College Football New Year’s Six Bowl Games, Odds and Expert Analysis

In terms of how we get to a National Champion this season, things are a little different than what we have been used to in recent years.

The days of the 4-teams playoff are gone, as we are now looking at 12 teams going into the postseason for the first time ever.

College Football New Year’s Six Bowl Games Analysis

The edge still goes to the top 4 teams, though, as they will get an automatic bye, while the other 8 teams will duke it out.

By the time we get to the final 8 teams in with a shot at winning it all, we will be deep into the holiday season, which is where the New Year’s Six Bowl Games will come into play.

This batch of games has always been reserved for the best teams in college football and included the semi-final games when we were down to the final 4. They are now spread out a little more and will serve as the quarterfinal and semi-final games this season. Here is how the schedule looks for the coming playoffs:

• December 31: Fiesta Bowl (quarterfinal)
• January 1: Peach Bowl (quarterfinal), Rose Bowl (quarterfinal), Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal)
• January 9: Orange Bowl (semi-final)
• January 10: Cotton Bowl (semi-final)

In years to come, the bowls will rotate so that they all get a shot at hosting a semi-final game, but what we are concerned with here is how things will play out this season. With a good chunk of games still to come, some of which are huge, there is still plenty of time for things to change, so let’s see if we can figure out which teams will be taking part in the New Year’s Six Bowl Games.

In my opinion, this is the perfect time to actually start looking at the possible matchups, as we now have an idea as to how the Playoff Committee has viewed things to this point in the season. They delivered their first rankings earlier this week, placing Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia, and Miami in the top 4. Remember, the bonus for the teams that land the final 4 spots is that they essentially get a bye week while the other 8 teams battle it out for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Looking down through the rankings, there are a couple of teams who look a little wobbly. For example, Alabama simply cannot afford to take another loss after losing twice already this season, especially with Ole Miss hovering just outside the top 12. The Rebels have Georgia coming up on the schedule, with a win there potentially setting the cat among the pigeons. Other than that, I think the top 12 looks pretty solid right now, so let’s try and project things out using the rankings as they are now, even though we all know that things will almost certainly change in the coming weeks, especially with the Conference Championship Games still to come.

Right now, you would have Texas playing Boise State for a quarterfinal spot, with the Longhorns very much the favorite to win that one. Penn State against Alabama would be a fun matchup that, in my mind, would be something of a toss-up. Pushed to make a pick, though, I would still lean toward Alabama.

Tennessee going against Notre Dame would be an amazing game and is one where I am hard pushed to make a pick. This is the beauty of the new playoff setup in that we are going to get matchups we rarely ever see, but which are absolutely fantastic. I am leaning toward Tennessee in that one. Finally, we would have a pair of unbeatens in Indiana and BYU meeting up in what is an interesting looking game. Sure, we might never get to see given the changes that are sure to come, but in this scenario, I would give the slight edge to Indiana.

Okay, so if things play out as suggested above, we would be looking at the 8 quarterfinal teams being as follows:

• Oregon Ducks
• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Georgia Bulldogs
• Miami Hurricanes
• Texas Longhorns
• Alabama Crismon Tide
• Tennessee Volunteers
• Indiana Hoosiers

How they would match up in the quarterfinals would be totally dependent upon the final rankings, but if you ask me, this is a fantastic final 8. It really wouldn’t matter who went against whom, as any permutation of those teams would deliver some great games.

This, of course, only covers the first 4 games of the New Year’s Six, with the final two reserved for the 4 teams that move into the semi-finals. In this scenario, we would know the top seeds, so who looks to be the most fragile of the current top 4? Georgia has had to battle their way out of some tough games, while Carson Beck has been making INT passes an all-too-common thing. If that continues, the Dawgs could be in trouble. I am also still not fully sold on the Miami Hurricanes, as they too have had to battle their way to some wins that were tougher than expected.

If a couple of the top seeds do indeed drop out in this scenario, who could spring the minor upset? The Texas Longhorns were soundly beaten by Georgia in their lone loss to this point, but they still look more than good enough to take a run at the Natty. I am also looking at the Tennessee Volunteers as a potential upset waiting to happen. Whatever way you slice it, the playoffs are going to be a ton of fun to watch this year, and early into the next. The New Year’s Six Bowls Games are now more important than ever, and I for one cannot wait until we ring in the New Year with some great college football games to look forward to.

College Football New Year’s Six Bowl Games

Fiesta Bowl

• 2024 Playoff Quarterfinal
• Monday, Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• State Farm Stadium
• Glendale, Arizona

Year
1968-1970	The origin of the Fiesta Bowl stems from the Western Athletic Conference. Upset that its 1968 and 1969 champions were not invited to any bowls and 1970 champion Arizona State played in the Peach Bowl, the conference’s supporters created the Fiesta Bowl, which initially guaranteed an invitation for its champion.
1987	Miami and Penn State, the two best teams in the nation battled for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State won 14-10 and the game drew the highest television rating in college football history at the time.
1991	Several schools declined invitations to the Fiesta Bowl because the state of Arizona did not recognize the Martin Luther King holiday.
1999	Hosted the first BCS national championship game, Tennessee defeated Florida State 23-16.
2007	It has been called one of the greatest college football games ever played. The overtime culminated with a variation of the “Statue of Liberty” play on a gutsy 2-point conversion that sealed the win for Boise State.
2014	It becomes one of the bowls hosting the College Football Playoff semifinals.
2024	After 10 years, it becomes one of the bowls to host a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal game.

Peach Bowl

• 2025 Playoff Quarterfinal Game
• Wednesday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. | ESPN
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Atlanta, Georgia

Peach Bowl was the first charity competition, and its creation is credited to George Pierre Crumbley Jr., a Lions Club member and known as the “Father of the Peach Bowl,” who led it to NCAA certification. The game was originally created in 1968 by the Georgia Lions Club as a fundraiser, but after years of poor attendance and revenue, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce took over the game.

Year
1968	Peach Bowl created by the Atlanta Lions Club
1986	Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce takes over management of the Bowl
1991	ESPN becomes exclusive TV partner
1992	Bowl reaches agreements with ACC and SEC to form a permanent bowl showdown
1992	Peach Bowl moves to new home at Georgia Dome
1996	Chick-fil-A becomes Bowl’s first and only Title Partner
2008	Chick-fil-A Bowl hosts its first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
2009	Bowl partners with NFF to bring College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta
2010	Peach Bowl Inc. dissolves partnership with Metro Atlanta Chamber and re-emerges as independent sporting event management company
2012	The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game opens the college football championship season with the first-ever doubleheader of BCS-style games on consecutive days at the same venue
2013	Chick-fil-A Bowl selected as one of six bowl games to host the new College Football Playoff
2014	The Chick-fil-A Bowl adds “Peach” to its name, becoming the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl once again
2024	Starting this season, the Peach Bowl became a Quarterfinal game

Rose Bowl

• 2025 Playoff Quarterfinal Game
• Wednesday, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. | ESPN
• Rose Bowl
• Pasadena, California

It is the oldest bowl in the history of NCAA college football played annually from Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.

The first Rose Bowl was in 1902 and has been played non-stop since 1916. It is known as “The Granddaddy of Them All” or “the granddaddy of them all” for being the oldest bowl in history.

The Rose Bowl usually hosts a game between the Big Ten and Pac-12 conference champions, that is if neither participates in the NCAA playoffs.

Year
1902	The first Rose Bowl game is played at Tournament Park. University of Michigan defeats Stanford University 49-0.
1916	Washington State beats Brown, 14-0, in second Rose Bowl game at Tournament Park
1923	First Rose Bowl game held at the Rose Bowl Stadium. The horseshoe-shaped stadium seated 57,000 and was deeded to the city of Pasadena by the Tournament of Roses Association. USC defeated Penn State 14-3
1925	Notre Dame’s legendary Four Horsemen (Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller and Elmer Layden) play in the Rose Bowl against Stanford’s Ernie Nevers.
1927	Stanford and Alabama tie, 7-7, and both schools are named national champions.
1946	What is now the Big Ten and Pac-12 enter into an agreement with the Tournament of Roses to have the champions of each conference play in the annual Rose Bowl, the first such agreement
1969	Rose Bowl game kicks off 100th anniversary of intercollegiate football
1989	The “Granddaddy of Them All” celebrates its 75th Rose Bowl game
2014	The Rose Bowl celebrates its 100th anniversary
2015	The Rose Bowl hosts one of two semifinal games in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Oregon sets scoring record with 59-20 win over Florida State
2023	This season marks the final year of the current four-team CFP format

Sugar Bowl

• 2025 Quarterfinal Game
• Wednesday, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. | ESPN
• Caesars Superdome
• New Orleans, Louisiana

The Sugar Bowl is an annual football game played in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana since 1935. The Bowl features the winners of the SEC and Big 12 Conferences, with the Tulane Green Wave being the first champion.

The success of the teams and players on the field has been key to the success of the Sugar Bowl off the field. In its history, the game has welcomed more than six million fans to New Orleans to watch the game while providing a week-long slate of activities that fulfills the original 1934 mission of boosting the region’s economy.

Over the past decade, the Allstate Sugar Bowl has generated an economic impact of more than $2.5 billion in New Orleans and Louisiana.

Year
1935	In 1927, James M. Thomson, editor of the New Orleans Item newspaper, and his sports editor, Fred Digby, proposed the idea, with the name “Sugar Bowl” for the event. Its first edition was held in 1935.
1936	After the first game, an expansion of the stadium was proposed and after negotiations with the Tulane Board of Trustees, the Sugar Bowlers decided to close the north end of the stadium adding 14,000 seats.
1939	Sugar Bowl Chairman Herbert Benson appointed a special Stadium Committee to complete plans to expand the stadium and raise $550,000.
1942	Sugar Bowl hosts the East-West Shrine Game, as the contest is moved out of San Francisco as a wartime security measure.
1967	The Sugar Bowl becomes the first Bowl game to be televised by satellite to Hawaii.
1977	The Sugar Bowl’s “marriage” with the SEC to send its football champion to New Orleans was consummated on New Year’s Day with the Georgia Bulldogs’ appearance against No. 1 Pitt.
1984	The 50th anniversary year culminated with Auburn’s 9-7 win over Michigan on Jan. 2.
1993	The Sugar Bowl is played for the first time in college football’s “Bowl Coalition” format. Alabama defeats Miami for the national championship in a showdown of the top two teams in the country.
2006	The Bowl ushered in the new year with a return to the New Orleans area and welcomed Allstate Insurance as its new title sponsor and FOX Sports as the Bowl’s new broadcast partner.
2009	The Sugar Bowl celebrates its 75th anniversary with a Legends Luncheon welcoming 42 former coaches and most valuable players to New Orleans.
2021	The game is sold out with only 3,000 fans due to the pandemic.
2023	This season marked the final year of the current four-team CFP format.

Orange Bowl

• 2025 Playoff Semifinal Game
• Thursday, Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Hard Rock Stadium
• Miami Gardens, Florida

The Orange Bowl is a bowl that has been played annually in the Miami area since 1935 and pits two NCAA football invitational teams against each other. Along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, it is the second oldest bowl in history, behind only the Rose Bowl played in Pasadena.

Year
1959	Stadium adopts the name Orange Bowl. It was originally named after businessman Roddy Burdine.
1990	The Caribbean Series is played, which was considered an unusual event (playing baseball in an American football stadium). For this reason, extraordinary rules were established.
1966-1996	Stadium is home to NFL’s Miami Dolphins
1996	The Bowl is now played between the runner-up of the Big 12 Conference and the runner-up of the Southeastern Conference West Division.
2003	CONCACAF Gold Cup matches are played, including a semifinal and the third-place game.
2014	Rotation to host a College Football Playoff semifinal begins

Cotton Bowl

• 2025 Playoff Semifinal Game
• Friday, Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• AT&T Stadium
• Arlington, Texas

It then featured a Southeastern Conference team against a Big 12 team. However, beginning in 2014, the Cotton Bowl Classic became one of the rotating hosts of a game in the new playoff format.

Year
1937	The Cotton Bowl began at the Texas State Fairgrounds.
1980	It quickly became one of the top four college bowls in the country. But then, the top teams in the Southwest suffered significant sanctions from the NCAA for violating amateurism rules. That prevented them from televising their games and participating in the Cotton Bowl and other bowls.
1992	Becomes part of the Bowl Coalition, with the ability to keep the Southeastern Conference (SWC) champion as a participant.
1995	The Southeastern Conference announces its dissolution, so by switching systems to the Bowl Alliance, the Cotton Bowl lost its berth to the Fiesta Bowl.
1996	It is now played between the runner-up of the Big 12 Conference and the runner-up of the Southeastern Conference West Division.
2010	Change of venue, now played in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium, after 73 years playing in the historic stadium of the same name in Dallas.
2014	It is one of the six bowls that host a College Football Playoff semifinal on a rotating basis, so it could be contested by teams from any conference on that occasion.

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