Think of the college football postseason is more a marathon than a sprint. There’s 42 games running from the first series of matchups on Dec. 16 through the College Football Playoff championship game on Jan. 8.
The ending of a college football is bittersweet. It’s as the song goes ‘the most wonderful of time of the year’ but also the ending of another season for the sport until we see it again next August.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be held on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The national title game is being held at NRG Stadium in Houston.
But there’s plenty of other intriguing games to watch. Here’s the entire lineup:
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Ohio 41, Georgia Southern 21
Rickey Hunt ran for 115 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bobcats to their fifth consecutive bowl game and second 10-win season in a row. The Eagles, who lost their fifth game in a row, committed five turnovers.
New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State 34, Louisiana-Lafayette 31 (OT)
The Gamecocks won their first bowl game on Garrison Rippa’s 27-yard field goal in overtime after they tied the game when on Zion Webb hit Perry Carter for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter.
Cure Bowl: Appalachian State 13, Miami (Ohio) 9
The Mountaineers got a third-quarter scoring run by quarterback Joey Aguilar for the decisive score in a game played in rainy conditions. The teams combined for 13 fumbles with the RedHawks losing three to offset 180 yards rushing by Rashad Amos.
New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State 37, New Mexico State 10
Mikey Keene completed his first 15 passes and finishing with a career-high 380 passing yards with three touchdown passes as the Bulldogs ended a three-game losing streak. They outgained the Aggies 491-200 and held New Mexico State quarterback Diego Pavia to just 58 yards passing.
LA Bowl: UCLA 35, Boise State 22
Ethan Garbers threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns after replacing the injured Collin Schlee as the Bruins dominated the second half after the Broncos took a 16-7 lead at intermission. UCLA scored touchdowns on its first three possessions in the third quarter.
Independence Bowl: Texas Tech 34, California 14
Behren Morton threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Red Raiders rallied from a slow start. They trailed 14-7 before holding the Golden Bears scores in the first three quarters while forcing California quarterback Fernando Mendoza into four turnovers.
Famous Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky 38, Old Dominion 35 (OT)
Western Kentucky redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Veltkamp came off the bench to throw for 383 yards and five touchdowns, Lucas Carneiro made a winning 29-yard field goal in overtime and Western Kentucky erased a 28-point deficit to beat Old Dominion.
Frisco Bowl: Texas-San Antonio 35, Marshall 17
Owen McCown stepped in for starting quarterback Frank Harris and threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Roadrunners to their first bowl victory. Robert Henry had the go-ahead score in the final minute of the second quarter and McCown extended the lead in the third quarter with a strike to David Amador as the Thundering Herd were held scoreless after intermission.
Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida 45, Syracuse 0
Byrum Brown threw for two touchdowns, and the Bulls returned two fumbles for touchdowns in the first half to win their first bowl game since 2017. The Orange struggled with quarterback Dan Villari throwing two interceptions and an offensive generating just 159 yards and succeeding on just 1 of 16 third-down conversions.
Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech 30, Central Florida 17
Haynes King threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score and Georgia Tech overcame a 14-point deficit to beat UCF 30-17. King went 7 for 13 for 87 yards and ran for 89 yards on 12 carries. Jamal Haynes had 128 yards on 18 rushes to help Georgia Tech (7-6) to its first winning season since 2018. He became the Yellow Jackets’ first 1,000-yard runner since 2017. — AP
Birmingham Bowl: Duke vs. Troy
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Birmingham, Ala., ABC, noon
Camellia Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Montgomery, Ala., ESPN, noon
Armed Forces Bowl: James Madison vs. Air Force
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Fort Worth, Texas, ABC, 3:30 p.m.
Idaho Potato Bowl: Utah State vs. Georgia State
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Boise, Idaho, ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
68 Ventures Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. South Alabama
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Mobile, Ala., ESPN, 7 p.m.
Las Vegas Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Las Vegas, ABC, 7:30 p.m.
Hawaii Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State
DETAILS: Dec. 23, Honolulu, ESPN, 10:30 p.m.
Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota
DETAILS: Dec. 26, Detroit, ESPN, 2 p.m.
First Responder Bowl: Texas State vs. Rice
DETAILS: Dec. 26, Dallas, ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV
DETAILS: Dec. 26, Phoenix, ESPN, 9 p.m.
Military Bowl: Tulane vs. Virginia Tech
DETAILS: Dec. 27, Annapolis, Md., ESPN, 2 p.m.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia
DETAILS: Dec. 27, Charlotte, N.C., ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Holiday Bowl: Louisville vs. Southern California
DETAILS: Dec. 27, San Diego, Fox, 8 p.m.
Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
DETAILS: Dec. 27, Houston, ESPN, 9 p.m.
Fenway Bowl: Boston College vs. SMU
DETAILS: Dec. 28, Boston, ESPN, 11 a.m.
Pinstripe Bowl: Miami (Fla.) vs. Rutgers
DETAILS: Dec. 28, Bronx, N.Y., ESPN, 2:15 p.m.
Pop-Tarts Bowl: North Carolina State vs. Kansas State
DETAILS: Dec. 28, Orlando, Fla., ESPN, 5:45 p.m.
Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Arizona
DETAILS: Dec. 28, San Antonio, ESPN, 9:15 p.m.
Gator Bowl: Clemson vs. Kentucky
DETAILS: Dec. 29, Jacksonville, Fla., ESPN, noon
Sun Bowl: Oregon State vs. Notre Dame
DETAILS: Dec. 29, El Paso, Texas, CBS, 2 p.m.
Liberty Bowl: Iowa State vs. Memphis
DETAILS: Dec. 29, Memphis, Tenn. ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
Cotton Bowl: Ohio State vs. Missouri
DETAILS: Dec. 29, Arlington, Texas, ESPN, 8 p.m.
Peach Bowl: Penn State vs. Mississippi
DETAILS: Dec. 30, Atlanta, ESPN, noon
Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland
DETAILS: Dec. 30, Nashville, Tenn., ABC, 2 p.m.
Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Georgia
DETAILS: Dec. 30, Miami Gardens, Fla., ESPN, 4 p.m.
Arizona Bowl: Toledo vs. Wyoming
DETAILS: Dec. 30, Tucson, Ariz., 4:30 p.m.
ReliaQuest Bowl: Wisconsin vs. LSU
DETAILS: Jan. 1, Tampa, Fla., ESPN2, noon
Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee
DETAILS: Jan. 1, Orlando, Fla., ABC, 1 p.m.
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. Liberty
DETAILS: Jan. 1, Glendale, Ariz., ESPN, 1 p.m.
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. Alabama
DETAILS: Jan. 1, Pasadena, Calif., ESPN, 5 p.m.
Sugar Bowl: Washington vs. Texas
DETAILS: Jan. 1, New Orleans, ESPN, 8:45 p.m.
College Football Playoff championship game
DETAILS: Jan. 8, Houston, ESPN, 8 p.m.
MATCHUP: College Football Playoff semifinal winners