Welcome back, sports fans. First, it is great that JoJo is at the GCR headquarters (our living room) for a few days and can, directly, join in the creation of a post. Today we are going to explore the chaos that is the 2025-26 bowl season.
…..
When the 12-team playoff was created, one of the rules was the 5 top-ranked conference champions would be automatically included. While those 5 could, theoretically, be from the American, C-USA, MAC, Mtn West, and Sun Belt conferences, in reality, the plan was the Core 4 champs would be in and the Group of 5 would be thrown a bone. In 2024, the inaugural year of the format, the top 4 conference champions not only were in, but they received first round byes. This, of course, assumed the Core 4 champions would be ranked higher than any G5 team. Then Clemson upset SMU to win the ACC but was lower ranked than the Group of 5 team, Boise St. Oh no! We can’t have that sort of thing, so the rules were changed this season so that the top 4 teams get byes, not necessarily the top conference champions. Then Duke, at just 7-5, won the ACC and was outranked by both the American champion, Tulane (11-2), and the Sun Belt champion, James Madison (12-1). Oh no! At the same time, the ACC’s highest ranked (committee) team was Miami FL, who did not make the championship game. Notre Dame, despite losing a head-to-head game early in the season to the Hurricanes, was ranked higher in the committee’s list before championship week. Neither team played, but switched places in the final ranking, thus dropping Notre Dame from a playoff spot and putting MIAF in the last spot (10th, because the G5 champions are 11th and 12th). Otherwise, the ACC, a Core 4 conference, would have been shutout.
……
Notre Dame was upset enough that they decided to boycott the bowl games completely. At 10-2, and on a 10-game winning streak, they will be sitting on the sofa like the rest of us over the next 6 weeks or so. While their reasoning is clearer than others, whether you agree with it or not, they are not the only bowl eligible team to say, “no thank you.” Kansas St and Iowa St, both in the Big 12, declined their invitations with coaching changes given as the reason – they face conference fines up to $500,000 for this decision. If you recall, there are 41 bowls including those used in the playoffs, so 82 bowl-eligible teams are needed out of 136 teams. Some years we run short, sometimes 6-win teams are left out, but this year, we had exactly 82. With the declinations, we now are 3 teams short. The first rule for this type of situation does not apply this year. If Hawaii (who normally plays 13 games, but not this year – and they earned a bowl with an 8-4 record) is 6-7, they get the bid. After Hawaii, 5-7 teams are ranked according to APR, an academic rating, with the highest getting the first bid. But teams kept declining. Auburn, Baylor, Florida St, Kansas, Rutgers, Temple, and UCF all said no. Rice was one of the top 3 teams (Auburn and Florida St being the others) and accepted a bid to play in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. Mississippi St accepted the Mayo Bowl in Charlotte. The last spot to play Ga Southern in the Birmingham Bowl was, finally, accepted by fellow Sun Belt East team App St. These two teams played on November 6th is a game won by GASO 25-23.
…..
Let’s face it. It used to be that making a bowl game was prestigious and an honor. Now, if it isn’t the playoffs, you can count on a significant number of significant players to sit out. It only takes a .500 record to all but be invited to a bowl. The greed that is currently driving college football has created so many bowls that they have become somewhat meaningless. The snobbery (especially from ESPN during the playoff selection show) about the Group of 5 having two members in the “12” is just an indicator that they, like many of us, have created a new elite. When there were fewer bowls, an invitation was a big deal – it meant you had a great season as spots were limited. Now, if a team fails to make a bowl game (or is only 6-6 or 7-5), the head coach is on the hot seat. Not all of them, but the players seem to be in it for themselves (and the money), the incessant coverage of Lane Kiffin is an example that many of the coaches (not all) are in it for themselves and/or the money. The table below and the corporate sponsorships demonstrate that the blossoming of bowl games is less about giving the players an honor and more about making money. Add that to a playoff structure that is not just broken after two years but has been broken since the BCS days. Add to that mega conferences that demonstrated this season that teams can rise to the top without playing more than one or two of that conference’s top teams – it led, in part, to the Duke in the ACC game chaos.
…..
College football, the game that we love more than any other, is broken. We wish the answer were simple and that we knew what it was. Going back to 8 bowls won’t do it, and more realignment won’t do it unless it is coordinated. Clearly having a committee decide the playoffs is biased, because they are not only human, but they publish their initial rankings (same thing as preseason – teams have to seriously implode or have remarkable seasons to fall from or rise to the top). We’ve heard conversations about a having a commissioner and that might help, assuming a) s/he would have the power over the conferences and b) the top 32/64/x teams don’t divorce themselves from the NCAA and do their own thing.
……
Here are some things that we would do if we had that job. First, no conference could have more than 16 teams – although I don’t know how to fix the Big Ten and ACC since they have more than that now. Second, there is no preseason ranking – in fact, the first polls are not released until the end of September. Third, there would be a 16-team playoff for the Core 4 and a 16-team playoff for the Group of 5, which conference champions getting automatic bids and a specific formula to determine who the other teams are – no committee, no bias. It would need to be some sort of point system – that would be fun to work out. The last time what we would consider a Group of 5 team won the natty was in 1984 (BYU). There is enough room for another champion to go along with the FCS, Division II, Division III, and NAIA. Put us in charge and we will change the world.
…..
The bowl games are now set and listed in the table below. During the bowl season, we will publish a G’s Expectation for every day at least one game is played, including the FCS playoffs, using the latest GCR calculations although we won’t publish the Top 265 until after the FBS National Championship Game. Thank you reading and sharing with others, JoJo and G.
| Bowl Game (Location) | Date/Time (Eastern) | Away Team (Record/ GCR Rank) | Conf (Rec) | Home Team (Record/ GCR Rank) | Conf (Rec) |
| Cricket Celebration (Atlanta) | 12/13 12:00 | South Carolina St (9-3/182) | MEAC (5-0) | Prairie View (10-3/150) | SWAC (8-1) |
| Bucked Up LA (Inglewood, CA) | 12/13 8:00 | Boise St (9-4/51) | MWC (7-2) | Washington (8-4/29) | B10 (5-4) |
| IS4S Salute to Veterans (Montgomery, AL) | 12/16 9:00 | Troy (8-5/73) | SUN (6-3) | Jacksonville St (8-5/82) | USA (7-2) |
| StaffDNA Cure (Orlando) | 12/17 5:00 | Old Dominion (9-3/42) | SUN (6-2) | South Florida (9-3/37) | AAC (6-2) |
| 68 Veterans (Mobile, AL) | 12/17 8:30 | Louisiana (6-6/99) | SUN (5-3) | Delaware (6-6/98) | USA (4-4) |
| Xbox (Frisco, TX) | 12/18 9:00 | Missouri St (7-5/91) | USA (5-3) | Arkansas St (6-6/102) | SUN (5-3) |
| Myrtle Beach (Conway, SC) | 12/19 11:00am | Kennesaw St (10-3/49) | USA (8-1) | W Michigan (9-4/61) | MAC (8-1) |
| Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla (Tampa) | 12/19 2:30 | Memphis (8-4/55) | AAC (4-4) | NC St (7-5/41) | ACC (5-4) |
| Playoffs Round 1 (@Oklahoma) | 12/19 8:00 | Alabama (10-3/15) | SEC (7-2) | Oklahoma (10-2/10) | SEC (6-2) |
| Playoffs Round 1 (@Texas A&M) | 12/20 12:00 | Miami FL (10-2/8) | ACC (6-2) | Texas A&M (11-1/12) | SEC (7-1) |
| Playoffs Round 1 (@Mississippi) | 12/20 3:30 | Tulane (11-2/38) | AAC (8-1) | Mississippi (11-1/11) | SEC (7-1) |
| Playoffs Round 1 (@Oregon) | 12/20 7:30 | James Madison (12-1/20) | SUN (9-0) | Oregon (11-1/4) | B10 (8-1) |
| Famous Idaho Potato (Boise) | 12/22 2:00 | Washington St (6-6/78) | PAC (1-1) | Utah St (6-6/83) | MWC (4-4) |
| Bush’s Boca Raton (Boca Raton, FL) | 12/23 2:00 | Toledo (8-4/50) | MAC (6-2) | Louisville (8-4/23) | ACC (4-4) |
| New Orleans (New Orleans) | 12/23 5:30 | W Kentucky (8-4/71) | USA (6-2) | Southern Miss (7-5/86) | SUN (5-3) |
| Scooter’s Coffee Frisco (Frisco, TX) | 12/23 9:00 | UNLV (10-3/47) | MWC (6-3) | Ohio (8-4/66) | MAC (6-2) |
| Sheraton Hawaii (Honolulu, HI) | 12/24 8:00 | California (7-5/59) | ACC (4-4) | Hawaii (8-4/67) | MWC (5-3) |
| GameAbove Sports (Detroit) | 12/26 1:00 | C Michigan (7-5/85) | MAC (5-3) | Northwestern (6-6/60) | B10 (4-5) |
| Rate (Phoenix) | 12/26 4:30 | New Mexico (9-3/52) | MWC (6-2) | Minnesota (7-5/53) | B10 (5-4) |
| SERVPRO First Responder (Dallas) | 12/26 8:00 | FIU (7-5/79) | USA (5-3) | UTSA (6-6/81) | AAC (4-4) |
| Go Bowling Military (Annapolis, MD) | 12/27 11:00am | Pittsburgh (8-4/34) | ACC (6-2) | East Carolina (8-4/57) | AAC (6-2) |
| Bad Boys Mowers Pinstripe (Bronx, NY) | 12/27 12:00 | Penn St (6-6/40) | B10 (3-6) | Clemson (7-5/43) | ACC (4-4) |
| Wasabi Fenway (Boston) | 12/27 2:15 | UCONN (9-3/58) | IND (0-0) | Army (6-5/77) | AAC (4-4) |
| Pop-Tarts (Orlando) | 12/27 3:30 | Georgia Tech (9-3/28) | ACC (6-2) | BYU (11-2/9) | B12 (8-2) |
| Snoop Dogg Arizona (Tucson) | 12/27 4:30 | Miami OH (7-6/84) | MAC (6-3) | Fresno St (8-4/72) | MWC (5-3) |
| Isleta New Mexico (Albuquerque) | 12/27 5:45 | North Texas (11-2/26) | AAC (7-2) | San Diego St (9-3/44) | MWC (6-2) |
| TaxSlayer Gator (Jacksonville) | 12/27 7:30 | Virginia (10-3/18) | ACC (7-3) | Missouri (8-4/36) | SEC (4-4) |
| Kinder’s Texas (Houston) | 12:27 9:15 | LSU (7-5/39) | SEC (3-5) | Houston (9-3/25) | B12 (6-3) |
| JLab Birmingham (Birmingham) | 12/29 2:00 | Ga Southern (6-6/96) | SUN (4-4) | App St (5-7/103) | SUN (2-6) |
| Radiance Technologies Independence (Shreveport, LA) | 12/30 2:00 | Coastal Car (6-6/104) | SUN (5-3) | LA Tech (7-5/70) | USA (5-3) |
| Liberty Mutual Music City (Nashville) | 12/30 5:30 | Tennessee (8-4/31) | SEC (4-4) | Illinois (8-4/27) | B10 (5-4) |
| Valero Alamo (San Antonio, TX) | 12/30 9:00 | Southern Cal (9-3/14) | B10 (7-2) | TCU (8-4/24) | B12 (5-4) |
| ReliaQuest (Tampa) | 12/31 12:00 | Iowa (8-4/21) | B10 (6-3) | Vanderbilt (10-2/13) | SEC (6-2) |
| Tony the Tiger Sun (El Paso, TX) | 12/31 2:00 | Arizona St (8-4/33) | B12 (6-3) | Duke (8-5/30) | ACC (7-2) |
| Cheez-It Citrus (Orlando) | 12/31 3:00 | Michigan (9-3/17) | B10 (7-2) | Texas (9-3/19) | SEC (6-2) |
| SRS Distribution Las Vegas (Las Vegas) | 12/31 3:30 | Nebraska (7-5/54) | B10 (4-5) | Utah (10-2/7) | B12 (7-2) |
| Playoff Quarterfinal – Goodyear Cotton (Arlington, TX) | 12/31 7:30 | TBD | TBD | Ohio St (12-1/2) | B10 (9-1) |
| Playoff Quarterfinal – Capital One Orange (Miami Gardens) | 1/1 12:00 | TBD | TBD | Texas Tech (12-1/3) | B12 (9-1) |
| Playoff Quarterfinal – Prudential Rose (Pasadena, CA) | 1/1 4:00 | TBD | TBD | Indiana (13-0/1) | B10 (10-0) |
| Playoff Quarterfinal – Allstate Sugar (New Orleans) | 1/1 8:00 | TBD | TBD | Georgia (12-1/5) | SEC (8-1) |
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces (Fort Worth, TX) | 1/2 1:00 | Rice (5-7/112) | AAC (2-6) | Texas St (6-6/87) | SUN (3-5) |
| AutoZone Liberty (Memphis) | 1/2 4:30 | Navy (9-2/48) | AAC (7-1) | Cincinnati (7-5/45) | B12 (5-4) |
| Trust & Will Holiday (San Diego) | 1/2 8:00 | Arizona (9-3/16) | B12 (7-3) | SMU (8-4/22) | ACC (6-2) |
| Duke’s Mayo (Charlotte, NC) | 1/2 8:00 | Wake Forest (8-4/35) | ACC (4-4) | Mississippi St (5-7/65) | SEC (1-7) |
| FCS Championship (Nashville) | 1/5 (TBD) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Playoff Semifinal – Vrbo Fiesta (Glendale, AZ) | 1/8 7:30 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Playoff Semifinal – Chick-fil-A Peach (Atlanta) | 1/9 7:30 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| FBS Championship (Miami Gardens, FL) | 1/19 7:30 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
