Bowl game schedule today: Breaking down the five college football bowl matchups on Dec. 31

The main event of New Year’s week starts Tuesday night when the quarterfinal round of the new 12-team College Football Playoff gets underway with Penn State and Boise State meeting in the Fiesta Bowl. Before that, however, there’s a solid undercard to whet your appetite for the game that will ring in 2025.



Tuesday’s pre-playoff lineup features four bowl games, with the Sunshine and Lone Star States featured prominently. This foursome of contests involves plenty of name-brand football programs, though they’d all undoubtedly rather be playing later in the week.

Nevertheless, here’s a look at the teams on the slate that will help you plan your day of gridiron viewing.


ReliaQuest Bowl - No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan

Time/TV/location: Noon ET, ESPN, Tampa, Fla.


Why watch: It’s a juicy pairing from the standpoint of being a rematch of a playoff semifinal from a year ago, but it pretty much goes without saying that neither squad is delighted to be here. The Crimson Tide are likely the more disgruntled of the two having been the last team on the outside looking into the expanded field. The Wolverines showed some fight down the stretch by taking down Ohio State, but many of the players on both sides of the ball responsible for that won’t be taking part. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe will play, though whether he’ll be back next season remains the subject of speculation. Nevertheless, his presence here is good news for standout freshman WR Ryan Williams. Michigan’s top RBs Kalil Mullings and Donovan Edwards will be sitting out, which will limit QB Davis Warren’s options.





Sun Bowl - Louisville vs. Washington

Time/TV/location: 2 p.m. ET, CBS, El Paso, Texas.


Why watch: Oh what might have been for Louisville, which won at Clemson in dominant fashion and came within a touchdown of toppling Notre Dame but somehow let a win inexplicably get away at lowly Stanford. The Cardinals will now be shorthanded for this contest with QB Tyler Shough and WR Ja’Corey Brooks off to the draft. The offense will be in the hands of Harrison Bailey, who has made only mop-up appearances in 2024 but did complete all eight of his pass attempts. The Huskies had a few highlights in their first season in the Big Ten but for the most part didn’t enjoy life away from the west coast. Freshman Demond Williams took over QB duties late in the season and will keep the job in the bowl.

Why it could disappoint:

A series of miscues by inexperienced hands could allow this one to get away for either squad. But it’s hard to discern a distinct talent advantage either way, so hopefully things will be competitive.

Citrus Bowl - No. 14 South Carolina vs. No. 21 Illinois

Time/TV/location: 3 p.m. ET, ABC, Orlando, Fla.

Why watch: On its face, this presents as a solid matchup of power conference contenders with identical records. It might unfold that way, but the Gamecocks come in as favorites after finishing as one of the hottest teams in the SEC. They’ll hope for another strong outing from dynamic freshman QB LaNorris Sellers to get a jump start on next season. Unfortunately, he will not have draft-eligible RB Raheim Sanders with him in the backfield one more time, but WRs Mazeo Bennett and Nyck Harbor could be utilized often. Fighting Illini QB Luke Altmyer is a go, but his top target WR Pat Bryant is opting out. That will likely mean frequent targets for WR Zakhari Franklin.

Why it could disappoint: The Gamecocks fared much better against the top tier of their conference, while the Illini won their share of games in the Big Ten but weren’t particularly close to knocking off Penn State or Oregon. That may or may not be a harbinger here, but if there is a mismatch it would figure to go South Carolina’s way.


Texas Bowl - Baylor vs. LSU

Time/TV/location: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Houston



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