Honestly, if you looked at the list of bowl games 2024 and felt a little dizzy, you aren’t alone. It was the year the "old way" of doing things basically evaporated. We moved from a cozy four-team playoff to a massive 12-team bracket that stretched from campus sites in freezing December weather all the way to a glitzy finale in Atlanta.
The schedule was a beast.
It wasn't just about the New Year's Six anymore. We had first-round playoff games happening on campus for the first time ever. Imagine being a Tennessee fan and realizing you have to go to Columbus in late December. Or Indiana traveling to South Bend. It changed the vibe from "vacation exhibition" to "win or your season is a failure."
The 2024-25 Bowl Schedule and Results
The season officially kicked off on December 14, 2024. Most people don't realize that the Celebration Bowl is often the real start of the madness. Jackson State handled South Carolina State 28–7 in that one.
But the real meat of the schedule? That started a few days later.
If you're looking for the full list of bowl games 2024, here’s how the early-to-mid-December slate actually shook out. It was a mix of wild shootouts and some "wait, who is playing?" moments that still delivered.
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- Frisco Bowl (Dec 17): Memphis 42, West Virginia 37. High scoring. Exactly what you want on a Tuesday night.
- Boca Raton Bowl (Dec 18): James Madison 27, Western Kentucky 17.
- LA Bowl (Dec 18): UNLV 24, Cal 13. A big statement for the Mountain West.
- New Orleans Bowl (Dec 19): Sam Houston 31, Georgia Southern 26.
- Cure Bowl (Dec 20): Ohio 30, Jacksonville State 27.
- Gasparilla Bowl (Dec 20): Florida 33, Tulane 8.
Then everything shifted.
The Playoff Expansion Shockwave
The night of December 20, 2024, changed college football history. This was the first time we saw the "First Round" games of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. These weren't neutral-site bowls in Florida or Arizona. They were on campus.
Notre Dame hosted Indiana in South Bend and took them down 27–17. The atmosphere was legendary. The next day, Penn State crushed SMU 38–10 in front of a "White Out" crowd that looked like a blizzard on TV. Texas handled Clemson 38–24 in Austin, and Ohio State beat Tennessee 42–17 in the Horseshoe.
Suddenly, the "list of bowl games 2024" felt like two different seasons happening at once. You had the high-stakes playoff games, and then you had the traditional bowls like the Myrtle Beach Bowl (UTSA 44, Coastal Carolina 15) or the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Northern Illinois 28, Fresno State 20 in 2OT).
The Pop-Tarts Bowl: A Surreal Moment
Can we talk about the Pop-Tarts Bowl for a second? It’s arguably the most "Internet-famous" game on the list.
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On December 28, Iowa State beat Miami 42–41. It was a classic game, sure. But the real star was the edible mascot. Yes, an edible mascot. Iowa State players literally ate the mascot after the win. It’s weird. It’s slightly horrifying. It’s exactly why bowl season is great.
The Quarterfinals and the New Year’s Tradition
By the time we hit December 31, the playoff moved back into the traditional bowl structure. This is where the New Year’s Six bowls—like the Rose, Sugar, and Orange—became the Quarterfinals.
Fiesta Bowl (Dec 31): Penn State 31, Boise State 14.
Peach Bowl (Jan 1): Texas 39, Arizona State 31 (2OT).
Rose Bowl (Jan 1): Ohio State 41, Oregon 21.
Sugar Bowl (Jan 2): Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10.
Seeing the Rose Bowl as a "Quarterfinal" felt weird to some purists. The Lawry’s Beef Bowl tradition in Pasadena was canceled for the second year in a row. The "Granddaddy of Them All" felt more like a rung on a ladder than the destination itself.
Why the Non-Playoff Games Still Matter
A lot of critics say that expansion killed the smaller bowls. I disagree.
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Look at the GameAbove Sports Bowl on December 26. Toledo beat Pitt 48–46 in a six-overtime marathon. That is pure, unadulterated chaos. Or the Holiday Bowl, where Syracuse put up 52 points on Washington State. These games aren't for the national title, but for the seniors playing their last game, they're everything.
The list of bowl games 2024 was full of these "consolation" prizes that ended up being better games than the blowouts in the playoffs.
A Few Notable Results You Might Have Missed
- Las Vegas Bowl: USC 35, Texas A&M 31. Miller Moss looked like a star again.
- Alamo Bowl: BYU 36, Colorado 14. A tough end for Deion Sanders' squad.
- ReliaQuest Bowl: Michigan 19, Alabama 13. A defensive slugfest on New Year's Eve.
- Sun Bowl: Louisville 35, Washington 34. A one-point thriller in El Paso.
The Final Four and the Atlanta Finish
The semifinals weren't on New Year's Day this time. They were pushed back to January 9 and 10, 2025.
Notre Dame beat Penn State 27–24 in the Orange Bowl to punch their ticket to the title game. The next night, Ohio State dominated Texas 28–14 in the Cotton Bowl.
It all set up a massive National Championship in Atlanta on January 20, 2025. Ohio State eventually took down Notre Dame 34–23 to claim the first-ever 12-team playoff crown.
Actionable Insights for the Next Season
If you're tracking bowl games for betting, alumni travel, or just general fandom, here’s the reality for the 2025-26 cycle:
- Book Travel Early for Campus Sites: The first round of the playoff is on campus again. If your team is ranked 5 through 12, don't look at Florida hotels. Look at the local Marriott near your home stadium.
- Watch the Transfer Portal: This is the "hidden" factor in the list of bowl games 2024. Teams like Fresno State and Washington were shells of themselves because of the portal. Check the roster news 48 hours before kickoff.
- Value the Mid-Majors: As we saw with UNLV and Memphis, "smaller" teams often play harder in these bowls than Power 4 teams who are disappointed they missed the playoff.
The 2024 season proved that while the format is bigger, the heart of bowl season—the weirdness, the cold-weather upsets, and the edible mascots—isn't going anywhere.