2023 College Football Bowl Schedule: Dates, best matchups, locations, and more
It is never too early to dive into the college football schedule, and here's a look at the bowl schedule. With the college football landscape shifting daily with the transfer portal, conference realignment and College Football Playoff expansion, we will never see a schedule like the one we have in 2023-24 again.
Let's separate the college football bowl schedule into three parts: standard bowl games, selection committee bowl games and the College Football Playoff.
With so many twists and turns to a college football season, we won't know the respective teams and participants for several months, but at least we can project and speculate some of the best matchups of the bowl season.
Let's take a look.
College Football Playoff
Monday, Jan. 1
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California), 5 p.m., ESPN: TBD vs. TBD
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana), 8:45 p.m. ESPN: TBD vs. TBD
Monday, Jan. 8
National championship game (Houston, Texas), TBA, ESPN: TBD vs. TBD
Selection committee bowl games
Friday, Dec. 29
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas), 8 p.m., ESPN: TBD vs. TBD
Saturday, Dec. 30
Peach Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia), noon, ESPN: TBD vs. TBD
Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Florida), 4 p.m., ESPN: ACC vs. Big Ten/SEC
Monday, Jan. 1
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona), 1 p.m., ESPN: TBD vs. TBD
Other bowl games
Saturday, Dec. 16
Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas), 11 a.m., ESPN: C-USA vs. MAC
Celebration Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia), noon, ABC: MEAC vs. SWAC
New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana), 2:15 p.m., ESPN: C-USA vs. Sun Belt
Cure Bowl (Orlando, Florida), 3:30 p.m., ABC: ACC vs. Sun Belt
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, New Mexico), 5:45 p.m. ESPN: C-USA vs. MWC
LA Bowl (Inglewood, California), 7:30 p.m., ABC: MWC vs. Pac-12
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, Louisiana), 9:15 p.m., ESPN: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Monday, Dec. 18
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina), 2:30 p.m.: C-USA, MAC, Sun Belt
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas), 9 p.m., ESPN: AAC vs. TBD
Thursday, Dec. 21
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Florida), 8 p.m., ESPN: AAC, MAC, C-USA, MWC
Friday, Dec. 22
Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Florida), 6:30 p.m., ESPN: AAC, ACC, SEC
Saturday, Dec. 23
Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama), noon, ABC: AAC, ACC, SEC
Camelia Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama), noon, ESPN: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas), 3:30 p.m. ABC: AAC vs. C-USA
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Idaho), 3:30 p.m. ESPN: MAC vs. MWC
68 Ventures Bowl (Mobile, Alabama), 7 p.m., ESPN: MAC vs. Sun Belt
Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, Nevada), 7:30 p.m., ESPN: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu, Hawaii), 10:30 p.m., ESPN: AAC vs. MWC
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Quick Lane Bowl (Detroit, Michigan), 2 p.m., ESPN: MAC vs. Big Ten
First Responder Bowl (University Park, Texas), 5:30 p.m., ESPN: AAC, ACC, Big 12
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Phoenix, Arizona), 9 p.m., ESPN: Big 12 vs. Big Ten
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Military Bowl (Annapolis, Maryland), 2 p.m., ESPN: AAC vs. ACC
Duke's Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina), 5:30 p.m., ESPN: ACC vs. SEC
Texas Bowl (Houston, Texas), 9 p.m., ESPN: Big 12 vs. SEC
Thursday, Dec. 28
Fenway Bowl (Boston, Massachusetts), 11 a.m., ESPN: AAC vs. ACC
Pinstripe Bowl (New York, New York), 2:15 p.m., ESPN: ACC vs. Big Ten
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, Florida), 5:45 p.m., ESPN: ACC vs. Big 12
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, Texas), 9:15 p.m., ESPN: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida), noon, ESPN: ACC, SEC, Big Ten
Tony the Tiger Bowl (El Paso, Texas), 2 p.m., CBS: ACC vs. Pac-12
Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee), 3:30 p.m., ESPN: Big 12 vs. SEC
Saturday, Dec. 30
Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tenn.), 2 p.m., ABC: Big Ten vs. SEC
Arizona Bowl (Tuscon, Arizona), 4:30 p.m.: MAC vs. MWC
Monday, Jan. 1
ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Florida), noon, ESPN 2: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Florida), 1 p.m., ABC: Big Ten vs. SEC
Best matchup:
Of course, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will be must-see TV with the four best teams in college football squaring off. If we look at the Orange Bowl a few days beforehand, this one can be a barn burner. We could have a Clemson or a Florida State team face a second-place Big Ten team like Ohio State. In years past, this would have been a marque matchup worthy of a national title showcase.