The 2020–21 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games scheduled to complete the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive games began on December 21, 2020, and concluded with the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 11, 2021. Three all-star games followed, concluding with the 2021 Hula Bowl, played on January 31, 2021.
The number of bowl games was lower than in recent seasons (25 team-competitive bowls aside from the National Championship Game, and three all-star games), as both the regular season and postseason were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-October 2020, the NCAA waived bowl eligibility requirements for the 2020–21 bowl season, intended "to allow as many student-athletes as possible the opportunity to participate in bowl games this year." This led to nine teams with losing records accepting bids to bowl games, surpassing the six teams with losing records who were deemed bowl eligible (rules not waived) in order to fill the 2016–17 NCAA football bowl gamesconsistent with the ongoing proliferation of what used to be a limited number of bowl games intended to reward the best teams in college football.
Schedule The schedule for the 2020–21 bowl games is below. All times are EST (UTC−5). Note that Division II bowls and Division III bowls are not included here.
On October 23, 2020, the Football Bowl Association announced a rebranding as "Bowl Season"; the organization works "with all existing bowls to promote the benefits of the entire bowl system." The organization's logo was visible on the field at some bowl games.
College Football Playoff and Championship Game The College Football Playoff (CFP) system is used to determine a national championship of Division I FBS college football. A 13-member committee of experts ranked the top 25 teams in the nation after each of the final five weeks of the regular season. On August 5, 2020, CFP organizers announced that they would move the release of final rankings and semifinal matchups from December 6 to 20, in order to accommodate conferences that had delayed their championship games to mid-December. The top four teams in the final ranking were seeded in a single-elimination semifinal round, with the winners advancing to the National Championship game.
The semifinal games for the 2020–21 season were the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. Both were played on January 1, 2021, as part of a yearly rotation of three pairs of six bowls, commonly referred to as the New Year's Six bowl games. The Rose Bowl game was relocated to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Cotton Bowl Classic, after Governor Gavin Newsom's orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in California would have resulted in the game being played behind closed doors without fans. The semifinal winners advanced to the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, played on January 11, 2021.
In the event of COVID-19 issues within the playoff teams, CFP organizers had identified contingency dates (which did not need to be used) of January 11 and January 12 for the semifinals and January 18 for the championship game.
Each of the games in the following table was televised by ESPN. DateTime (EST)GameSiteTeamsAffiliationsResultsDec. 308:00 p.m.Cotton Bowl ClassicAT&T StadiumArlington, TexasNo. 6 Oklahoma Sooners (8–2)No. 7 Florida Gators (8–3)Big 12SECOklahoma 55Florida 20Jan. 112:00 p.m.Peach BowlMercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GeorgiaNo. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (7–2)No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats (9–0)SECAmericanGeorgia 24Cincinnati 214:00 p.m.Rose Bowl(Playoff Semifinal Game)AT&T StadiumArlington, TexasNo. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (11–0)No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10–1)SECACCAlabama 31Notre Dame 148:00 p.m.Sugar Bowl(Playoff Semifinal Game)Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans, LouisianaNo. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (6–0)No. 2 Clemson Tigers (10–1)Big TenACCOhio State 49Clemson 28Jan. 24:00 p.m.Fiesta BowlState Farm StadiumGlendale, ArizonaNo. 10 Iowa State Cyclones (8–3)No. 25 Oregon Ducks (4–2)Big 12Pac-12Iowa State 34Oregon 178:00 p.m.Orange BowlHard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FloridaNo. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (8–1)No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels (8–3)SECACCTexas A&M 41North Carolina 27Jan. 118:00 p.m.College Football Playoff National Championship (Rose Bowl Winner vs. Sugar Bowl Winner)Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FloridaNo. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (12–0)No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–0)SECBig TenAlabama 52Ohio State 24 Source:
Non-CFP bowl games Due to a sponsorship change, what had been the Camping World Bowl played in Florida was renamed the Cheez-It Bowl, and the former Cheez-It Bowl played in Arizona became the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Also due to a sponsorship change, what had been the Belk Bowl was renamed as the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the New Mexico Bowl was moved to Frisco, Texas.
New bowls Three new bowls had planned to debut during the 2020–21 bowl season, although only one was actually played. The Fenway Bowl (Boston, Massachusetts) was postponed to the 2021–22 bowl season due to the pandemic. The LA Bowl (Inglewood, California) was initially scheduled for December 30, then postponed to the 2021–22 bowl season due to the pandemic. The Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, South Carolina) was played on December 21.
The Montgomery Bowl was announced as a "substitute of the Fenway Bowl for this season only".
Cancelled bowls The following annual bowl games had their 2020 editions canceled (date announced): Redbox Bowl (July 31): Although the COVID-19 pandemic was cited as a justification, Levi's Stadium not renewing its agreement to host the game was an additional factor, making the overall future of the bowl unclear. Bahamas Bowl and Hawaii Bowl (October 2): Canceled due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic. Holiday Bowl (October 22): Organizers cited complications from the pandemic and the demolition of its former home venue, SDCCU Stadium. Quick Lane Bowl (October 30): No specific reason was given for the cancellation. Pinstripe Bowl (November 27): Canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Sun Bowl (December 1): Canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Las Vegas Bowl (December 2): Canceled due to COVID-19 complications. On December 3, it was announced that the game's new Pac-12 and SEC tie-ins would be transferred to the Armed Forces Bowl (although only an SEC tie-in would be fulfilled, with The American providing an opponent). Frisco Bowl (December 15): Canceled due to COVID-19 complications within the SMU program. As a result, UTSA accepted a bid to the First Responder Bowl. Independence Bowl, Birmingham Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl (December 20): Canceled due to a lack of available teams to play. Military Bowl (December 21): Canceled due to a lack of available teams to play. Gasparilla Bowl (December 22): Cancelled after South Carolina dropped out due to COVID issues, leaving UAB with no opponent. Music City Bowl (December 27): Cancelled after Missouri dropped out due to COVID issues, leaving Iowa with no opponent. Texas Bowl (December 29): Cancelled after TCU dropped out due to COVID issues, leaving Arkansas with no opponent.
On December 14, the NCAA's Football Oversight Committee (FOC) announced that FBS teams would be allowed to schedule an additional game in the event of a bowl game cancellation. Such games would need to be requested not later than December 21, and played not later than December 31. A replacement game would need to be scheduled against an opponent from a conference with a tie-in to the canceled bowl game.
The cancellations, along with the move of the Cure Bowl from CBS Sports Network to ESPN due to its acquisition by ESPN Events, left the Arizona Bowl as the only bowl not televised by the ESPN family of networks. On December 10, it was announced that the Arizona Bowl would be shifted from CBS Sports Network to the main CBS network as a substitute for the Sun Bowl.
Bowls played DateTime (EST)GameSiteTelevisionTeamsAffiliationsResultsDec. 212:30 p.m.Myrtle Beach BowlBrooks StadiumConway, South CarolinaESPNAppalachian State Mountaineers (8–3)North Texas Mean Green (4–5)Sun BeltC–USAAppalachian State 56North Texas 28Dec. 223:30 p.m.Albertsons StadiumBoise, IdahoNevada Wolf Pack (6–2)Tulane Green Wave (6–5)MWCAmericanNevada 38Tulane 277:00 p.m.Boca Raton BowlFAU StadiumBoca Raton, FloridaNo. 16 BYU Cougars (10–1)UCF Knights (6–3)IndependentAmericanBYU 49UCF 23Dec. 233:00 p.m.New Orleans BowlMercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans, LouisianaGeorgia Southern Eagles (7–5)Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (5–4)Sun BeltC–USAGeorgia Southern 38Louisiana Tech 37:00 p.m.Montgomery BowlCramton BowlMontgomery, AlabamaMemphis Tigers (7–3)Florida Atlantic Owls (5–3)AmericanC–USAMemphis 25Florida Atlantic 10Dec. 243:30 p.m.New Mexico BowlToyota StadiumFrisco, TexasHawaii Rainbow Warriors (4–4)Houston Cougars (3–4)MWCAmericanHawaii 28Houston 14Dec. 252:30 p.m.Camellia BowlCramton BowlMontgomery, AlabamaBuffalo Bulls (5–1)Marshall Thundering Herd (7–2)MACC–USABuffalo 17Marshall 10Dec. 263:30 p.m.First Responder BowlGerald J. Ford StadiumDallas, TexasABCNo. 19 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (9–1)UTSA Roadrunners (7–4)Sun BeltC–USALouisiana 31UTSA 243:30 p.m.LendingTree BowlLadd–Peebles StadiumMobile, AlabamaESPNGeorgia State Panthers (5–4)Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (5–6)Sun BeltC–USAGeorgia State 39Western Kentucky 217:30 p.m.Cure BowlCamping World StadiumOrlando, FloridaLiberty Flames (9–1)IndependentSun BeltLiberty 37Coastal Carolina 34 (OT)Dec. 295:30 p.m.Cheez-It BowlCamping World StadiumOrlando, FloridaNo. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7–3)No. 18 Miami (FL) Hurricanes (8–2)Big 12ACCOklahoma State 37Miami (FL) 349:00 p.m.Alamo BowlAlamodomeSan Antonio, TexasNo. 20 Texas Longhorns (6–3)Colorado Buffaloes (4–1)Big 12Pac-12Texas 55Colorado 23 Dec. 3012:00 p.m.Duke's Mayo BowlBank of America StadiumCharlotte, North CarolinaWisconsin Badgers (3–3)Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4–4)Big TenACCWisconsin 42Wake Forest 28Dec. 3112:00 p.m.Armed Forces BowlAmon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TexasMississippi State Bulldogs (3–7)No. 24 Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6–2)SECAmericanMississippi State 28Tulsa 262:00 p.m.Arizona BowlArizona StadiumTucson, ArizonaCBSBall State Cardinals (6–1)No. 22 San Jose State Spartans (7–0)MACMWCBall State 34San Jose State 134:00 p.m.Liberty BowlMemphis, TennesseeESPNWest Virginia Mountaineers (5–4)Army Black Knights (9–2)Big 12IndependentWest Virginia 24Army 21Jan. 11:00 p.m.Citrus BowlCamping World StadiumOrlando, FloridaABCNo. 14 Northwestern Wildcats (6–2)Auburn Tigers (6–4)Big TenSECNorthwestern 35Auburn 19Jan. 212:00 p.m.Gator BowlTIAA Bank FieldJacksonville, FloridaESPNKentucky Wildcats (4–6)No. 23 NC State Wolfpack (8–3)SECACCKentucky 23NC State 2112:30 p.m.Outback BowlRaymond James StadiumTampa, FloridaABCOle Miss Rebels (4–5)No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers (6–1)SECBig TenOle Miss 26Indiana 20 Source:
FCS bowl game The Celebration Bowl, held between the champions of the FCS Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) was canceled, due to both conferences having postponed football to spring 2021 due to COVID-19.
The NCAA has likewise delayed the Division I FCS tournament to April 2021, with the 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game scheduled to occur in May 2021.
All-star games The East–West Shrine Bowl and NFLPA Collegiate Bowl were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
DateTime (EST)GameSiteTelevisionParticipantsResultsJan. 17Tropical BowlCelebration High SchoolCelebration, FloridaNational TeamAmerican TeamNational 20American 17Jan. 302:30 p.m.Senior BowlHancock Whitney StadiumMobile, AlabamaNFL NetworkNational TeamAmerican TeamNational 27American 24Jan. 319:30 p.m.Hula BowlAloha StadiumHonolulu, HawaiiCBS Sports NetworkTeam KaiTeam AinaKai 15Aina 13
Team selections