Bowl Schedule Set

December 3, 2017 by Staff

The 2017 bowl season begins on Saturday, December 16 with a 5-game slate that begins at 1 p.m. When it's all said and done, 78 teams will have taken part in 39 bowl games, followed by the National Championship Game to be played between the winners of the Sugar and Rose Bowls.

Florida State and New Mexico State were the last to become bowl eligible when they each picked up victories on Saturday.

The 'Noles will making their 36th straight appearance, though the NCAA does not recognize the streak as part of sanctions that were handed down in 2008 after as finding of "widespread academic fraud". Nonethelss, the team has suited-up and played 35 straight times, and will do so again when Florida State faces Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl. Of course, they will do so without head coach Jimbo Fisher who left for Texas A&M the day before their season finale. Odell Haggins led the team, as interim head coach, to a 41-10 win to get the 'Noles to the requisite 6-6 record necessary to be available for bowl selection.

New Mexico State is going bowling for the first time since 1960, ending the longest drought among FBS schools. All three of the Aztecs' previous bowl appearances came in the Sun Bowl in 1935, 1959 and 1960. Ironically, will they face the same school they defeated in 1960 - Utah State - in the Arizona Bowl.

The NCAA-longest recognized streak belongs to Virginia Tech. The Hokies will be making their 25th straight bowl appearance when they face Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando.

Three eligible teams were left out in the cold - Buffalo, UTSA and Western Michigan. All three have futile bowl records as the Bulls are 0-2, the upstart Roadrunners are 0-1, and the Broncos are 1-7.

See: Bowl Schedule.