Florida ended the 2023 college football season ineligible for a bowl game, ending an eight-year run of consecutive postseason appearances for the Gators.
The goal for 2024 is simple — win six games and start a new streak of bowl appearances — and what better time to turn things around than the dawn of the 12-team playoff era?
The expansion of the College Football Playoff means a new feel to some of the sport’s most historic bowl games. To start, all New Year’s Six bowl games are part of the CFP bracket now — four quarterfinals and two semifinals, on a rotating schedule.
That means two and three-loss SEC teams can sneak into the bracket and nearly half of the top 25 will have a shot at winning it all. An expanded bracket also means starting things a week earlier. With such a backloaded schedule, the elite teams are liable to rest players early on in the season, or once they have a spot locked up.
Including CFP games and the FCS Celebration Bowl, there are 47 bowl games this year. Florida making any one of those 47 games would be a shift in the right direction under Billy Napier, especially facing the nation’s toughest schedule.
Gators fans have scoffed in years past at bids to the Gasparilla or Las Vegas Bowls. Making it to either one would be a good sign for the program in 2024, though.
Bowl Game Schedule
*as published by Sports Illustrated.
|
BOWL GAME |
DATE |
TIME/TV |
LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Celebration Bowl |
Dec. 14 |
Noon ET, ABC |
Atlanta |
|
Camellia Bowl |
Dec. 14 |
9 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Montgomery, Ala. |
|
Frisco Bowl |
Dec. 17 |
9 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Frisco, Texas |
|
Boca Raton Bowl |
Dec. 18 |
5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Boca Raton, Fla. |
|
LA Bowl |
Dec. 18 |
9 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Inglewood, Calif. |
|
New Orleans Bowl |
Dec. 19 |
7 p.m. ET, ESPN2 |
New Orleans |
|
Cure Bowl |
Dec. 20 |
Noon ET, ESPN |
Orlando |
|
Gasparilla |
Dec. 20 |
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Tampa |
|
CFP first-round game |
Dec. 20 |
8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN |
TBD |
|
CFP first-round game |
Dec. 21 |
Noon ET, TNT |
TBD |
|
CFP first-round game |
Dec. 21 |
4 p.m. ET, TNT |
TBD |
|
CFP first-round game |
Dec. 21 |
8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN |
TBD |
|
Myrtle Beach Bowl |
Dec. 23 |
11 a.m. ET, ESPN |
Conway, S.C. |
|
Potato Bowl |
Dec. 23 |
2:30 ET, ESPN |
Boise, Idaho |
|
Hawaii Bowl |
Dec. 24 |
8 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
|
Detroit Bowl |
Dec. 26 |
2 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Detroit |
|
Guaranteed Rate Bowl |
Dec. 26 |
5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Phoenix |
|
68 Ventures Bowl |
Dec. 26 |
9 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Mobile, Ala. |
|
Birmingham Bowl |
Dec. 27 |
Noon or 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Birmingham |
|
Armed Forces Bowl |
Dec. 27 |
Noon or 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Fort Worth, Texas |
|
Liberty Bowl |
Dec. 27 |
7 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Memphis |
|
Las Vegas Bowl |
Dec. 27 |
10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Las Vegas |
|
Fenway Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
11 a.m. ET, ESPN |
Boston |
|
Pinstripe Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
Noon ET, ABC |
Bronx, N.Y. |
|
New Mexico Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Albuquerque |
|
Pop Tarts Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC |
Orlando |
|
Arizona Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
4:30 p.m. ET, The CW |
Tucson, Ariz. |
|
Military Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Annapolis, Md. |
|
Alamo Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ABC |
San Antonio |
|
Independence Bowl |
Dec. 28 |
9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Shreveport, La. |
|
Music City Bowl |
Dec. 30 |
2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Nashville |
|
ReliaQuest Bowl |
Dec. 31 |
Noon ET, ESPN |
Tampa |
|
Sun Bowl |
Dec. 31 |
2 p.m. ET, CBS |
El Paso, Texas |
|
Citrus Bowl |
Dec. 31 |
3 p.m. ET, ABC |
Orlando |
|
Texas Bowl |
Dec. 31 |
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Houston |
|
Fiesta Bowl |
Dec. 31 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Glendale, Ariz. |
|
Peach Bowl |
Jan. 1 |
1 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Atlanta |
|
Rose Bowl |
Jan. 1 |
5 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Pasadena, Calif. |
|
Sugar Bowl |
Jan. 1 |
8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN |
New Orleans |
|
Gator Bowl |
Jan. 2 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Jacksonville |
|
First Responder Bowl |
Jan. 3 |
4 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Dallas |
|
Duke’s Mayo Bowl |
Jan. 3 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Charlotte |
|
Bahamas Bowl |
Jan. 4 |
11 a.m. ET, ESPN2 |
Nassau, Bahamas |
|
Orange Bowl |
Jan. 9 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Miami Gardens, Fla. |
|
Cotton Bowl |
Jan. 10 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Arlington, Texas |
|
National Championship |
Jan. 20 |
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN |
Atlanta |
|
Holiday Bowl |
TBD |
TBD, Fox |
San Diego |
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.