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| English: The Rose Bowl stadium before the 2009 Rose Bowl game. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Nearly 40 games will be played between December 20 and January 12, 2015, spanning the North American continent from Hawaii to the Bahamas (both of which are on islands). Four of them are new this year, and there are several that have added, changed or dropped sponsors.
This is the first season of the College Football Playoff, which replaces the late and unlamented Bowl Championship Series. The format for the playoff is for a committee to choose four schools with winning football records, shoehorn them into two existing bowls on New Year's Day, then have the winners duke it out in a new championship game a week later at a neutral site.
The four CFP schools, by order of ranking, are: Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and Ohio State. But even this system isn't perfect. Institutions of higher learning such as Baylor, Texas Christian and Mississippi State started hollering about being left out of the CFP. So naturally college football pundits are wondering how long it will be before the playoff resembles the NCAA Men's basketball tournament.
With that, here's this year's Bowl Guide. It contains the name of the bowl, where it is, matchups, who televises them, and a brief description of what the title sponsor sells or represents. Good luck to all the teams, and good luck to you for figuring all this out.
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (New Orleans, LA 12/20) ESPN
Shipping firm.
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Utah State vs. Texas-El Paso (Albuquerque, NM 12/20) ESPN
Active wear.
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Colorado State (Las Vegas, NV 12/20) ABC
Auto products.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Air Force (Boise, ID 12/20) ESPN
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: South Alabama vs. Bowling Green (Montgomery, AL 12/20) ESPN
Broadcasting company. First season.
Miami Beach Bowl: BYU vs. Memphis (Miami, FL 12/22) ESPN
First season. Played at Marlins Park, home of baseball's Miami Marlins.
Boca Raton Bowl: Marshall vs. Northern Illinois (Boca Raton, FL 12/23) ESPN
First season.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Navy vs. San Diego State (San Diego, CA 12/23) ESPN
Financial services.
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (Nassau, Bahamas 12/24)
ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain. First season.
Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State vs. Rice (Honolulu, HW 12/24) ESPN
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl: Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech (Dallas, TX 12/26) ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain. Played at Cotton Bowl Stadium.
Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers vs. North Carolina (Detroit, MI 12/26) ESPN
Auto care shops. Formerly Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl.
Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl: North Carolina State vs. Central Florida (St. Petersburg, FL 12/26) ESPN
Digital currency.
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman: Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech (Annapolis, MD 12/27) ESPN
Defense contractor.
Hyundai Sun Bowl: Arizona State vs. Duke (El Paso, TX 12/27) CBS
Automobile manufacturer.
Duck Commander Independence Bowl: Miami vs. South Carolina (Shreveport, LA 12/27) ABC
Duck call manufacturer, owned by the guys from TV's "Duck Dynasty".
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College vs. Penn State (Bronx, NY 12/27) ESPN
Sports apparel. Played at Yankee Stadium.
National University Holiday Bowl: Nebraska vs. USC (San Diego, CA 12/27) ESPN
Private, online college.
Auto Zone Liberty Bowl: Texas A&M vs. West Virginia (Memphis, TN 12/29) ESPN
Auto parts stores.
Russell Athletic Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Clemson (Orlando, FL 12/29) ESPN
Active wear.
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs. Texas (Houston, TX 12/29) ESPN
Nutritional supplements.
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Louisiana State (Nashville, TN 12/30) ESPN
Financial services.
Belk Bowl: Georgia vs. Louisville (Charlotte, NC 12/30) ESPN
Department stores based in the South.
Foster Farms Bowl: Maryland vs. Stanford (Santa Clara, CA 12/30) ESPN
West Coast-based poultry firm. Formerly Fight Hunger Bowl.
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Mississippi vs. Texas Christian (Atlanta, GA 12/31) ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain.
Vizio Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Arizona (Glendale, AZ 12/31) ESPN
Consumer electronics.
Capital One Orange Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech (Miami Gardens, FL 12/31) ESPN
Financial services.
Outback Bowl: Auburn vs. Wisconsin (Tampa, FL 1/1/15) ESPN2
Steak restaurant chain.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Michigan State vs. Baylor (Arlington, TX 1/1/15) ESPN
Tires and blimps.
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl: Missouri vs. Minnesota (Orlando, FL 1/1/15) ABC
Chicken wing restaurant chain. Formerly Capital One Bowl.
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual (CFP Semifinal): Oregon vs. Florida State (Pasadena, CA 1/1/15) ESPN
Financial services.
Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal): Alabama vs. Ohio State (New Orleans, LA 1/1/15) ESPN
Insurance and financial services.
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Pittsburgh (Fort Worth, TX 1/2) ESPN
Defense contractor.
Taxslayer Bowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee (Jacksonville, FL 1/2) ESPN
Online tax preparation. Formerly Gator Bowl.
Valero Alamo Bowl: Kansas State vs. UCLA (San Antonio, TX 1/2) ESPN
Energy company.
TicketCity Cactus Bowl: Washington vs. Oklahoma State (Tempe, AZ 1/2) ESPN
Ticket reseller. Formerly Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
Birmingham Bowl: East Carolina vs. Florida (Birmingham, AL 1/3) ESPN or ESPN2
Formerly BBVA Compass Bowl.
GoDaddy Bowl: Toledo vs. Arkansas State (Mobile, AL 1/4) ESPN
Domain names.
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T. (Arlington, TX 1/12)
ESPN
Communications giant. Teams to be determined.
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