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Next games up:
1/9. 7:30 PM. ESPN. Orange Bowl. Notre Dame (13-1) vs. Penn State (13-2)
1/9. 7:30 PM. ESPN. Cotton Bowl. Ohio State (12-2) vs. Texas (13-2)
1/20. 7:30 PM. ESPN. National Championship. Orange winner vs. Cotton winner
Last games final:
1/4. Bahamas Bowl. Buffalo (9-4) 26, Liberty (9-4) 7
1/3. Duke's Mayo. Minnesota (8-5) 24, Virginia Tech (6-7) 10
1/3. SERVPRO First Responder. Texas State (8-5) 30, North Texas (6-7) 28
*-1/2. Gator. Ole Miss (10-3) 52, Duke (9-4) 20
*-1/2. Sugar. (7) Notre Dame (13-1) 23, (2) Georgia (11-3) 10
*-1/1. Peach. (5) Texas (13-2) 39, (4) Arizona State (11-3) 31, (2 OT)
*-1/1. Rose. (8) Ohio State (12-2) 41, (1) Oregon (13-1) 21
*-12/31. Fiesta. (6) Penn State (13-2) 31, (3) Boise State (12-2) 14
*-College Football Playoff Game
NOTE: This article will be updated continuously throughout the bowl season.
The 5 through 8 seeds, all four of which opened the playoffs with a home game versus the 9 to 12 seeds, have advanced to the semifinals of the 12-team College Football Playoff. None of the survivors won their conference championship. Texas lost to Georgia. Notre Dame isn't in a conference. Ohio State didn't make it. Penn State lost to Oregon.
This may go down as the most poorly conceived playoff in the history of sports. Don't be surprised if NFL execs start calling on college football to stop wrecking the health of their future players by staging a college season that will have teams playing as many as 16 and 17 games. There is so much to pick apart that we could write a book.
Notre Dame downed Georgia 23-10 in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, January 2nd which was postponed for a day after the terror attack in the French Quarter. The game had been moved from Monday night on New Year's Day to 4 p.m. ET on January 2 after a man drove around barricades at a high rate of speed and purposely plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, then stepped out and began firing at anyone and everyone in sight, including police who returned fire. The incident happened round 3:15 a.m. local time in the early hours of the New Year. The perpetrator was killed in a shootout with police. The Sugar Bowl was delayed for many reasons, including to give time for some recovery from the shock of the event, but largely to allow time for authorities to conduct their preliminary investigations and upgrade plans of security for the game. The suspect reportedly killed 14 people and injured upwards of 30 people. Details.
Fortunately, the game and associated events went off without any further problems. The Notre Dame defense forced two turnovers and held Georgia on 4th down at the Irish' 9-yard line with 9:29 left in the game. The game was tied 3-all until Notre Dame tallied 17 points in a playing span of 54 seconds that bridged the second and third quarters. The onslaught began when Mitch Meter kicked his second filed goal (48 yards) for Notre Dame's first lead with 39 seconds left in the half. Then, Georgia QB Gunner Stockton was sacked and fumbled on the first play after the kickoff and the Irish needed just one play for QB Riley Leonard to pass 13 yards to Beaux Collins and a 13-3 advantage. After the break, Jayden Harrison returned the second half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, crossing the goal line with 14:45 left in the 3rd quarter. This was Notre Dame's first win over Georgia after losing to the 'Dawgs in regular season games in 2017 and 2019, as well as the 1980 season Sugar Bowl that cemented the national title for a Bulldogs team that featured running back Herschel Walker.
Ole Miss was an easy 52-20 winner over Duke in the Gator Bowl in the only other game of the day. Jaxson Dart threw for 404 yards and 4 TD's, Jordan Watkins had 7 catches for 180 and caught two of those scoring passes, and Ulysses Bentley IV ran for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Rebels. Isiah Hamilton had the other TD on a 50-yard interception return that stretched the lead to 31-7 halfway through the 3rd quarter. It was 17-0 before Duke got on the scoreboard and Ole Miss answered that with a 28-0 run to make it 45-7 before the Blue Devils would score again. Duke was outgained by over 300 yards, 589-280, as a 5-bowl winning streak came to a halt.
The final traditional bowl game of 2024 took place on Saturday, January 4 with Buffalo scoring a 26-7 win over Liberty in the Bahamas Bowl. It was the 4th straight bowl victory for the Bulls, two of which came in the Bahamas Bowl (2019 and 2024) and the Camellia Bowl (2020 and 2022). It was a third straight bowl loss for the Flames who were 3-0 in these games when Hugh Freeze was the head coach, but are 0-3 since he left.
More to come.
On January 3, Texas State won the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, 30-28, over North Texas. It's the school's second straight win in this postseason game after cruising to a 45-21 win over Rice a year ago. The school joined the FBS in 2012, but was bowl-less until last season. The Bobcats were the only bowl eligible team left out of the bowl season when they went 7-5 under Dennis Franchione in 2014. In this game, Lincoln Pare's 73-yard touchdown gallop with 2:25 left in the game gave Texas State a 30-21 lead, but North Texas answered with Drew Mestemaker's 70-yard run with 1:49 remaining and had another chance after a TSU punt, but that ended on an interception deep in the Mean Green's own territory. Mestemaker was a freshman making his first start since his JV high school year and he turned heads with a 26-of-41 performance for 391 yards with 2 scores and 2 picks. He added a net 55 with his feet. Texas State veteran QB Jordan McCloud was 26-of-35 for 307 yards, 1 TD and a pick. Pare finished with 143 yards and 2 TD's on 20 carries with his other score coming on a simple 1-yard run in the 3rd. These teams were facing each other for the first time as FBS programs, having last met in 1994. UNT leads the series, 29-8-3. North Texas has lost 7 straight bowl games to tie UTEP with the longest current streak of bowl futility.
The Duke's Mayo Bowl, or is it Puke's Mayo Bowl (?), followed as the only other game on January 3 and Minnesota took a 24-10 win. The victory was the 8th straight in a bowl game for the Golden Gophers. You will see later in this article where we praised the Pop Tarts Bowl as the game with the best marketing, by far. The worst, by an even greater margin, is this game. We can't help but wonder if these two teams got invitations because several other coaches made it clear that they would protest the demeaning winner's mayo dump. It is also not entertaining to watch announcers practically puke on camera while being forced to consume foods that should be never be dipped or doused in mayonnaise, and the commercials aren't funny and target no one - unless the audience they're aiming for are the most moronic and tasteless. Who was in the tubby mascot costume? Don't know. Don't care. Didn't stick around to watch any of it. As far as the game was concerned, Virginia Tech had none of its top players and 14 first-time starters on a 2-deep that was laden with underclassmen. It was basically a JV team. It a who's who of missing skill players on offense for the Hokies -- Kyron Drones at QB, Bhayshul Tuten at RB, and return specialist/wide receiver Jaylin Lane. On defense, there was no CFP All-American Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Aeneas Peebles, Dorian Strong or Mansoor DeLane. Powell-Ryland and Lane were CFP All-Americans in 2024 and Powell-Ryland was a repeater from 2024. Minnesota was missing a few players themselves, but no major skill players, so the 24-10 final was on par with expectations. The teams combined for a paltry 385 yards passing and 626 total.
Pundits will try to make hay of the ACC's 2-11 record in the postseason, but virtually none of the teams that participated had familiar rosters or key players. Most of them meant nothing and attendance suffered as a result. This game supposedly drew 31,027. It was like many others that had unused upper decks, and lower bowls that were sparsely populated.
The transfer portal and NIL had already severely wounded the bowl season. The college football playoff is well on its way of putting the final nail in its coffin. Bowl games are suffering for lack of attendance and several would already be gone if ESPN wasn't propping them up in its need for content.
Speaking of the playoff, Notre Dame will battle Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, January 9. The Cotton Bowl will welcome the home-state Texas Longhorns against Ohio State on Friday night, January 10. The winners will advance to the Championship game on Monday January 20 at 7:30 in Atlanta.
Notre Dame (-1.5) and Ohio State (-5.5) are the early betting favorites in those games, while the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com have the Buckeyes favored by 4.37 and the Irish by 2.49.
The Rose Bowl on New Year's Day saw Ohio State avenge its regular season 32-31 loss at Oregon on October 12 with a 41-21 paddling of the Ducks and the Buckeyes will move on to the semifinals to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Sportsbook favorites are 7-0 straight up and 6-1 against the spread in the playoffs. The loss halted Oregon's winning streak came to halt at 14 games, but Dan Lanning's team will still open its 2025 campaign on an 18-game regular season winning streak. The Buckeyes scored 31 points on 24 plays in the first 21.5 minutes, leaving no real room for an Oregon comeback. It was 34-8 at halftime after Oregon scored just before the break, and 34-15 when the Ducks came out and scored to open the 3rd quarter. But the Buckeyes re-established their dominance of Oregon's defense by expanding the cushion to 41-15 and, in turn, used a smothering defense to sack Dillon Gabriel 8 times and keep the Ducks constantly behind the chains. Will Howard threw 3 TD passes and TreVeyon Henderson had 94 yards on just 8 carries, including TD runs of 66 and 8 yards. Two of Howard's TD throws went to Jeremiah Smith (45 and 43 yards) who finished with 7 catches for 187 yards.
Also on New Year's Day, Texas stopped Arizona State with an interception on its second overtime possession to sneak out of 'the ATL' with a 39-31 win in the Peach Bowl and advance to a semifinal game. Cam Skattebo rallied the Sun Devils from a 24-8 deficit in the 4th quarter. The running back threw a 42-yard pass to Mali McClain for a TD and the following 2-point conversion made it 24-16 with 6:29 to play. Two plays later from his own 39, Quinn Ewers was intercepted at the ASU 21 and Skattebo followed with a 62-yard reception to the Texas 17, which was then moved to the 8 for a face mask penalty, to set up his own 2-yard TD run. He then ran for the 2-point conversion, after defensive holding was called in the end zone on the first attempt, to tie the game at 24. The game moved to overtime after a pair of uncharacteristically missed field goals from 48 and 38 yards by Texas' Bert Auburn. Skattebo's 3-yard run put the Sun Devils ahead, but the Longhorns answered on a 4th-and-13 with a 28-yard TD pass from Ewers to Matthew Golden. Texas scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Ewers to Gunner Helm on its first play of its second OT possession, and Ewers then connected on a 2-point pass to Golden for what became the final score. Arizona State finished the season at 11-3 after being picked to finish at, or near, last place in the Big 12 and winning the conference championship to earn the 4-seed and a bye week in the first 12-team College Football Playoff.
The first of five bowl games on New Year's Eve was a noon kick-off of the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa where Alabama tuned the ball over deep in its own territory on its first four possessions, spotting Michigan a 16-0 lead while only trailing 71 yards to minus 1- yard. The Tide tried to fight back after that, but the final drive ended on downs at the Michigan 15-yard line with 49 seconds left to secure a 19-13 win for the Maize and Blue. Last year, Michigan defeated Alabama 27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl in a playoff semifinal game on its way to winning the national title. This was Michigan's third straight win in playoffs and bowl games.
The Sun Bowl in El Paso saw Washington's rally from a 35-21 deficit in the final 3:42 came up short when Huskies' head coach Jedd Fisch opted to go for 2 after the last TD was scored with 9 seconds left in the game and the pass was knocked down. That play preserved a 35-34 win for Louisville which opened the game on a 21-yard interception return of a Demond Williams Jr., pass. Williams recovered to complete 26-of-32 throws for 374 yards and 4 TD passes that all went to Giles Jackson who finished the day with 11 catches for 161 yards. Williams also added 48 yards rushing with a 7-yard TD. Louisville running backs Duke Watson (10-for-83) and Isaac Brown (18-for-99) led the attack for the Cards, and Hunter Bailey had 3 TD passes.
Illinois scored a 21-17 upset of 9.5-point favorite South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl to finish 10-3 while dropping the Gamecocks to 9-4. It's the first 10-win season for the Illini since Ron Turner coached them to a 10-2 campaign in 2001. The only other seasons of double-digit wins were coached by Edgar Holt in 1902 (10-2-1) and John Mackovic in 1989 (10-2). Illinois also halted a 3-bowl losing streak in the first meeting between the two schools..
In the Texas Bowl in Houston, LSU improved to 9-4 with a 44-31 win over Baylor (8-5). The Tigers jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first 21 minutes, 14 seconds, behind 3 TD passes from Garrett Nussmeier and a Dahvon Keys 41-yard interception return. Later in the second quarter, LSU answered a Baylor touchdown with a 95-yard kickoff return by Zavion Thomas. It's the third straight bowl win for the Tigers and the second consecutive bowl loss for the Bears.
The final game on New Year's Eve saw Penn State eliminate 3-seed Boise State from the College Football Playoffs in a quarterfinal game in the Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions took an early 14-0 lead and never trailed as they went on to win, 31-14. The big question entering the game was whether or not Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty would break the single-season rushing record set by Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders in 1988. Jeanty had 104 yards on 30 carries, but came up 26 yards shy of matching the record mark of 2,850 yards that Sanders reached in just 11 games.
No longer can we really call this a "Bowl Challenge" as 11 of this year's postseason games are part of the new 12-team college football playoff, and 5 of those are not traditional bowl games. The first four games between the 5 through 12 seeds took place at the home stadium of the teams seeded 5 through 8. Those games were played on December 20 and 21. The remainder of the playoff games are added in parenthesis in the 'Games' column below.
SEE: Complete Postseason Schedule
Latest update: After First Responder Bowl on January 3.
| Conference | W-L | Games | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independents | 3-0 | 2 (4) | 1.000 |
| American | 6-2 | 8 | .750 |
| MAC | 5-2 | 7 | .714 |
| B1G | 9-5 | 12 (16) | .643 |
| SEC | 8-6 | 13 (15) | .571 |
| Sun Belt | 4-3 | 7 | .571 |
| Big 12 | 4-5 | 9 | .444 |
| CUSA | 1-4 | 5 | .200 |
| MWC | 1-4 | 5 | .200 |
| ACC | 2-11 | 13 | .154 |
| PAC-2 | 0-1 | 1 | .000 |
In the lone game on Monday, December 30, Blake Craig connected on field goals of 51 and 56 yards to rally Missouri to a 27-24 win over Iowa in the Music City Bowl. The 56-yarder came with 4:36 left on the clock. The Tigers' defense, which held the Hawkeyes to just 3 second-half points, forced Iowa to punt on its ensuing possession and stopped Iowa on a 4th-and-1 on its following opportunity. Missouri finished 10-3 while Iowa dropped to 8-5
A whopping 8 games took place on Saturday, December 28, half of which were won by the underdog and none of which were won by the ACC as that league went 0-4 on the day while falling to 1-9 in bowl season.
The first games up were an 11.am. kick-off at Fenway Park and a Noon kick-off at Yankee Stadium as "Football in Baseball parks" was the early theme of the day. The Fenway Bowl saw UConn end a 3-bowl losing streak with a 27-14 upset of North Carolina (-1.5) which had opened at 4.5. The Tar Heels were led by interim head coach Freddie Kitchens whom new official head coach Bill Belichick said will remain on the staff. UConn finished the season 9-4 with a 5-1 finish, including its first bowl win since 2009 and just its fourth all-time (4-4). UNC ended 6-7 and takes a 3-game losing streak into next season.
The Pinstripe Bowl saw Nebraska take a 20-3 lead in to the 4th quarter and stave-off a late Boston College rally for a 20-15 win in the Cornhuskers' first bowl appearance sine 2016. The Eagles were playing in their fourth baseball stadium bowl game since 2014, having appeared in two previous Pinstripe Bowls (2014, 2017) and last year's Fenway Bowl. Both teams ended with 7-6 campaigns. BC saw a 4-1 start crumble to a 3-5 finish and Nebraska went 2-5 down the stretch. The 'Huskers evened their bowl record at 27-27 while the Eagles slipped to 15-14. Two of Boston College's previous four bowl games had either been canceled by Covid (2021 Military) or cut short by weather (2018 First Responder).
The New Mexico Bowl was a rout as TCU cruised to a 34-3 win over Louisiana, which had also been routed 31-3 at home by Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.
Speaking of Marshall, the Herd (10-3) had to bow out of the Independence Bowl due to a lack of players who didn't take kindly to the school failing to reach an agreement to retain head coach Charles Huff. So Army wound up facing a 5-7 Louisiana Tech replacement which the Black Knights overpowered for a 27-6 win. The victory gave Army a 12-2 record, topping its previous best of 11-2 in 2018. Bryson Daily became the all-time FBS leader in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 32 after adding 3 to his total in this game. Navy's Keenan Reynolds set the previous the mark of 31 in 2013. Army improved to 8-3 all-time in bowl games including 5-1 under Jeff Monken. The Bulldogs, who hadn't played in a bowl game since 2020, are now 8-5-1 in their bowl history. Army's punishing running game featured a 75-yard, 21-play drive that almost consumed the entire second quarter (12:21) before concluding with an 8-yard Daily TD run for a 21-3 lead.
December 28 treated us to the game with the best marketing, by far - the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando (the Cheez-It bowl take second). In that game, Iowa State popped up as a 42-41 winner on QB Rocco Becht's 1-yard plunge with 56 seconds left as the Cyclones toasted the home-state favorites in that contest, the Miami Hurricanes. Iowa State had never before had a double-digit win season, but the victory in this game gave the Cyclones an 11-3 finish. Both teams saw their seasons go a little bit south at the end of the year as Iowa State had started 7-0, while Miami's 9-0 start crumbled in a 1-3 finish as the 'Canes wound up with a 10-3 mark. It was also Miami's sixth straight bowl loss with the last victory occurring in 2016. Iowa State improved to 6-13 all-time in bowl games. Miami QB Cam Ward set a new FBS record for career TD passes with 158, topping Case Keenum's 155 (2007-2011), but opted out of playing the entire second half half as his team held a close 31-28 lead. As a result, Miami's high flying offense managed just 10 points after the break and had to settle for a field goal to go up 41-35 after failing to score a TD when achieving a first and goal at the 7-yard line. After that, the each punted once before the Cyclones had their game-winning drive. Miami's last chance at a rally ended with an intercepted Hail Mary pass on the final play.
East Carolina and NC State showed they had no love lost for each other in the Pirates' 26-21 upset of the Wolfpack in the Military Bowl. It was quite shameful and ironic that a complete lack of discipline would be shown in the final minute of a game that honors the discipline and bravery of the armed services members. A fight caused the ejection of 8 players and drew blood from underneath an official's eye when he was struck with a helmet as a result of the melee that began after the final kneel-down by the Pirates in victory formation. The Wolfpack fell to 6-7 with the loss, going 1-3 down the stretch. It was NC State's fifth straight bowl loss. ECU, on the other hand, improved to 8-5 and went 5-1 after firing Mike Houston and letting Blake Harrell take the reins. After a 4-0 audition as interim head coach, he was named the official head coach on November 27.
Miami, Ohio (9-5) strolled to a 43-17 win over Colorado State (8-5) in the Arizona Bowl with Snoop Dog taking over the show on The CW. A 9-3 halftime lead blew up into a 29-3 lead in the third quarter advantage as the RedHawks scored touchdowns on 3 consecutive possessions, aided after the first score by a Rams' fumble at their own 47-yard line. It was CSU's third fumble of the game, lading to the 10th point scored off turnovers for Miami. it wasn't the last contribution to Miami's cause as the RedHawks would benefit again from a Colorado State interception in the 4th quarter. The Rams actually had more total yards (462-401), first downs (19-18) and time of possession (32:44 to 27:16). It was Colorado State's fifth straight bowl loss in the school's first bowl appearance since 2017, while Miami broke a 2-bowl losing streak.
It wasn't a good day for Colorado teams in bowl games as the Buffaloes fared no better in a surprising 36-14 blowout loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl. Coach Prime's team only made the score look a little bit more respectable with a 4th quarter TD after it was 36-7, and it was 27-0 before Heisman-winner Travis Hunter's team even got on the board in the third quarter. This was the farewell game for Hunter and head coach Deion Sander's quarterback son, Shedeur - both of which are expected to be taken at the start of the 2025 NFL Draft. BYU and Colorado, who are both now in the Big 12, were paired in the same game because BYU was chosen as its Big 12 team while Colorado was taken as its legacy PAC-12 team.
On December 27, the Armed Forces Bowl was the first of five bowl games. This game in Fort Worth saw Navy stop Oklahoma's 2-point conversion attempt with 6 seconds left in regulation to preserve a 21-20 win over the Sooners to end the season at 10-3. It was the third straight bowl win for the Midshipmen while Oklahoma lost a third consecutive bowl game and fell under .500 for the year at 6-7. Navy had opened as a 9-point underdog, but closed as a 1.5-point favorite. The Sooners jumped out to a 14-0 lead and it looked like this might be a runaway, but the Middies recovered and trailed just 14-7 at the half. Blake Horvath tied the game, and also won it, with his legs as he scored on a 95-yard run with 3:49 to play in the 3rd quarter, and then added a 6-yard with 4:34 left in the game. Oklahoma pulled to within one on a 10-yard TD pass, but Navy sacked the QB on Brent Venables' inexplicable decision to try to win the game in regulation as opposed to forcing overtime.
Next up was the Birmingham Bowl where Diego Pavia ran (2) or threw (3) for all 5 Vanderbilt TD's as the 'Dores beat Georgia Tech for the first time since 1941 (were 0-12-1 since then) and bagged its first bowl win since 2013 (same bowl vs. Houston) in just its 3rd bowl appearance since. The last previous opportunity occurred back in 2018. Both teams finish the season 7-6. The Commodores played in eight games that were decided by one score in 2024, going 4-4, including the high water mark of a 40-35 win over Alabama (first since 1985) and the low point of a 36-32 loss at Georgia State. The game endured a 57-minute weather delay with 7:17 left in the game and Vandy comfortably ahead at 35-13, but the Jackets scored twice after play resumed and had an onside kick opportunity to drive for the tying score. However, that kick went out-of-bounds
Arkansas won a third straight bowl and Texas Tech had its 3-bowl winning streak snapped as the Razorbacks scored a 39-26 win over the Red Raiders in the Liberty Bowl. Arkansas jumped out to a 21-3 lead before giving up 16 unanswered points that began with the first of two safeties (each team had one) that would be scored in the game on a QB sack. Arkansas would then re-establish its dominance with a 18-0 run that included a pair of field goals of 34 and 43 yards, a 54-yard TD run, and a safety of its own on a QB sack.
Syracuse was a 52-35 winner over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl as the Orange broke a 2-bowl losing streak while the Cougs dropped a 4th consecutive bowl game. The Orange had ballooned from a 2.5-point favorite at the open to an 18.5-point favorite after head coach Jake Dickert bolted to the opposite coast (Wake Forest), QB John Mateer left for Oklahoma while several other players hit the transfer portal and several assistants were gone. Syracuse's team was pretty much intact and starting QB Kyle McCord set a new ACC single-season passing yardage record with 4,779 after a 453-yard, 5 TD night. He passed DeShaun Watson's 2016 record of 4,593 yards in the first half.
USC topped off the night with a 35-31 Las Vegas Bowl win over Texas A&M after trailing 24-7 in the 3rd quarter. Jayden Maiava, who was 22-of-39 for 295 yards, hit Kyle Ford on the game-winning touchdown for the Trojans with 8 seconds left as the lead changed hands 3 times in the final 4:30. A&M had just gone back up 31-28 with 1:49 to play. A sloppy first half ended in a 7-7 tie as Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed threw interceptions on his 2nd and 3rd drives while Maiava was picked off once and the team missed a 39-yard field goal. Maiava was picked off again in the 3rd quarter that set the Aggies up at the USC 9 and turned in to the 24-7 lead. And after pulling within 24-21, he threw a third and final pick that resulted in a missed field goal from 39 yards for A&M. Then, Maiava piloted a pair of 10-play touchdown drives of 79 and 75 yards, sandwiched around a 75-yard drive by the Aggies. Ja'Kobi Lane had 3 of Maiava's 4 TD passes and finished with 127 yards on 7 catches. USC finished 7-6 with bookend wins in Las Vegas -- the season opener over LSU and this bowl victory.
In the first of three bowl games on December 26, Toledo upended Pitt 48-46 on the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit. The 6-overtime marathon topped the 5-overtime Hawaii Bowl played just two days earlier on Christmas Eve. Pitt went down the depth chart to the only available scholarship QB, Julian Dugger who only threw 13 passes with 2 TD's, but also threw a 58-yard pick-6 interception with 7:49 to play in the game that help spur a Toledo comeback from a 10-point deficit. A 51-yard FG with 1:51 to play knotted the sore. Both teams scored in each of the first five extra periods, but Pitt failed to answer the Rocket's 2-point conversion in the sixth with a pass that hit the turf, short of the intended target. Pitt's leading rusher, Desmond Reid, ran for 169 yards and a TD on 33 carries. Dugger added a TD run of 2 yards in the first OT, and a pair of 2-point conversion passes in the extra periods. Toledo was led by regular season starting QB Tucker Gleason who had TD passes of 2 and 67 yards in the first half, an overtime 1-yard TD rush, 4 OT 2-point conversion passes, and added an OT 2-point rush.
Next, Kansas State rallied from a 34-17 second half deficit to edge Rutgers 44-41 in an unexpectedly high scoring Rate Bowl in Phoenix that had an over/under of 52. The bowl season's only B1G vs. Big 12 matchup saw the Wildcats' Dylan Edwards rush 18 times for 196 yards and 2 long TD runs of 65 and 36 yards , and catch 2 passes for 27 yards with a scoring reception of 26 yards. Avery Johnson was 15-of-30 for 195 with 3 TD passes and 1 INT, and added 57 yards with his feet and another TD. Rutgers amassed 319 yards in the first half, nut was limited to 82 after the break.
In the last game on December 26, Arkansas State sprung a 38-31 upset on Bowling Green in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile by jumping to a 10-0 1st quarter lead and keeping the Falcons at arms length for the rest of the game. The Red Wolves never trailed and the game was never tied after the quick start. BGSU pulled to within 7 with 1:42 left in the contest, but Arkansas State covered the onside kick to seal the win. Bowling Green had its chances but allowed a punt return TD, and had a field goal blocked. Bowling Green's Harold Fannin, Jr., broke the FBS single-season receiving yards record for a tight end with 1,555 yards by adding 213 yards on 17 receptions in this game.
On Christmas Eve, USF won a 5-overtime Hawaii Bowl, 41-39, over San Jose State as both teams finished the season at 7-6. The Bulls improved to 11-1 in overtime games and 8-4 in bowl games with a second straight bowl win. The Spartans lost a fourth straight bowl game and ended the season on a 5-game losing streak over-all. San Jose State battled back from a 21-10 halftime deficit and took a 27-24 lead with 11:14 to play. There would be no more scoring until John Cannon connected on a 41-yard field goal that ricocheted off the upright and forced OT. The game finally ended on an incomplete pass by the Spartans in the bottom of the 5th extra period.
On Monday, December 23, the UTSA played the role of the bully and kicked sand in Coastal Carolina's face with a 44-15 rout in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The win is the second bowl game victory in a row for UTSA, who beat Marshall in the 2023 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl last year. Coastal Carolina finished the season with a losing record for the first time since 2019. The Roadrunners split their 513 total yards evenly between rushing (257) and passing (256).
The second game saw Northern Illinois prevail 28-20 in double-overtime against Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The bowl loss was the first since 2014 for the Bulldogs who had won 5 in-a-row. It was the second straight bowl victory for the Huskies who, prior to their 2023 win, has lost 7 in-a-row dating back to 2012. Fresno State fell to 6-7 on the season which it played entirely under interim head coach Tom Skipper after Jeff Tedford resigned in the summer for medical reasons. Former North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz (2019-2023) was named head coach on December 4. Entz spent 2024 on the USC staff as the assistant head coach of the defense and linebackers coach.
Saturday, December 21 was dedicated to the College Football Playoff with (11) SMU at (6) Penn State, (12) Clemson at (5) Texas and (9) Tennessee at (8) Ohio State.
The first game was a blowout that left the valley happy with a Penn State 38-10 win over SMU. Kevin Jennings had a rough outing at QB for the Mustangs, throwing a pair of pick-6's and 3 interceptions altogether.
The mismatch followed Friday night's opening game between 7-seed Notre Dame and 10-seed Indiana at South Bend where the final score was 27-17, but only because the Hoosiers managed to score 13 points inside the final 90 seconds of the game.
And nothing got more interesting on Saturday.
In Austin, Texas and Clemson were tied at 7 after the first quarter, but the Longhorns opened a 28-10 halftime lead. Yes, the Tigers pulled to within seven early in the fourth but Texas put to rest any angst of its fans by stretching the lead back out to14 just 55 seconds later and won the game, 38-24..
Could Saturday night's Tennessee-Ohio State game save the day by providing some intrigue? That's a hard no. This one was 21-0 after the first quarter, and after the Vols won the second quarter 10-0 to tease us with some hope of a tight contest, it was all Buckeyes after that with a 21-0 spurt that put the game out of reach at 42-10 with 10:53 still left to play. The Vols finally dinged the scoreboard again with 1:56 to play for the 42-17 final.
Penn State will face No. 3 seed Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve, while the other winners will all play on New Year's Day. Texas will take on 4-seed Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl to start the day, followed by Ohio State against 1-seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and Notre Dame will encounter 2-seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl nightcap. The Rose Bowl will be a rematch of a regular season 32-31 win at home by the Ducks over the Buckeyes on October 12.
The last of three games on December 20 was the first salvo in the new 12-team college football playoff which also featured the first time any game in the playoff era (2014-present) was hosted on the home field of one of the participants. 7-seed Notre Dame was the lucky draw for that and the Irish rolled Indiana 27-17. Looking back, the turning point came early when Notre Dame avoided falling behind after Riley Leonard threw an interception on the second play of the game. The Irish responded by returning the favor with their own interception of Kurtis Rourke at the ND 2-yard line. That's 6 total plays in the game and 2 interceptions, The next play was a 98-yard TD run by Jeremiyah Love - and the game was over. Indiana had blown its chance to score first. Notre Dame responded with a grand slam home run. An Indiana had to punt after six plays on its ensuing possession, and the Irish followed with a 16-play, 83-yard drive to another TD (Jadarian Price, 2-yard run). The Irish were able to stretch the lead to 27-3 with a pair of Mitch Jeter field goals (49 and 33) and a Leonard 5-yard TD pass to Jayden Thomas with 4:50 left to play. Two late scores in the final 1:27 by Indiana (TD, 2-point conversion, successful onside kick, TD) helped the final score look more respectable, but when the 2-point conversion pass after the second TD tipped off the fingers of the receiver with 25 seconds left, this one was in the books. Riley's TD run was a season school record 15th by a QB.
In the early afternoon game on December 20, MAC Champion Ohio secured its first 11-win season (11-3) and a third straight season of 10+ wins, with a 30-27 Cure Bowl victory in Orlando over CUSA Champion Jax State (9-5). It could have also been called "The Smith Bowl" as the Bobcats were led by Brian Smith and the Gamecocks were led by Rod Smith. At Ohio, Brian Smith had just been named the official head coach two days earlier, having previously been given the "interim" tag when Tim Albin resigned to take the same role at Charlotte. He was the AHC and OC under Albin. For Jax State, Rod Smith was serving in an interim capacity after Rich Rodriguez resigned to return to West Virginia for a second stint as head. It was Ohio's first MAC title since 1968, followed by its sixth straight bowl win. Jax State won its first conference title in just its second season in the FBS.
The Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa came next and the home state team, the Florida Gators, ended an 8-5 campaign with a 33-8 rout of Tulane (9-5) to break a 3-bowl losing streak. The Green Wave lost a second straight bowl game and ended the season on a 3-game losing streak where they were outscored by a combined 102-46.
In the lone bowl game on December 19, Sam Houston scored a 31-26 upset over Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl. The Bearkats claimed a bowl win in their second season in the FBS and reached the 10-win milestone (10-3) while the Eagles fell to 8-5. Georgia Southern fell to 3-4 all-time in bowl games. Sam Houston played the game under interim head coach Brad Cornelsen, the offensive coordinator under KC Keeler who left to take the same position at Temple. Phil Longo was hired to replace Keeler. It's the second straight season that this bowl game was won by a school making its first appearance as a FBS program after Jax State downed Louisiana, 34-31, last year. Both Sam Houston and Jax State officially joined the FBS on July 1, 2023.
In the first of two bowl games on December 18, James Madison outdueled Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Dukes broke a 17-17 tie with 9:20 to go in the game on a 21-yard TD pass from Billy Atkins to Taylor Thompson, and added a 25-yard field goal with 1:57 to play. JMU finished 9-4 in the first season under head coach Bob Chesney who replaced Curt Cignetti when he left to take the Indiana job. The loss ended the Hilltoppers 3-bowl winning streak and drop them to 2-1 in Boca Raton bowls. It was JMU's first bowl win in its second-ever appearance after falling 31-21 to Air Force in last season's Armed Forces Bowl. WKU had at least 27 players enter the transfer portal since the loss to Jax State in the CUSA Championship game, but had starting QB Caden Veltkamp while the Dukes were without Alonza Barnett III after he was injured in the season finale loss to Marshall. Billy Atkins got his first start since 2022 completed 16-of-23 passes for 181 yards and that go-ahead TD that was his first since October 22, 2022 against Marshall. The nation's top team in turnover margin won that battle 3-0 to finish the season at +20, gaining 29 and losing just 9.
The second game took us to the other left coast for the L.A. Bowl, hosted by Gronk and saw UNLV get its first bowl win since the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl. UNLV is now 3-3 on the field in bowl games. Technically, the Rebels are 4-2 as the 1984 California Bowl loss to Toledo was later forfeited by the Rockets. The 24-13 victory in this game over Cal lifted the Rebels' final record to 11-3 on the season, marking the first time the school has had a double-digit win season as a FBS team. Cal fell to 6-7 on the season and 12-13-1 in bowl games. The Bears had already lost head coach Barry Odom to Purdue, starting QB Frenando Mendoza to the portal. and backup Chandler Rogers to injury in the 38-6 season finale loss to SMU. They nearly ran out of quarterbacks in this one as CJ Harris left with an injury in the 3rd quarter and the team was left with freshman EJ Caminong. Still, UNLV only led 14-13 at the half. QB Hajj-Malik Williams threw a pair of TD passes for the Rebels, Kylin James ran for the other, and Jacob De Jesus had 137 all-purpose yards. Dan Mullen will be the HC at UNLV next season.
Memphis never trailed in the Frisco Bowl, but had to outlast West Virginia, 42-37, as QB Seth Henigan threw for 294 yards and a pair of touchdowns while adding 61 on the ground. Demeer Blankumsee had 4 receptions for 120, including an 18-yard TD in the final minute of the first half and ensuing 2-point conversion pass. The Tigers built a 17-0 lead in the first 19:14 of the game, but WVU, playing under interim head coach Chad Scott, fought back - and did so repeatedly all night. Garrett Greene threw the game-sealing interception, but finished with 328 yards and 2 TD's, both of which went to Hudson Clement who hauled in 11 catches for 166 yards. Memphis evened it's bowl games record at 8-8 with a fourth straight win, and finished the season at 11-2. West Virginia dropped to 6-7 on the year, and fell to 17-24 in bowl games. Rich Rodriguez returns as the new head coach in Morgantown next season, 17 seasons after his first stint ended.
The 2024 Bowl Season began on December 14 with the Salute To Veterans Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama (aka, the Camellia Bowl) with Sun Belt member South Alabama (7-6) knocking off the MAC member Western Michigan (6-7) 30-23. It was the first meeting of the two programs. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Bishop Davenport was 15-of-24 for 271 yards and 2 TD's, and added 85 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries. Redshirt senior wide receiver Jeremiah Webb broke the bowl record for receiving yards in the first half, en route to a 182-yard performance on the night with 2 TD's and 6 receptions. Kentrel Bullock fan for a score and led all rushers with 130 yards on 17 carries. It was the only the fifth bowl appearance all-time for South Alabama which began playing football in 2009 and gained full FBS status in 2013. The following year, the Jaguars played in the first Camellia Bowl and lost 33-28 to Bowling Green. They would lose their first three bowl games before breaking through with a 59-10 rout of Eastern Michigan in last season's 68 Venture Bowl in Mobile. This year's bowl appearance was their third consecutive, and they've now improved to 2-3 all-time in these postseason games, including 1-1 in Montgomery. The win also improved the Sun Belt to 8-3 in the Camellia Bowl. The bowl victory over Western Michigan comes in the first season with Major Applewhite as head coach, replacing Kane Wommack who resigned to become the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach on Kalen DeBoer's staff at Alabama. Western Michigan falls to 2-10 all-time in bowl games.
The bowl games and playoff were originally able to accommodate all 82 teams that were qualified (minimum 6 wins) for postseason play with no need to fill slots with special qualifiers, such as the Academic Progress report. But on December, six days after all of the matchups were announced, Marshall had to back out of it's Independence Bowl commitment to play Army. After failing to retain head coach Charles Huff, who subsequently left for the same job at Southern Miss, the school lost a healthy contingent of players to the portal and NFL draft declaration. Louisiana Tech, a 5-7 team from Conference USA, agreed to replace the Sun Belt champion Herd (10-3).
The ACC and SEC led all conferences with 13 bowls for each conference, followed by the B1G with 12, and the Big 12 with 9. The Group of Five conferences were paced by the American with 8, followed by the Sun Belt and MAC with 7 each. The MWC and CUSA each have 5 while 1 spot went to Washington State of the depleted PAC-12 after all but the Cougars and Oregon State found homes in other conferences in the offseason.
Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington moved to the B1G, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah went to the Big 12 and Cal and Stanford moved to the ACC, which also welcomed SMU from the American.
Meanwhile, Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC, Army entered the American, and Kennesaw moved up from the FCS to join CUSA..
Interestingly, three of those above-mentioned conference championships were won by one of the new members. The B1G went to Oregon, the Big 12 to Arizona State, and the American to Army. It was Army's first conference title, and Arizona State's first outright title since winning the PAC-12 in 1996 (shared with USC in 2007).
Two more newcomers were only ousted in their respective title games by last-second, or overtime defeats. SMU fell 34-31 on a 56-yard walk-off field to goal to Clemson in the ACC title game, and Texas lost 22-19 in overtime to Georgia in the SEC Championship.
Jacksonville State claimed the CUSA title in just its second season as a FBS team, and its first year of being eligible for the conference title.
Ohio won the MAC for the first time since 1968, and ended an 0-5 mark in prior MAC Championship game appearances (1997-present).
Boise State won a 2nd straight Mountain West title after appearing in its 7th conference championship game in the last 8 years.
Marshall won the Sun Belt in its third season in the league to grab its first conference title since 2014 in the CUSA.
Massachusetts - Joined FBS in 2012. Played in 1964 Tangerine Bowl when that game was a College Division game. Lost 14-13 to East Carolina.
Kennesaw - New to FBS in 2024
Sam Houston - 2nd season in FBS - Won 31-26 over Georgia Southern in the New Orleans Bowl
Of the teams that made it this year, these had the longest wait to get back to a bowl game: In Indiana's case, it was the College Football Playoff (lost) vs. Notre Dame).
Nebraska, 2016
Colorado State, 2017
Vanderbilt, 2018
Navy, 2019
Colorado, 2020
Indiana, 2020
Army, 2021
Arizona State, 2021
Charlotte, 0-1 - Uninvited this year
Louisiana-Monroe, 0-1 - Uninvited this year
James Madison, 1-1 - Downed Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl.
This teams have the longest continuing current streak of bowl absence:
Louisiana-Monroe, 2012
New Mexico, 2016
Akron, 2017
Stanford, 2018
Charlotte, 2019
Virginia, 2019
FIU, 2019
Temple, 2019
FAU, 2020
Louisiana Tech, 2020
These teams have the longest continuing current streaks of bowl appearances:
Georgia, 28
Oklahoma, 26
Alabama, 21
Clemson, 20 - Excludes appearance in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs at Texas which was not a traditional bowl game.
These teams had their bowl appearance streak snapped this year:
Wisconsin, 22
Oklahoma State, 18
These teams have the most consecutive bowl victories (last season of a bowl loss in parenthesis).
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
Minnesota, 8 (2013) - Won 24-10 over Virginia Tech in the Duke's Mayo Bowl
Ohio, 6 (2016) - Won 30-27 over Jax State in the Cure Bowl
Air Force, 5 (2015)
Northwestern, 5 (2015) - Uninvited this year
Buffalo, 4 (2018) - Won 26-7 over Liberty in the Bahamas Bowl.
Memphis, 4 (2019) - Won 42-37 over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl.
Arkansas, 3 (2016) - Won 39-26 over Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl.
Georgia State, 3 (2019) - Uninvited this year
Maryland, 3 (2014) - Uninvited this year
Navy, 3 (2016) - Won 21-20 over Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Winning streaks snapped this year:
- Duke, 5 (2014) - Lost 52-20 to Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl.
- Georgia, 5 (2018) - Lost 23-10 to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
- Fresno State, 5 (2014) - Lost 28-20 (2 OT) to Northern Illinois in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
- Texas Tech, 3 (2017) - Lost 39-26 to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl.
- Washington, 3 (2018) - Lost 35-34 to Louisville in the Sun Bowl.
- Western Kentucky, 3 (2020) - Lost 27-17 to James Madison in the Boca Raton Bowl.
These teams have the most consecutive bowl losses (last season of a bowl win in parenthesis).
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
North Texas, 7 (2013) - Lost 30-28 to Texas State in the First Responder Bowl.
UTEP, 7 (1967) - Uninvited this year
Indiana, 6 (1991) - Excludes 27-17 loss at Notre Dame in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
Miami, FLA, 6 (2016) - Lost 42-41 to Iowa State in the Pop Tarts Bowl.
Colorado, 5 (2004) - Lost 36-14 to BYU in the Alamo Bowl
Colorado State, 5 (2013) - Lost 43-17 to Miami (O) in the Arizona Bowl
Utah, 5 (2017) - Uninvited this year
Auburn, 4 (2018) - Uninvited this year
Bowling Green, 4 (2014) - Lost 38-31 to Arkansas State in 68 Venture Bowl.
North Carolina, 5 (2019) - Lost 27-14 to UConn in the Fenway Bowl
NC State, 5 (2017) - Lost 26-21 to East Carolina in the Military Bowl
San Jose State, 4 (2015) - Lost 41-39 in 5 overtimes to USF in the Hawaii Bowl.
SMU, 4 (2012) - Excludes 38-10 loss at Penn State in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
Washington State, 4 (2018) - Lost 52-35 to Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl
Cincinnati, 3 (2019) - Uninvited this year
Liberty, 3 (2021) - Lost 26-7 to Buffalo in the Bahamas Bowl.
Oklahoma, 3 (2021) - Lost 21-20 to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl
Losing streaks snapped last year:
Connecticut, 3 (2009) - Won 27-14 over North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl
Florida, 3 (2019) - Won 33-8 over Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Illinois, 3 (2011) - Won 21-17 over South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl
(Minimum 20 appearances and .600 win pct.)
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
Oklahoma State, 22-12 (.647) - Uninvited this year
Mississippi, 27-15 (.643) - Won 52-20 over Duke in the Gator Bowl.
USC, 37-21 (.638) - Won 35-31 over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Utah, 17-10 (.630) - Uninvited this year
Georgia, 36-21-3 (.625) - Lost 23-10 to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl
Alabama, 43-26-3 (.618) - Lost 19-13 to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Florida State, 29-18-2 (.612) - Uninvited this year
Penn State, 32-20-2 (.611) - Excludes 38-10 home win over SMU in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
-- Includes 41-21 win over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Syracuse, 17-11-1 (.603) - Won 52-35 over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
Bubbling under .600:
Boise State, 13-9 (.591) - Lost 31-14 to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl
Mississippi State, 15-11 (.577) - Uninvited this year
LSU, 31-24-1 (.563) - Won 44-3 over Baylor in the Texas Bowl.
Texas, 32-26-2 (.559) - Excludes 38-24 home win over Clemson in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
--- Includes a 39-31 win in double-OT over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl in the 2nd round of the CFP Playoffs
Georgia Tech, 26-21 (.553) - Lost 35-27 to Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl.
Air Force, 16-13-1 (.55500) - Uninvited this year
Tennessee, 31-25 (.554) - Excludes 42-17 loss at Ohio State in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
Oklahoma, 31-26-1 (.543) - Lost 21-20 to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.
NOTE: Excludes CFP Championship. All teams listed are playing in a bowl game this year, unless otherwise noted.
Alabama, 43 - Lost 19-13 to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
USC, 37 - Won 35-31 over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Georgia, 36 - Lost 23-10 to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
Penn State, 32 - Excludes 38-10 home win over SMU in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
-- Includes 41-21 win over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Texas, 32 - Excludes 38-24 home win over Clemson in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
--- Includes a 39-31 win in double-OT over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl in the 2nd round of the CFP Playoffs
Oklahoma, 31 - Lost 21-20 to Navy in the Amred Forces Bowl.
Tennessee, 31 - Excludes 42-17 loss at Ohio State in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
LSU, 31 - Won 44-3 over Baylor in the Texas Bowl.
Florida State, 29 - Uninvited this year
Mississippi, 27 - Won 52-20 over Duke in the Gator Bowl.
Nebraska, 27 - Won 20-15 over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Georgia Tech, 26 - Lost 35-27 to Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl.
Ohio State, 26 - Excludes 42-17 home win over Tennessee in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
-- Includes a 41-21 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl in the 2nd round of the CFP Playoffs.
Clemson, 25 - Lost 38-24 at Texas in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs which was not a traditional bowl game.
Florida, 25 - Won 33-8 over Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl
Auburn, 24 - Uninvited this year
Michigan, 23 - Won 19-13 over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Notre Dame 22 - Excludes 27-17 home win over Indiana in 1st round of the CFP Playoffs, which was not a traditional bowl game.
-- Includes 23-10 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in the 2nd round of the CFP Playoffs.
Oklahoma State, 22 - Uninvited this year
OREGON - Won 18 straight regular season games. Had won 14 straight over-all.
Last: College Football Playoff No. 1 seed lost 41-21 to No. 8 seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, January 1.
Next: Hosts Montana State (FCS) on Saturday, August 30
GEORGIA - Won 31 straight home games.
Last: College Football Playoff No. 2 seed lost 23-10 to No. 7 seed Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, January 2.
Next: Hosts Marshall on Saturday, August 30.
BOISE STATE - Won 12 straight conference games. (Tied with Army)
Last: College Football Playoff No. 3 seed lost 31-14 to No. 6 seed Penn State in Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, December 31.
Next: Visits USF on Saturday August 30.
ARMY - Won 12 straight conference games. (Tied with Boise State)
Last: Won 27-6 over Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl on December 28.
Next: Hosts Tarleton State (FCS) on Saturday, August 30
TEXAS - Won 11 straight true road games (at opposition venue).
Last: College Football Playoff No. 5 seed won 39-31 over 4-seed Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Wednesday, January 1.
Next: Plays No. 8 seed Ohio State in the Cotton playoff semifinal on Friday, January 10.
SMU - Had won 10 straight true road games (at opposition venue) - second to Texas.
Last: College Football Playoff No. 11 seed lost 38-10 at Penn State in 1st round of the College Football Playoff on December 21.
Next: 2025 Opening opponent TBA
KENT STATE - Lost 21 straight over-all. Lost 16 straight conference games. Lost 14 straight road games. Lost 9 straight home games.
Last: Lost 43-7 at Buffalo on Tuesday November 26.
Next: Saturday, August 30 vs. Merrimack (FCS)
TEMPLE - Lost 20 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 24-17 at home to North Texas on Saturday November 30.
Next: Saturday, August 30 at UMass
FBS schools were 115-6 in FBS-FCS games this season, and are a cumulative 1,915-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there were 121 matchups scheduled between FBS and FCS schools with 119 playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
15 schools were not scheduled to play a FCS opponent. Of those fifteen schools, 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, were repeats from the list of schools in 2023 that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23