The 2026–27 NCAA football bowl games are a planned series of college football bowl games in the United States, most of which will be played to complete the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive bowl games in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) will begin in mid-December 2026, and will conclude with the 2027 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 25, 2027. Several all-star games will follow.
Schedule
Division I FBS bowl games College Football Playoff bowl games
The College Football Playoff system will be used to determine a national champion of DivisionI FBS college football. This is the 13th year of the College Football Playoff era, and the third year using an expanded, 12-team format.
A committee of experts will rank the top25 FBS teams after each of the final six weeks of the regular season. Upon release of the final rankings, the four power conference champions, the highest-ranked Group of Six conference team, and the seven highest-ranked remaining teams will be selected to compete in the College Football Playoff – but Notre Dame will be included if it's ranked in the top 12. The top four ranked teams will receive a first-round bye.
The first round of four games will be played at campus sites on December18 and 19, 2026. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will played at the New Year's Six bowl games. The quarterfinal games will be played on December30, 2026, and January1, 2027, at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Cotton Bowl. The semifinal games will be played on January14 and 15, 2027, at the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The winners will advance to the 2027 College Football Playoff National Championship, to be played on January25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
All times are EST (UTC−5). + College Football Playoff gamesDateTime GameSiteTeamsAffiliationsResultsAttendanceTelevisionNetworkU.S.viewers(millions)December188:00pm On-campus(First round)TBDESPNDecember1912:00pmTBDABC / ESPN 3:30pmTBDTNT / TruTV (HBOMax)7:30pmTBD December 307:30pmFiesta Bowl(Quarterfinal)State Farm StadiumGlendale, Arizona January 112:00 / 4:00 / 8:00pmPeach Bowl(Quarterfinal)Mercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, Georgia 12:00 / 4:00 / 8:00pmRose Bowl(Quarterfinal)Rose BowlPasadena, California ABC / ESPN12:00 / 4:00 / 8:00pmCotton Bowl(Quarterfinal)AT&T StadiumArlington, TexasESPNJanuary147:30pmOrange Bowl(Semifinal)Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida TNT / TruTV (HBOMax) January 15Sugar Bowl(Semifinal)Caesars SuperdomeNew Orleans, LouisianaABC / ESPN January25 College Football PlayoffNational ChampionshipAllegiant StadiumLas Vegas, Nevada
Non-CFP bowl games For the 2026–27 bowl season, two bowl games were dropped, and two were added. The LA Bowl and the GameAbove Sports Bowl will no longer be played. The Poinsettia Bowl will return after an absence of ten years, and the Puerto Rico Bowl will be played for the first time. The Xbox Bowl was renamed to the Frisco Football Classic. The Rate Bowl was renamed to the Cactus Bowl, and changed venues from Chase Field in Phoenix to Mountain America Stadium in Tempe.
Bowl games that are not part of the College Football Playoff are listed below. Final CFP rankings, issued before these games were played, are listed where applicable.
+ Non-College Football Playoff gamesDateTimeGameSiteTeamsAffiliationsResultsAttendanceTelevisionNetworkU.S.viewers(millions)Dec155:30pmSalute to Veterans BowlCramton BowlMontgomery, Alabama ESPNDec159:00pmFrisco Football ClassicFord Center at The StarFrisco, Texas Dec1811:00amBoca Raton BowlFlagler Credit Union StadiumBoca Raton, FloridaDec182:30pmGasparilla BowlRaymond James StadiumTampa, Florida Dec2111:00amMyrtle Beach BowlBrooks StadiumConway, South Carolina Dec212:30pmFamous Idaho Potato BowlAlbertsons StadiumBoise, IdahoDec221:30pmPuerto Rico BowlJuan Ramón Loubriel StadiumBayamón, Puerto RicoDec225:00pmCure BowlAcrisure Bounce HouseOrlando, FloridaDec228:30pmIndependence BowlIndependence StadiumShreveport, LouisianaDec232:00pmNew Orleans BowlCaesars SuperdomeNew Orleans, LouisianaDec235:30pmArmed Forces BowlAmon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TexasDec237:30pmPoinsettia BowlSnapdragon StadiumSan Diego, CaliforniaThe CWDec239:00pmFrisco BowlFord Center at The StarFrisco, Texas ESPNDec242:30pmNew Mexico BowlUniversity StadiumAlbuquerque, New MexicoDec247:00pmHawaii BowlChing Athletics ComplexHonolulu, HawaiiDec2612:00pmPinstripe BowlYankee StadiumBronx, New York ABCDec262:00pmFenway BowlFenway ParkBoston, MassachusettsESPN Dec263:30pmDuke's Mayo BowlBank of America StadiumCharlotte, North CarolinaABC Dec265:30pm68 Ventures BowlHancock Whitney StadiumMobile, AlabamaESPN Dec267:30pmCactus BowlMountain America StadiumTempe, ArizonaABCDec282:00pmMilitary BowlMemorial StadiumAnnapolis, Maryland ESPN Dec285:00pmHoliday BowlSnapdragon StadiumSan Diego, CaliforniaThe CWDec292:00pmBirmingham BowlProtective StadiumBirmingham, AlabamaESPN Dec295:30pmPop-Tarts BowlCamping World StadiumOrlando, Florida Dec299:00pmAlamo BowlAlamodomeSan Antonio, TexasDec3011:30amGator BowlEverBank StadiumJacksonville, FloridaDec303:00pmMusic City BowlNissan StadiumNashville, TennesseeDec3112:00pmReliaQuest BowlRaymond James StadiumTampa, FloridaDec312:00pmSun BowlSun BowlEl Paso, TexasCBSDec313:45pmLas Vegas BowlAllegiant StadiumParadise, Nevada ESPN Dec317:30pmTexas BowlReliant StadiumHouston, TexasJan212:00pmCitrus BowlCamping World StadiumOrlando, FloridaABC Jan23:30pmFirst Responder BowlGerald J. Ford StadiumDallas, Texas Jan24:30pm Arizona BowlCasino Del Sol StadiumTucson, ArizonaThe CWJan27:30pmLiberty BowlSimmons Bank Liberty StadiumMemphis, TennesseeABC
Division I FCS bowl game
The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) has one bowl game, the Celebration Bowl. Played between HBCUs, it served as a de facto Black college football national championship.
DateTime (EST)GameSiteTelevisionTeamsAffiliationsResultsDec12NoonCelebration BowlMercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GeorgiaABCMEACSWAC
Division II bowl games
Division III bowl games
All-star games
DateTime (EST)Game SiteTelevisionParticipantsResultsRef.Hula BowlSpec Martin StadiumDeLand, FloridaTeam KaiTeam Aina East–West Shrine BowlFord Center at The StarFrisco, TexasEast TeamWest Team Senior BowlHancock Whitney StadiumMobile, AlabamaAmerican TeamNational Team HBCU Legacy BowlYulman StadiumNew Orleans, LouisianaTeam RobinsonTeam Gaither
The HBCU Legacy Bowl features players from historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). Most HBCU football programs compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) or the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which are part of FCS.
Team selections
CFP top 25 standings and bowl games
The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee is expected to announce its final team rankings for the season on December 6, 2026.
The four power conference champions, the highest-ranked Group of Six conference team, and the seven highest-ranked remaining teams will be selected to compete in the College Football Playoff – but Notre Dame will be included if it's ranked in the top 12. This is a change from the previous year, when the five highest-ranked conference champions were automatically included, with no special provision for Notre Dame. The top four ranked teams will receive a first-round bye.
Rank Team W–L Conference and standing Bowl game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
+ Unranked conference champions' bowl games Rank Team W–L Conference and standing Bowl game – – – –
Selection of teams The below lists of teams are based on team records as published by the NCAA and bowl eligibility criteria.
Bowl-eligible teams ACC (0): American (0): Big Ten (1): Winner of Indiana–Nebraska game on October 10 Big 12 (0): CUSA (0): MAC (0): Mountain West (0): Pac-12 (0): SEC (1): Winner of Georgia–Alabama game on October 10 SBC (0): Independent (0):
Number of postseason berths available: 82
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 2
Teams declining a bowl
Teams one win away from bowl eligibility ACC (2): Miami, Pittsburgh American (1): Winner of South Florida–UTSA game on October 8 Big Ten (3): Indiana, Nebraska, USC Big 12 (1): Texas Tech SEC (2): Alabama, Georgia Mountain West (1): North Dakota State Pac-12 (1): Winner of Boise State–Fresno State game on October 10 SEC (1): Winner of LSU–Kentucky game on October 10 SBC (1): James Madison Independent (1): Notre Dame
Number of teams one win away from bowl eligibility: 14
Teams two wins away from bowl eligibility ACC (4): Duke, SMU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest American (4): Florida Atlantic, Memphis, South Florida, UTSA Big Ten (5): Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, UCLA, Wisconsin Big 12 (7): Arizona, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Utah, winner of UCF–Oklahoma State game on October 10 CUSA (1): Liberty MAC (2): Toledo, winner of Central Michigan–Ohio game on October 10 Mountain West (1): New Mexico Pac-12 (2): Boise State, Fresno State SEC (8): Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, winner of Ole Miss–Vanderbilt game on October 10 SBC (2): Georgia State, Louisiana
Number of teams two wins away from bowl eligibility: 36
Teams two losses away from bowl ineligibility American (1): Charlotte MAC (1): Loser of Sacramento State–Bowling Green game on October 10 Pac-12 (2): Utah State, Washington State SBC (1): Louisiana–Monroe
Number of teams two losses away from bowl ineligibility: 5
Teams one loss away from bowl ineligibility Pac-12 (1): Loser of Washington State–Utah State game on October 9
Number of teams one loss away from bowl ineligibility: 1
Bowl-ineligible teams ACC (0): American (0): Big Ten (0): Big 12 (0): CUSA (0): MAC (0): Mountain West (0): Pac-12 (0): SEC (0): SBC (0):
Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 0
Conference performance in bowl games
CFP bowl games are denoted in bold type. First-round CFP playoff games are included, and denoted as CFP1.
ConferenceGamesWins–losses (pct.)Bowls CFP Other TotalWonLostRemaining ACC American Big 12 Big Ten CUSA MAC Mountain West Pac-12 SEC Sun Belt Independent
Berths to be determined:
Notes: As the playoff progresses, additional CFP berths will be added to this table.
Notes
References