p.m. ET ESPN
Outback Bowl Indiana vs. Ole Miss 12:30 p.m. ET ABC

New Year's Day Six bowls

DATE BOWL GAMES TEAMS TIME TV
Dec. 30 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Florida vs. Oklahoma 7:15 p.m. ET ESPN
Jan. 1 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Cincinnati vs. Georgia 12:30 p.m. ET ESPN
Jan. 2 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Oregon vs. Iowa State 4 p.m. ET ESPN
Jan. 2 Capital One Orange Bowl Texas A&M vs. North Carolina 8 p.m. ET ESPN

College Football Playoff schedule

DATE BOWL GAMES TEAMS TIME
Jan. 1 Rose Bowl Game (CFP Semifinal) Alabama vs. Notre Dame 5 p.m. ET
Jan. 1 Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal) Clemson vs. Ohio State 8:45 p.m. ET
Jan. 11 CFP National Championship TBA vs. TBA 8 p.m. ET

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.