Bowl game matchups are determined by conference affiliations, records, and various tie-in agreements established before the season.
Figuring out who plays who in bowl games can feel like a puzzle! Each college football season culminates in these exciting matchups, but the selection process isn’t always straightforward. Teams earn their spots based on their performance, but also through contracts with different bowls.
These agreements often prioritize conference champions or those with top records within their respective leagues. Bowl committees then consider various factors to create the best and most compelling matchups, ensuring exciting contests for fans to enjoy.
Who Plays Who in Bowl Games?
Figuring out which college football teams play in which bowl game can feel like solving a big puzzle. It’s more than just picking random teams; there’s a whole system, like a recipe, that decides who gets to play where. Let’s break it down and make it easy to understand.
The Bowl Game Basics
Before we dive into the “who plays who,” let’s understand what bowl games are. Think of them as end-of-year parties for college football teams. After the regular season is over, the teams with the best records get invited to play in special games. These games, known as bowl games, are named after different things, like sponsors or cities (think the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, or the Cheez-It Bowl). They’re a big deal because they give teams a chance to end their season on a high note, and they’re exciting for fans to watch!
Why Are There So Many Bowl Games?
There are a lot of bowl games – over 40 each year! Why so many? Well, it’s a combination of things. For one, it gives more teams a chance to play in a postseason game. It’s also good for cities that host the games, bringing in lots of people and money. Plus, it’s exciting for fans who get to keep watching college football even after the regular season ends. And of course, TV networks like having a lot of football to show!
Understanding Bowl Tie-Ins
Now, let’s get to the meat of things: how are teams matched up? This is where “tie-ins” come into play. Tie-ins are like pre-arranged agreements between bowl games and conferences (groups of colleges that play sports together, like the Big Ten, SEC, or Pac-12). When a bowl game has a tie-in with a conference, it means that if a team from that conference does well enough, that team will usually get to play in that specific bowl. Think of it as a team earning their special ticket to a specific party.
The Power Five Conferences and Their Bowl Ties
The biggest conferences are often called the “Power Five.” They are:
- The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
- The Big Ten Conference
- The Big 12 Conference
- The Pac-12 Conference
- The Southeastern Conference (SEC)
These conferences have the most lucrative and important bowl game ties. Here’s a very basic overview of some of their common bowl game destinations, which of course, depends on each season’s results:
- ACC: The ACC often has strong tie-ins with the Orange Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl, and several other bowls in Florida.
- Big Ten: The Big Ten often has a team in the Rose Bowl, Citrus Bowl and Outback Bowl as well as other bowls throughout the country.
- Big 12: The Big 12 is closely associated with the Sugar Bowl, Alamo Bowl, and Cheez-It Bowl.
- Pac-12: The Pac-12 traditionally sends its champion to the Rose Bowl. They also have connections to the Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, and Las Vegas Bowl.
- SEC: The SEC is tied to the Sugar Bowl and the Citrus Bowl. It also typically sends a team to the Peach Bowl and other major bowls.
It’s important to remember these are not strict rules, but rather tendencies or “usual” destinations. Bowl tie-ins can have various tiers. For example, the top team from a conference will likely get the biggest and best bowl game available to them, while teams with slightly lower records may end up in other, less prestigious bowl games.
Beyond the Power Five: Other Conferences and Bowls
While the Power Five gets a lot of attention, there are other conferences, known as the “Group of Five” conferences, who also get to participate in bowl games. These conferences are:
- American Athletic Conference (AAC)
- Conference USA (CUSA)
- Mid-American Conference (MAC)
- Mountain West Conference (MWC)
- Sun Belt Conference
These teams are not always included in the big New Year’s Day bowls, but they also have tie-ins to other bowls, such as the Independence Bowl, Bahamas Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl, and many others. It’s often a chance for these teams to shine and gain national attention. A team with a great record, even if it’s in a “Group of Five” conference, might also get an at-large bid to a big bowl, making the bowl game landscape more interesting.
The College Football Playoff and Its Impact
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the biggest event of the college football postseason. It’s where the top teams in the country compete for the national championship. The CFP has four teams that get selected by a committee. The winners of the two semi-final playoff games meet in the National Championship.
How does the CFP affect other bowl games?
The College Football Playoff affects bowl selections in a couple of key ways:
- The CFP Takes Top Teams: When teams are picked for the playoffs, this means that the next-best teams from the Power Five conferences might get sent to the New Year’s Six bowls, which are some of the other most prestigious bowl games in the postseason. These are usually the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Cotton Bowl.
- At-Large Bids: Some bowl games will have at-large bids. These are essentially open slots for teams that aren’t tied to the bowl through a conference agreement. The bowl organizers can invite the best teams available regardless of their conference. The better performing teams that miss the CFP may receive at-large bids to New Years 6 bowl games.
So, the CFP changes the landscape, meaning that the matchups we see in bowl games depend on who gets selected for the CFP playoffs and how well the teams performed throughout the year. It makes the whole “who plays who” more complicated but also more exciting!
Selection Process: How are Teams Picked?
Alright, let’s get into the nitty-gritty: How do they actually decide who plays who? It’s not just a random drawing. It’s a combination of things. The major factors that play a big role include:
Conference Records and Standings
First, the teams are placed in a conference standings based on the results of each game throughout the season. Usually, the team with the best record in the conference goes first, then next best, and so on, until each team is ranked.
Generally, conference champions get priority. So, if a team wins their conference championship game, they’ll often be invited to the top-tier bowl games for their conference, which is a big deal. If you win your conference, you almost always earn a spot in a major bowl game. In addition, conference tie-ins are usually based on a team’s standing within its conference. So the top-ranked team goes to the first bowl tie-in, the second-ranked team goes to the second bowl tie-in and so forth.
Team Records and Overall Performance
Of course, besides winning a conference, a team’s overall record for the year matters too. The more games a team wins, the higher they are likely to be in their conference standings and the more attractive they become to bowl game organizers. Bowl games want to showcase exciting, successful teams that will bring in lots of viewers.
Bowl Game Preference and Availability
Bowl games also have preferences. For instance, some might want to attract a big fanbase from a certain area, so they might try to get a team that has a big following in that region. Other bowl games might be looking to feature teams that play very exciting styles of football. Also, sometimes a team might get selected for a particular bowl game simply because the tie-in is available, which means that another team with a good record may not have been selected because that bowl’s slot was already taken.
The Role of Committees
Finally, there’s the role of committees for bowl game selection. In addition to the CFP selection committee, many individual bowl games have selection committees. These committees evaluate the available teams, considering all factors above, and make the decisions of who plays who. It’s a bit like a behind-the-scenes matching process!
Examples of Typical Bowl Game Matchups
Let’s look at some examples to help make the “who plays who” idea clearer:
The Rose Bowl
The Rose Bowl, often called “The Granddaddy of Them All,” usually features the champions of the Big Ten Conference and the Pac-12 Conference. When these conferences don’t have their champion in the playoffs, you’ll likely see them playing in this big game. If the conference champion is in the playoff, the next-highest ranked team gets the spot in the Rose Bowl.
The Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl usually matches a team from the SEC against a team from the Big 12. However, like the Rose Bowl, that might not happen if those conference champions are playing in the playoffs.
Other Bowls
Many other bowls have their own tie-ins, like the Cheez-It Bowl, the Citrus Bowl, and the Alamo Bowl. These bowls usually have teams from a few conferences. For instance, the Citrus Bowl might pit a team from the SEC against a team from the Big Ten, with similar tie-ins occurring each year. Bowl games outside of the New Year’s Six often have more flexibility and may choose from available teams in multiple conferences based on team performance.
Special Circumstances and Exceptions
While the tie-in system is pretty common, some circumstances cause things to change.
Teams with Poor Records
If a team does not have enough wins (usually six) during the regular season to qualify for a bowl game, they may not be invited, even with a conference tie in place. Some teams with 5 wins may be invited to a bowl if there are not enough 6-win teams to fill all of the slots. There might even be fewer bowl games to play if there are not enough teams to fill the bowl game slots.
Independent Teams
Some teams are called “independent” because they do not belong to any of the major conferences. Usually, they’re not in the mix for the bigger bowl games unless they have a truly outstanding season. Teams that have been independent in recent years include BYU, Notre Dame, and UMass. Most, but not all, independent teams have bowl game tie-ins but their bowl game selections will be more dependent on team performance and other factors.
Changes in Bowl Agreements
Bowl agreements change from year to year, which means that the tie-ins change too. So a bowl that usually features teams from the ACC might now have teams from the Pac-12, or other conferences. The changes can sometimes be sudden because of TV contracts and revenue-sharing arrangements that affect the tie-ins and who plays who in bowl games.
The system of who plays who in bowl games might seem tricky, but it’s really about rewarding teams for a great season of college football. It gives teams a chance to show off their talent, provides cities with an economic boost, and gives fans some fantastic games to watch during the holiday season. From the exciting playoffs to the smaller games, the bowls offer tons of memorable moments for fans and athletes alike!
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Final Thoughts
Bowl season pairings often involve conference tie-ins and rankings. These factors determine which teams face off in specific games. Ultimately, the selection process aims for exciting matchups.
Figuring out who plays who in bowl games can get complex. Many variables contribute to the final schedules. Understanding these elements helps appreciate the post-season action. So, now you know, it really is all about the matchups.
