College football just isn't the same anymore. Between the transfer portal turning rosters into revolving doors and the massive 12-team playoff expansion, the 2024-25 bowl season felt like a fever dream. If you missed a few days of action, honestly, you might not even recognize the landscape. We saw blue bloods stumble and underdogs turn into national darlings overnight.
The 2024 bowl games results weren't just about who hoisted a trophy. They were a chaotic look at the future of the sport. While some folks complain that "meaningless" bowls are dying, the television ratings actually told a different story. People still love this game, even if they're watching from their couches instead of the stands in Charlotte or Nashville.
The Big One: Ohio State’s Path to the Title
Ohio State finally did it. After years of being the "almost" team, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes climbed the mountain. It wasn't a cakewalk, though. They had to navigate the first-ever 12-team playoff bracket, starting with a 42-17 demolition of Tennessee in the opening round.
Wait, it gets better. They didn't just win; they dominated the traditional "Granddaddy of Them All." In the Rose Bowl quarterfinal, the Buckeyes hammered No. 1 Oregon 41-21. That game basically shifted the entire narrative of the season. Will Howard, the Kansas State transfer, proved every skeptic wrong by leading an offense that felt unstoppable. He finished the season with a flurry, eventually taking down Notre Dame 34-23 in the National Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Jeremiah Smith? Kid is a literal cheat code. The freshman wideout was catching passes that didn't even seem possible. Alongside Quinshon Judkins, the Buckeyes' offense was just too physical for a gritty Notre Dame defense to handle for four full quarters.
Playoff Chaos and the New Year's Six
The new format changed everything. Suddenly, games that used to be "just" bowls were high-stakes elimination matches.
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Quarterfinal Shocks
- The Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame absolutely stunned Georgia. Most people expected Kirby Smart’s Dawgs to roll, but the Irish defense held them to just 10 points. Final score: 23-10.
- The Peach Bowl: Texas outlasted Arizona State in a 39-31 double-overtime thriller. It was one of those games where neither team deserved to lose, but the Longhorns found another gear late.
- The Fiesta Bowl: Penn State handled Boise State 31-14. The Broncos had a magical run, but the Nittany Lions' depth was the deciding factor.
Honestly, the semifinals were almost a letdown compared to the drama of the early rounds. Notre Dame squeezed past Penn State 27-24 in the Orange Bowl, while Ohio State took care of business against Texas in the Cotton Bowl, winning 28-14. It set up an all-Midwest final that probably had SEC fans throwing their remotes.
The Wild World of Non-Playoff Bowls
If you only watched the playoffs, you missed the real "sickos" football. The 2024 bowl games results featured some of the most ridiculous scores we've seen in years. Take the GameAbove Sports Bowl, for instance. Toledo and Pittsburgh went to six overtimes. Let that sink in.
Toledo eventually won 48-46. It was beautiful and exhausting.
Then you had the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Iowa State beat Miami 42-41 in a game that lived up to the hype of its edible mascot. Watching the Cyclones celebrate while a giant pastry was lowered into a toaster is the kind of peak college football content we live for.
Surprising Upsets and Blowouts
The SEC had a rough go of it outside the top tier. Michigan, in the midst of a coaching transition, managed to stifle Alabama 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It wasn't pretty, but it was classic Big Ten football. Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss squad absolutely dismantled Duke 52-20 in the Gator Bowl. Kiffin was vocal about being left out of the playoff, and he clearly took it out on the Blue Devils.
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The ACC, on the other hand, had a month to forget. They went 2-9 across the bowl season. Syracuse was one of the few bright spots, putting up 52 points on Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. But for the most part, the conference struggled against Group of 5 opponents and Power 4 peers alike.
Viewing Trends and Empty Seats
There’s a weird paradox happening. ESPN reported record viewership for the 2024-25 season. The Alamo Bowl, which saw BYU beat Colorado 36-14, pulled in 8 million viewers. That’s the most for a non-Playoff/NY6 bowl in five years! People are watching.
But the stadiums? Not always full.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl hit an all-time low (excluding the 2020 COVID year) with only about 31,000 fans in attendance. The Gasparilla Bowl saw an even steeper drop, falling from over 41,000 fans the previous year to just 13,336 for NC State vs. Memphis. It’s a trend that’s worrying bowl executives. If the fans won't travel, the business model starts to look a bit shaky.
Performance Standouts
We have to talk about Travis Hunter. Even though Colorado struggled in the Alamo Bowl, Hunter’s season was legendary. He took home the Heisman for a reason. He was a constant threat on both sides of the ball, though BYU’s defense finally figured out how to slow him down in December.
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On the winning side, Ohio State’s Cody Simon was a monster. He earned MVP honors in the title game, proving that defense still wins championships, even in an era of high-flying offenses.
And don't sleep on Diego Pavia. The Vanderbilt quarterback led the Commodores to a 35-27 win over Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl. Vandy in a bowl game? Winning? It happened.
Actionable Insights for Next Season
Looking at the 2024 bowl games results, there are a few things every fan and bettor should keep in mind for the 2025 season:
- Roster Depth is King: With the 12-team playoff, teams are playing more games than ever. Injuries and depth charts matter more in December than they did in September.
- The "Home Field" Factor: First-round playoff games at campus sites (like Ohio State hosting Tennessee) created an atmosphere we’ve never seen in the postseason.
- Watch the Portal: Several teams, like Miami and Alabama, looked like shells of themselves in non-playoff bowls due to transfer departures. Check the "opt-out" lists before placing any bets.
- Mid-Major Value: Conferences like the AAC (which won the Bowl Challenge Cup) are consistently undervalued. They play with a chip on their shoulder that Power 4 teams often lack in mid-tier bowls.
The 2024 season proved that while the "traditional" bowl system is changing, the excitement hasn't gone anywhere. We're just trade-marking new traditions—like eating a giant Pop-Tart—while keeping the old ones like the Rose Bowl alive.
Check the final recruiting rankings and the spring transfer portal window to see which teams are reloading to challenge Ohio State's new throne. The road to the 2025-26 playoffs starts sooner than you think.