Five Non-Playoff College Football Bowl Games to Watch

The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl—which both air Dec. 31—are appointment television, especially with an unexpected College Football Playoff entrant. (Be honest: There’s no way anyone expected TCU to make it this far.)

But those bowl games, which decide the Jan. 9 College Football Championship, are just two slices of college football’s delicious postseason pie. There’s still plenty of football to watch before the season ends, and these five games will help any football fan start the year off with a bang.

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Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Kansas

Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m., ESPN

When’s the last time you watched a postseason Kansas game that wasn’t in March? The Jayhawks are in a college football bowl game for the first time since 2008, and that alone is worth watching. Come for the novelty of seeing a “basketball school” succeed in another sport, and stay to watch quarterback Jalon Daniels make up for lost time (he led the Jayhawks to four straight wins to start the season before getting sidelined with an injury).

Orange Bowl: Tennessee vs. Clemson

Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m., ESPN

This year the Orange Bowl is extremely literal, with the orange-hued Volunteers and Tigers setting up to duke it out in Miami. Clemson (11–2) comes in with the better record, but Tennessee had perhaps the biggest statement game of the season (a 52–49 win over Alabama that led to an appropriate amount of celebratory destruction). This will also be an opportunity to see the future of Clemson football, as quarterback freshman Cade Klubnik gets his first start on a big stage.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Kansas State

Dec. 31 at noon, ESPN

A two-loss Alabama missed out on the 2019–20 College Football Playoff and things are no different this time around. The Tide dropped two games to LSU and Tennessee, landing them just outside the top four when push came to shove. The Sugar Bowl may be a consolation prize for Alabama, but it’s a big deal for the Big 12 champion Wildcats, who are coming off of a win over playoff contender TCU.

Cotton Bowl: USC vs. Tulane

Jan. 2 at 1 p.m., ESPN

USC headed into the Pac-12 Championship primed for a playoff spot … only to have it ripped away by Utah, which spanked the Trojans 47–24. (USC’s other loss of the season was to the Utes in Week 7 … talk about rubbing salt in the wound). While USC has to reckon with what could have been, Tulane is just along for the ride. The Green Wave won just two games last season, but have wrapped up this year as the AAC champion. With Heisman winner Caleb Williams potentially sidelined due to a hamstring injury, the Trojans could be at risk of being rolled over by a Tulane team that’s on a hot streak.

Rose Bowl: Utah vs. Penn State

Jan. 2 at 5 p.m., ESPN

Penn State’s two losses of the year came from—who else—playoff contenders Michigan and Ohio State. Time will tell if the Nittany Lions are able to stop being the third-best team in the Big Ten East, but for now they’ll have to focus on a Utah squad that’s done some damage. The Utes lost their last trip to the Rose Bowl, but could flip the script this time around—especially if California native Cameron Rising, who’s already thrown for almost 3,000 yards this season, can put up numbers.