The 2023–24 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games in the United States, primarily played to complete the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive bowl games in FBS began on December 16 and concluded with the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 8, 2024, which was won by the Michigan Wolverines. The all-star portion began on January 13 and concluded on February 24.
| 2023–24 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of bowls |
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| All-star games | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl games | December 16, 2023 – January 8, 2024[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Championship | 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location of Championship | NRG Stadium Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champions | Michigan Wolverines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Challenge Cup winner | Big Ten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule edit
The schedule for the 2023–24 bowl games, announced in May 2023, is below. All times listed using EST (UTC−5).
Division I FBS bowl games edit
College Football Playoff bowl games edit
– National Championship, 
– Semifinal Bowl, 
– Non-semifinal bowlThe College Football Playoff system is used to determine a national championship of Division I FBS college football. A committee of experts ranked the top 25 teams in the nation after each of the last seven weeks of the regular season. The top four teams[c] in the final ranking are then seeded in a single-elimination semifinal round, with the winners advanced to the National Championship game. This playoff was the last to use a four-team bracket, with the College Football Playoff set to expand to 12 teams in 2024.[2]
The semifinal games for the 2023 season were the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. Both were played on January 1, 2024, as part of a yearly rotation of three pairs of two bowls, commonly referred to as the New Year's Six bowl games. The winners advanced to the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship that was contested on January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
On December 3, 2023, the College Football Playoff committee announced that it had selected Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama to participate in the 2023–24 College Football Playoff. The committee's decision to select the Southeastern Conference's (SEC) Alabama (12–1) instead of the Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) Florida State (13–0), who became the first undefeated Power Five conference team to not qualify for the playoff, received intense criticism from fans, writers, and commentators. Specifically, several of these viewers accused the committee of corruption, bias, and favoritism towards the SEC.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The CFP committee chair and others defended the selection of Alabama, which defeated five ranked teams (compared to Florida State's three) during the season, including No. 1 ranked Georgia in the last game of the SEC season, saying that Alabama was currently the better team overall.[10][11][12][13]
| Semifinals | Championship | |||||||
| January 1 – Rose BowlRose Bowl, Pasadena | ||||||||
| 1 | Michigan (OT) | 27 | ||||||
| 4 | Alabama | 20 | January 8 – National ChampionshipNRG Stadium, Houston | |||||
| 1 | Michigan | 34 | ||||||
| January 1 – Sugar BowlCaesars Superdome, New Orleans | 2 | Washington | 13 | |||||
| 2 | Washington | 37 | ||||||
| 3 | Texas | 31 | ||||||
Each of the games in the following table was televised by ESPN.
- † Semifinal teams were chosen by the selection committee.
- ‡ Semifinal winners advanced to the championship game.
Non-CFP bowl games edit
Several bowl name changes were made, as compared to the prior season's bowl games:
- Due to construction at its normal stadium, the Bahamas Bowl was temporarily relocated to North Carolina and branded as the Famous Toastery Bowl per its title sponsor.[15]
- Due to a change in title sponsor, the LendingTree Bowl was renamed as the 68 Ventures Bowl.[16]
- Sponsor Kellogg's (renamed Kellanova in October 2023, after the company's North American cereal business was spun off as the WK Kellogg Co[17][18]) renamed the Cheez-It Bowl as the Pop-Tarts Bowl.[19]
Rankings are per the final CFP rankings that were released on December 3.
Division I FCS bowl game edit
The Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) has one bowl game, played between HBCUs, which acts as a de facto Black college football national championship. The FCS also has a postseason bracket tournament that culminates in the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 16 | 12:00 p.m. | Celebration Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia | USA: ABC Canada: TSN2 | Florida A&M (11–1) Howard (6–5) | SWAC MEAC | Florida A&M 30 Howard 26 |
Division II bowl games edit
There were four bowl games, which featured teams that did not qualify for the Division II postseason tournament.
The schedule included the inaugural edition of the Florida Beach Bowl, contested between teams from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), two conferences mostly consisting of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).[20]
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1 | 7:00 p.m. | America's Crossroads Bowl | Hammond Central High School Hammond, Indiana | No broadcast | McKendree (5–5) Ashland (8–3) | GLVC GMAC | Ashland 23 McKendree 20 |
| Dec. 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Live United Bowl | Arkansas High School Texarkana, Arkansas | Southern Arkansas (9–2) Missouri Western (8–3) | GAC MIAA | Southern Arkansas 43 Missouri Western 27 | |
| Dec. 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Heritage Bowl | Tiger Stadium Corsicana, Texas | Southern Nazarene (6–5) Emporia State (8–3) | GAC MIAA | Emporia State 55 Southern Nazarene 24 | |
| Dec. 13 | 7:30 p.m. | Florida Beach Bowl | DRV PNK Stadium Fort Lauderdale, Florida | HBCU Go | Johnson C. Smith (7–3) Fort Valley State (7–3) | CIAA SIAC | Fort Valley State 23 Johnson C. Smith 10 |
Division III bowl games edit
Division III had 13 bowl games, featuring teams that did not qualify for the Division III postseason tournament.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18 | 11:00 a.m. | Centennial-MAC Bowl Series | Campus sites | Franklin & Marshall (7–3) King's (PA) (8–2) | Centennial MAC | Franklin & Marshall 30 King's (PA) 7 | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Muhlenberg (9–1) Lebanon Valley (6–4) | Muhlenberg 23 Lebanon Valley 7 | |||||
| Whitelaw Bowl | RPI (7–3) Widener (7–3) | Liberty MAC | RPI 49 Widener 21 | ||||
| Lynah Bowl | Washington & Jefferson (8–2) Merchant Marine (7–2) | PAC NEWMAC | Washington & Jefferson 46 Merchant Marine 21 | ||||
| New England Bowl | Salve Regina (8–2) Anna Maria (5–4) | NEWMAC ECFC | Salve Regina 37 Anna Maria 34 | ||||
| Western New England (7–3) UMass Dartmouth (9–1) | CCC MASCAC | Western New England 37 UMass Dartmouth 7 | |||||
| Cape Henry Bowl | Wilkes (4–6) Bridgewater (7–3) | Landmark ODAC | Wilkes 35 Bridgewater 17 | ||||
| Cape Charles Bowl | Lycoming (4–6) Washington & Lee (8–2) | Lycoming 20 Washington & Lee 17 | |||||
| Cousin Subs Lakefront Bowl | Raabe Stadium Wauwatosa, Wisconsin | Monmouth (IL) (8–2) St. Norbert (7–3) | MWC NACC | Monmouth (IL) 21 St. Norbert 14 | |||
| 1:00 p.m. | Chapman Bowl | Campus sites | Utica (8–2) Hobart (8–2) | Empire 8 Liberty | Utica 10 Hobart 6 | ||
| 2:00 p.m. | Centennial-MAC Bowl Series | Ursinus (7–3) Stevenson (7–3) | Centennial MAC | Ursinus 31 Stevenson 13 | |||
| 3:00 p.m. | Culver's Isthmus Bowl | Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium Sun Prairie, Wisconsin | Wisconsin–Platteville (6–4) Augustana (IL) (8–2) | WIAC CCIW | Wisconsin–Platteville 36 Augustana (IL) 10 | ||
| 5:00 p.m. | Bushnell Bowl | Campus sites | Carnegie Mellon (9–1) Brockport (8–2) | PAC Empire 8 | Carnegie Mellon 37 Brockport 7 |
All-star games edit
Each of these games featured college seniors, or players whose college football eligibility was ending, who were individually invited by game organizers. These games were scheduled to follow the team-competitive bowls, to allow players selected from bowl teams to participate. Such all-star games may include some players from non-FBS programs.
The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, which debuted in 2012 and was played 12 times through January 2023, was discontinued. The East–West Shrine Bowl relocated from Nevada (where its prior two editions had been played) to Texas.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Results | Ref. | U.S Viewers (Millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 13 | 12:00 p.m. | Hula Bowl | FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, Florida | CBS Sports Network | Team Kai Team Aina | Kai 24 Aina 17 | [21] | TBA |
| Jan. 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Tropical Bowl | Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, Florida | Varsity Sports Network | American Team National Team | American 17 National 17 | [22] | TBA |
| Feb. 1 | 8:00 p.m. | East-West Shrine Bowl | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, Texas | NFL Network | West Team East Team | West 26 East 11 | [23] | 0.22 |
| Feb. 3 | 1:00 p.m. | Senior Bowl | Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama | National Team American Team | National 16 American 7 | [24] | 0.55 | |
| Feb. 24 | 4:00 p.m. | HBCU Legacy Bowl | Yulman Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana | Team Gaither Team Robinson | Gaither 10 Robinson 6 | [25] | 0.07 |
Team selections edit
CFP top 25 standings and bowl games edit
The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee announced its final team rankings for the season on December 3, 2023. It was the 10th season of the CFP era, and the last one with a four-team playoff. This was the first time that an undefeated Power Five conference champion (Florida State) was left out of the semifinals.[26]
| Rank | Team | W–L | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan Wolverines | 13–0 | Big Ten champions | Rose Bowl (CFB playoff semifinal) |
| 2 | Washington Huskies | 13–0 | Pac-12 champions | Sugar Bowl (CFB playoff semifinal) |
| 3 | Texas Longhorns | 12–1 | Big 12 champions | Sugar Bowl (CFB playoff semifinal) |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 12–1 | SEC champions | Rose Bowl (CFB playoff semifinal) |
| 5 | Florida State Seminoles | 13–0 | ACC champions | Orange Bowl (NY6) |
| 6 | Georgia Bulldogs | 12–1 | SEC East Division champions | Orange Bowl (NY6) |
| 7 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 11–1 | Big Ten East Division second place | Cotton Bowl (NY6) |
| 8 | Oregon Ducks | 11–2 | Pac-12 second place | Fiesta Bowl (NY6) |
| 9 | Missouri Tigers | 10–2 | SEC East Division second place | Cotton Bowl (NY6) |
| 10 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 10–2 | Big Ten East Division third place | Peach Bowl (NY6) |
| 11 | Ole Miss Rebels | 10–2 | SEC West Division second place (tie) | Peach Bowl (NY6) |
| 12 | Oklahoma Sooners | 10–2 | Big 12 second place (tie) | Alamo Bowl |
| 13 | LSU Tigers | 9–3 | SEC West Division second place (tie) | ReliaQuest Bowl |
| 14 | Arizona Wildcats | 9–3 | Pac-12 third place | Alamo Bowl |
| 15 | Louisville Cardinals | 10–3 | ACC second place | Holiday Bowl |
| 16 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 9–3 | Independent | Sun Bowl |
| 17 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 10–3 | Big Ten West Division champions | Citrus Bowl |
| 18 | NC State Wolfpack | 9–3 | ACC third place | Pop-Tarts Bowl |
| 19 | Oregon State Beavers | 8–4 | Pac-12 fourth place (tie) | Sun Bowl |
| 20 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 9–4 | Big 12 second place (tie) | Texas Bowl |
| 21 | Tennessee Volunteers | 8–4 | SEC East Division third place | Citrus Bowl |
| 22 | Clemson Tigers | 8–4 | ACC sixth place (tie) | Gator Bowl |
| 23 | Liberty Flames | 13–0 | C–USA champions | Fiesta Bowl (NY6) |
| 24 | SMU Mustangs | 11–2 | AAC champions | Fenway Bowl |
| 25 | Kansas State Wildcats | 8–4 | Big 12 fourth place (tie) | Pop-Tarts Bowl |
Bowl-eligible teams edit
Generally, a team must have at least six wins to be considered bowl eligible, with at least five of those wins being against FBS opponents. The College Football Playoff semifinal games are determined based on the top four seeds in the playoff committee's final rankings. The remainder of the bowl-eligible teams are selected by each respective bowl based on conference tie-ins, order of selection, matchup considerations, and other factors.
- ACC (11): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
- American (6): Memphis, Rice, SMU, South Florida, Tulane, UTSA
- Big Ten (9): Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,[e] Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
- Big 12 (9): Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, UCF, West Virginia
- C–USA (4): Jacksonville State,[f] Liberty, New Mexico State, Western Kentucky
- MAC (6): Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo
- Mountain West (7): Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
- Pac-12 (8): Arizona, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
- SEC (9): Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M
- Sun Belt (12): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison,[f] Louisiana, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy
- Independent (1): Notre Dame
Number of bowl berths available: 82
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 79
Number of conditionally bowl-eligible teams: 2: (Jacksonville State and James Madison)[f]
Number of teams qualified by APR: 1 (Minnesota)[27]
Bowl-ineligible teams edit
- ACC (3): Pittsburgh, Virginia, Wake Forest
- American (8): Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Navy, North Texas, Temple, Tulsa, UAB
- Big Ten (5): Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue
- Big 12 (5): Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, TCU
- C–USA (5): FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Sam Houston,[g] UTEP
- MAC (6): Akron, Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Kent State, Western Michigan
- Mountain West (5): Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State
- Pac-12 (4): Arizona State,[h] Colorado, Stanford, Washington State
- SEC (5): Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
- Sun Belt (2): Louisiana–Monroe, Southern Miss
- Independent (3): Army,[i] UConn, UMass
Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 51
Conference summaries edit
| Conference | Championship game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue (Location) | Matchup | Result | Television | U.S Viewers(Millions) | |
| ACC | Dec. 2, 2023 | Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) | Florida State vs Louisville | Florida State 16–6 | ABC | 7.03 |
| American | Dec. 2, 2023 | Yulman Stadium (New Orleans, LA) | SMU at Tulane | SMU 26–14 | ABC | 1.87 |
| Big 12 | Dec. 2, 2023 | AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX) | Texas vs Oklahoma State | Texas 49–21 | ABC | TBA |
| Big Ten | Dec. 2, 2023 | Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN) | Michigan vs. Iowa | Michigan 26–0 | FOX | 10.02 |
| C–USA | Dec. 1, 2023 | Williams Stadium (Lynchburg, VA) | New Mexico State at Liberty | Liberty 49–35 | CBSSN | TBA |
| MAC | Dec. 2, 2023 | Ford Field (Detroit, MI) | Miami (OH) vs. Toledo | Miami (OH) 23–14 | ESPN | 1.29 |
| MW† | Dec. 2, 2023 | Allegiant Stadium (Paradise, NV) | Boise State at UNLV | Boise State 44–20 | FOX | TBA |
| Pac-12 | Dec. 1, 2023 | Washington vs Oregon | Washington 34–31 | ABC | 9.24 | |
| SEC | Dec. 2, 2023 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA) | Georgia vs Alabama | Alabama 27–24 | CBS | 17.51 |
| Sun Belt | Dec. 2, 2023 | Veterans Memorial Stadium (Troy, AL) | Appalachian State at Troy | Troy 49–23 | ESPN | 0.37 |
† Boise State, UNLV, and San José State all finished with a 6–2 conference record, creating a three-way tie. Since all three teams did not face each other during the season, and none of the teams were in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings before the conference championship game, the three-way tie was broken by a composite average of computer rankings from Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey and Wolfe. UNLV finished with the best average rankings at 44.5, while Boise State came in second at 55.75 and San José State third at 58.5. Therefore, the Broncos and Rebels secured their spots in the MW Championship. UNLV and Boise State did not play each other during the regular season. The Rebels' superior average computer ranking earned them the right to host the title game.[29]
Conference champions' bowl games edit
Ranks are per the final CFP rankings, released on December 3, 2023, with win–loss records at that time.
| Conference | Champion | W–L | Rank | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | SMU | 11–2 | 24 | Fenway Bowl |
| ACC | Florida State | 13–0 | 5 | Orange Bowl |
| Big Ten | MichiganCFP | 13–0 | 1 | Rose Bowl |
| Big 12 | TexasCFP | 12–1 | 3 | Sugar Bowl |
| C–USA | Liberty | 13–0 | 23 | Fiesta Bowl |
| MAC | Miami (OH) | 11–2 | – | Cure Bowl |
| Mountain West | Boise State | 8–5 | – | LA Bowl |
| Pac-12 | WashingtonCFP | 13–0 | 2 | Sugar Bowl |
| SEC | AlabamaCFP | 12–1 | 4 | Rose Bowl |
| Sun Belt | Troy | 11–2 | – | Birmingham Bowl |
CFP College Football Playoff participant
Conference performance in bowl games edit
Source:[30]
Note: The only independent team that played in an FBS bowl game was Notre Dame.
Notes edit
- ^ 41 FBS bowl games, the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and 1 FCS bowl game
- ^ Dates reflect Division I team-competitive bowl games, and exclude all-star games and bowl games in lower divisions.
- ^ The playoff is scheduled to expand to 12 teams, starting with the 2024–25 bowl season.[1]
- ^ The Liberty Flames were one of only four FBS teams in 2023 with an undefeated pre-bowl season,[14] but finished much lower in the CFP rankings as they compete in Conference USA (C-USA), one of the Group of Five conferences, generally regarded as less challenging than the Power Five conferences. However, they are the first C-USA team to compete at this level of bowl game in the history of the Bowl Championship Series (1998–2013) and the subsequent College Football Playoff system, introduced in 2014.
- ^ Despite having a 5–7 record, Minnesota became bowl eligible due to having the highest Academic Progress Rate among five-win teams.
- ^ a b c As there were not enough otherwise bowl-eligible teams to fill available spots, Jacksonville State and James Madison became conditionally bowl eligible due to their winning records, despite their transitions from FCS.
- ^ Sam Houston was bowl ineligible due to their transition from FCS to FBS, and the Bearkats would have been bowl ineligible regardless, as they finished with a 3–9 record.
- ^ Arizona State self-imposed a bowl ban due to recruiting violations that occurred in 2020.[28] The Sun Devils would have been bowl ineligible regardless, as they finished with a 3–9 record.
- ^ Despite finishing at 6–6, Army only had five wins at the time bowl matchups were determined; additionally, two of their wins were against FCS teams.