Including the National Championship Game, there are 43 college football games scheduled to be played this bowl season. It all starts with the Myrtle Beach Bowl on December 16, and will continue through the National Championship Game on January 8, 2024.
That’s… a lot of football to watch.
Now, we don’t know exactly your schedule, dear reader, for the next few weeks. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough that you can allocate the time it will take to watch all 43 games. Assuming three hours per game – which may be accurate with commercials and extended halftime shows – that’s 129 hours of football.
That’s more than five days of football.
That’s a lot of football.
We all live busy lives. You may not have a five-day work week to devote to watching college football. So what we’ve done is selected the one match for each day of the league season that you should be sure to watch. Some days, when there is only one bowl game, the choices are easy. (Although on some of those days you might want to watch an NFL game instead, as we’ve highlighted.)
But some other days, it was very difficult.
So, without further ado, here are the best bowl games for each day of bowl season.
Saturday 16 December
Myrtle Beach Bowl
Georgia Southern (6-6) vs. Ohio (9-3) – 11:00 a.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Cricket Celebration Bowl
Howard (6-6) vs. Florida A&M (11-1) – 12:00 PM ET, ABC/ESPN App
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bull
Louisiana (6-6) vs. Jacksonville State (8-4) – 2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Avocado from Mexico Treat Bowl
Appalachian State (8-5) vs. Miami (Ohio) (11-2) – 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
Isleta island new mexico pot
New Mexico State (10-4) vs. Fresno State (8-4) – 5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Los Angeles Bowl
Boise State (8-5) vs. UCLA (7-5) – 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
Independence Bowl from Radiance Technologies
Texas Tech (6-6) vs. California (6-6) – 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN All
the Cricket Celebration Bowl It happened. Whether on or off the field. It’s the perfect way to start bowl season, as well as the holiday season in general.
Monday 18 December
The famous pot roaster
Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Old Dominion (6-6) – 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
This is the only bowl game of the day, so this is the only option you have. However, if you only have room for one soccer match that day, you may want to make that available for it Monday Night Football Between the Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Tuesday 19 December
Scooter’s Fresco Coffee Pot
Marshall (6-6) vs. UTSA (8-4) – 9:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Again, this is your only option. But UTSA is fun! So maybe check this out.
Thursday 21 December
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl
South Florida (6-6) vs. Syracuse (6-6) – 8:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
This game is against Thursday Night Football, featuring the New Orleans Saints against the Los Angeles Rams. Matthew Stafford has the Rams in the playoff hunt, and rookie WR Puka Nacua is fun to watch. Plus, Jameis Winston might be the one starting here — given Derek Carr’s injury — so Winston in the starting lineup with the Saints fighting for their lives in the playoffs? Massive content.
So you can watch that match, or a battle between 6-6 teams.
Friday 22 December
Pot Gasparilla Mortgage Union
UCF (6-6) vs. Duke (7-5) – 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Every bowl season has a day – or night – that you have to sit out. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze, or perhaps more accurately, the sadness you might feel from the rest of the family over sitting around the TV watching college football isn’t worth it.
This is that day.
Saturday 23 December
Birmingham Bowl
Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. Troy (11-2) – 12:00 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
Camellia pot
Arkansas State (6-6) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6) – 12:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces vessel
James Madison (11-1) vs. Air Force (8-4) – 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
Idaho’s famous Potato Bowl
Utah State (6-6) vs. Georgia State (6-6) – 3:30 PM ET ESPN/ESPN App
68 pot projects
South Alabama (6-6) vs. South Alabama (6-6). Eastern Michigan (6-6) – 7:00 p.m
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Northwestern (7-5) vs. Utah (8-4) – 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
EasyPost Hawaiian Bowl
San Jose State (7-5) vs. Coastal Carolina (7-5) – 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
This seems like an easy choice to us: if you only have time for one game on December 23, make it the best choice Armed forces bowl. One of the most fascinating subplots of the entire college football season comes to us from James Madison. At one point that year, the Dukes were 10-0, threatening legal action against the NCAA to become tournament eligible. Why? Since the school is in its second year of transitioning to the FBS from the FCS, under current rules, these schools are ineligible for bowl games for two years.
However, when not enough teams qualify for a bowl game, exceptions are made. James Madison is now headed to his first game in school history, as Jacksonville State is under a similar exception. So tune in to see the Dukes in their first test of postseason play with the FBS.
Tuesday 26 December
Quick Lean Bowl
Bowling Green (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7) – 2:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
SERVPRO First Response Bowl
Texas State (7-5) vs. Rice (6-6) – 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Pot at a guaranteed price
Kansas (8-4) vs. UNLV (9-4) – 9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
There is no doubt about this: No Pot at a guaranteed price Between Kansas and UNLV it has the potential to be one of the best non-NY6 bowl games this bowl season. Both teams come with fun and exciting attacks with dynamic talent. RB Devin Neal leads Kansas with an offense that can go toe-to-toe with anyone, and Ricky White is one of the best players in the Big Five. You will get a lot of points in this game, so fasten your seat belt and have fun. Oh yeah, and that’s also borderline #AfterDark for those of us who live on the East Coast. Things are going to get weird.
If you want any consolation prize, that’s it First responder pot Between Texas State and Rice it should be a lot of fun too. GJ Kinne took over the Bobcats and in his first year turned them into an offense that could add points to anyone. They will face Mike Bloomgren and Rice, who somehow managed to gain eligibility but have some interesting players in this offense as well.
Wednesday 27 December
Military Bowl brought to you by GoBowling.com
Tulane (11-2) vs. Virginia Tech (6-6) – 2:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Duke mayonnaise bowl
North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4) – 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
DirecTV Holiday Bowl
Louisville (10-3) vs. USC (7-5) – 8:00 p.m. ET, FOX
TaxAct Texas Bowl
Oklahoma State (9-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5) – 9:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
The choice here may simply depend on who is playing and who is sitting.
We already knew Caleb Williams would sit out the Holiday Bowl. But if you have a burning desire to see some draft-eligible quarterbacks, you have options in both Military bowl And the Duke mayonnaise bowl. At the start of the game, Tulane QB Michael Pratt could play for the Green Wave in his final college game, and he is an intriguing QB in the upcoming draft who has already accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl.
However, in Duke mayonnaise bowl You have UNC quarterback Drake Maye, who has a path to becoming the starting quarterback next spring.
But he sits out too.
Given that, watch TaxAct Texas Bowl By default for some late night events.
Thursday 28 December
Fenway Wasabi Bowl
SMU (11-2) vs. Boston College (6-6) – 11:00 a.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Miami (7-5) vs. Rutgers (6-6) – 2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Pop-Tarts Bowl
NC State (9-3) vs. Kansas State (8-4) – 5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Valero Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma (10-2) vs. Arizona (9-3) – 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
the Valero Alamo Bowl It’s almost always a very entertaining game between two teams that came close to winning their conferences but didn’t, and each game is usually bananas. It looks like this year will be no different, as the matchup will be between Oklahoma and Arizona. The Wildcats are in the midst of a breakout year, with an offense led by WR Tetairoa McMillian and cocky QB Noah Fifita. Coach Jedd Fisch has finally moved Arizona to a place where they can win games with an explosive offense. They face Oklahoma, who despite not having QB Dillon Gabriel, will be interesting in the bowl game. With Gabriel moving on, this is not the time for Jackson-Arnold. The former five-star QB is making his first real start in a ballgame, and I’m excited to see how he looks.
Friday 29 December
TaxSlayer Crocodile Pot
Clemson (8-4) vs. Kentucky (7-5) – 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
Tony the Tiger Sun Ball
Notre Dame (9-3) vs. Oregon State (8-4) – 2:00 p.m. ET, CBS
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Iowa State (7-5) vs. Memphis (9-3) – 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
new Year Cotton pot classic
Ohio State (11-1) vs. Missouri (10-2) – 8:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
the Cotton pot It will likely start the game without some of Ohio State’s stars, like wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., but Missouri has been one of the most surprising teams of the entire college football season, and it will be a huge story if the Tigers walk out of the Cotton Bowl with a victory.
Saturday 30 December
Chick-fil-A Peach bowl
Penn State (10-2) vs. Mississippi (10-2) – 12:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Auburn (6-6) vs. Maryland (7-5) – 2:00 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
Capital One Orange bowl
Florida State (13-0) vs. Georgia (12-1) – 4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Toledo (11-2) vs. Wyoming (8-4) – 4:30 p.m. ET, CW/Barstool Sports Streaming
James Franklin is 4-4 in bowl games during his time at Penn State.
Lane Kiffin is 2-4 in bowl games during his time at Mississippi State.
One of these coaches achieves a decisive victory in Peach bowl.
Monday 1 January
Real Quest Bowl
LSU (9-3) vs. Wisconsin (7-5) – 12:00 PM ET, ESPN2/ESPN app
Frbo Eid bowl
Oregon (11-2) vs. Liberty (13-0) – 1:00 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Cheese It Citrus Bowl
Iowa (10-3) vs. Tennessee (8-4) – 1:00 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App
CFP semifinals in Flower pot Game
Michigan (13-0) vs. Michigan (13-0). Alabama (12-1) – 5:00 p.m
CFP semifinals at Allstate Sugary
Washington (13-0) vs. Texas (12-1) – 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN app
You would think we’d be writing about CFP semifinals, right? incorrect! The stoppable force meets the moving body at Citrus bowl, with Iowa facing Tennessee. These two teams have their own tricks: Tennessee has a super-spread, over-the-top RPO attack that takes advantage of spacing in the college game. Iowa… kicks a lot and plays very good defense. Tennessee QB Joe Milton can throw the ball over mountains, but Iowa’s Tory Taylor can throw the ball over those same mountains. Something has to give.
Monday 8 January
CFP National Championship presented by AT&T
Winner of Michigan/Alabama vs. Washington/Texas Winner – 7:30 p.m
Yes, this one is beautiful in itself.
As the college football season comes to a close, anticipation is building for the postseason championship schedule for the 2023-2024 season. With a lineup of thrilling matchups and one game to watch each day, football fans are gearing up for an exciting week of college football action. From the highly-anticipated playoff games to the championship showdown, the schedule is packed with must-see games that are sure to keep fans on the edge of their seats. Whether you’re rooting for your favorite team or just love the excitement of postseason football, this schedule has something for everyone. Here’s a look at the championship schedule and the top game to watch each day.