This year’s college bowl schedule ushers in the end of the BCS era . Whether you’re a college football fan who lauds or loves the Bowl Championship Series , one thing is undeniable: it has come full circle at the end of its 15-year run.
The once-dominant Florida State Seminoles, a college football powerhouse of the 1990s, has made its way back to the BCS Championship bowl game, which it kicked off alongside eventual champions, the Tennessee Volunteers on January 4, 1999.
Since then, the college bowl schedule has swelled from 22 games to 35, and the SEC has held court in the national title game for the better part of a decade. With Auburn scheduled to meet Florida State in the BCS Championship game, it will be eight straight years that a member school will have contended in the biggest bowl game around.
It won’t be the first time these teams meet—it won’t even be the first time in a bowl game—but it will be the first time in a long time. Try October 20, 1990, before any player on either squad was born. Prior to that, the two colleges played on a regular basis, with Auburn owning all but the most recent games.
Elsewhere on the college bowl schedule, we have two games scheduled for New Year’s Day. Michigan State faces Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and Central Florida steps onto the national stage with its first BCS appearance (and last), taking on Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl.
The excitement continues with Alabama meeting Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl on January 2, and Clemson goes up against Ohio State on January 3 in the Orange Bowl.
BCS Bowl Schedule
- BCS title game Pasadena, Calif. – 8:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 6 Florida State vs. Auburn
- Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif. – 5 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 Michigan State vs. Stanford
- Fiesta Bowl Glendale, Ariz. – 8:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 Baylor vs. Central Florida
- Sugar Bowl New Orleans, La. – 8:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 2 Alabama vs. Oklahoma
- Orange Bowl Miami, Fla. – 8:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 3 Clemson vs. Ohio State
Remaining Bowl Schedule
- Gildan New Mexico Bowl Albuquerque, N.M. – 2 p.m. ET, Dec. 21 Washington State vs. Colorado State
- Royal Purple Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nev. – 3:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 21 Fresno State vs. USC
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise, Idaho – 5:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 21 San Diego State vs. Buffalo
- New Orleans Bowl New Orleans, La. – 9 p.m. ET, Dec. 21 Tulane vs. La.-Lafayette
- Beef O’Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl St. Petersburg, Fla. – 2 p.m. ET, Dec. 23 Ohio vs. East Carolina
- Hawaii Bowl Honolulu, Hawaii – 8 p.m. ET, Dec. 24 Oregon State vs. Boise State
- Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Detroit, Mich. – 6 p.m. ET, Dec. 26 Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green
- Poinsettia Bowl San Diego, Calif. – 9:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 26 Northern Illinois vs. Utah State
- Military Bowl Annapolis, Md. – 2:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 27 Maryland vs. Marshall
- Texas Bowl Houston, Texas – 6 p.m. ET, Dec. 27 Syracuse vs. Minnesota
- Fight Hunger Bowl San Francisco, Calif. – 9:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 27 Washington vs. BYU
- Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, N.Y. – 12 p.m. ET, Dec. 28 Notre Dame vs. Rutgers
- Belk Bowl Charlotte, N.C. – 3:20 p.m. ET, Dec. 28 North Carolina vs. Cincinnati
- Russell Athletic Bowl Orlando, Fla. – 6:45 p.m. ET, Dec. 28 Miami vs. Louisville
- Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Tempe, Ariz. – 10:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 28 Kansas State vs. Michigan
- Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas – 11:45 a.m. ET, Dec. 30 Navy vs. Middle Tennessee State
- Music City Bowl Nashville, Tenn. – 3:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 30 Mississippi vs. Georgia Tech
- Alamo Bowl San Antonio, Texas – 6:45 p.m. ET, Dec. 30 Texas vs. Oregon
- Holiday Bowl San Diego, Calif. – 10:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 30 Arizona State vs. Texas Tech
- AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Shreveport, La. – 12:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 31 Arizona vs. Boston College
- Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas – 2 p.m. ET, Dec. 31 Virginia Tech vs. UCLA
- Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tenn. – 4 p.m. ET, Dec. 31 Mississippi State vs. Rice
- Chick-fil-A Bowl Atlanta, Ga. – 8 p.m. ET, Dec. 31 Texas A&M vs. Duke
- Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. – 12 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 Georgia vs. Nebraska
- Heart of Dallas Bowl Dallas, Texas – 12 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 UNLV vs. North Texas
- Capital One Bowl Orlando, Fla. – 1 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 South Carolina vs. Wisconsin
- Outback Bowl Tampa, Fla. – 1 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 LSU vs. Iowa
- Cotton Bowl Arlington, Texas – 7:30 p.m. ET, Jan. 3 Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
- BBVA Compass Bowl Birmingham, Ala. – 1 p.m. ET, Jan. 4 Houston vs. Vanderbilt
- GoDaddy Bowl Mobile, Ala. – 9 p.m. ET, Jan. 5 Ball State vs. Arkansas State
