Tag: Bowl Games

Duke Blue Devils not included in projected bowl schedule from CBS Sports

CBS Sports released its projected bowl games for the 2024 college football season last week, and the Blue Devils didn’t make the field.

The Duke Blue Devils start a new era in 2024, but the college football world remains a little lukewarm on the Manny Diaz era.

CBS Sports updated its projected bowl schedule last week, and despite nearly a dozen ACC teams reaching the six-win barrier, the Blue Devils remained absent from the field.

Two teams from the conference, Florida State and Miami, both made the College Football Playoff in the projection. Clemson, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Louisville, SMU, Boston College, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest all made bowl games, but the Blue Devils did not.

As a reminder, the Panthers and Demon Deacons combined for three conference victories and seven total wins in 2023. Duke won 17 games over the past two seasons.

The Blue Devils bring a new head coach and a new starting quarterback to Wallace Wade Stadium this fall, but Diaz led some of the country’s best defenses at Penn State over the last two years and wide receiver Jordan Moore received ACC Preseason Player of the Year votes.

Where Texas is projected for the 2024 College Football Playoffs

Texas Longhorns are projected to make the College Football Playoffs again.

Almost every major national publication has Texas going back to the Colleg Football Playoffs this year.

Before we discuss where the Texas Longhorns are projected for the 2024 College Football Playoff, there were significant changes from previous years with the expansion to a 12-team format, and here is a look at what it will look like.

How it Works:

  • Selection of the 12 teams:

    • The top five ranked conference champions are selected. More than likely being the champions of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and Mountain West will earn a top-five seed.
    • The next seven highest-ranked teams (regardless of conference) are also selected. For example, Notre Dame and other highly ranked teams from the Power Four conferences will likely be selected.

  • Seeding for this season’s playoffs:

    • The top four conference champions are seeded 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. The conference winners of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 will be rewarded a first-round bye in the first year of the new 12-team college football playoffs.
    • The fifth conference champion is seeded based on their overall ranking. Likely, the conference champions from the Mountain West or American Athletic Conference will be selected for the playoffs.
    • The remaining seven teams are seeded 5-12 based on their overall ranking. Even if Texas does not win the SEC this season, they can still have a home playoff game for the first round if ranked five through eight.

  • Bracket format for the playoffs:

    • Teams seeded 5 through 8 will host first-round games against teams seeded 9-12 in the playoffs. For example, if Texas were to receive the 7th seed they would host the 10th seed in the first round.
    • Winners of the first-round games advance to play the top four seeds in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

  • College Football 2024 Semifinals and Championship Game:

    • The four remaining teams compete in the semifinals and championship game similar to last season’s format when it was a four-team playoff.

Key Changes from last season to this season:

  • Expanded Field: The most obvious change is the increase from four to twelve teams, which allows more teams to participate in this season’s playoffs. Even though Texas was in last season’s playoffs, the Longhorns could lose up to two games and still make this year’s playoffs.
  • First-Round Games: The introduction of first-round games adds an extra layer of excitement and competition and will make watching college football in mid to late December a must-watch for college football fans.
  • Bye Weeks for the top-seeded teams: The top four seeds now have a bye in the first round which is an award for the conference champions of the power four conferences.

Now let’s take a look at where Texas is projected to be in this upcoming college football playoffs in various college football preseason predictions.

Athlon Sports has Texas earning the 6th spot in the 2024 College Football Playoffs. They are projecting that the Longhorns will host No. 11 Notre Dame. Then they have Texas after defeating the Fighting Irish, play No. 3 seeded Florida State in the quarterfinals on Jan. 1 in the Peach Bowl. Finally, they have Texas advancing to the semifinals to face off against No. 2 Ohio State on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately for Texas fans, they are not forecasting the Longhorns defeating the Buckeyes and advancing to the title game.

College Football News has the Longhorns hosting Penn State in the first round of the playoffs on Dec. 21 with the game being on TNT. They then have Texas playing Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl. However, unlike Athlon Sports projections, they do not have the Longhorns advancing to the semifinals.

Sporting News has Texas ranked higher than the two other previous publications that have been mentioned already as they have the Longhorns as the No. 5 seed hosting No. 12 seed Memphis. They have Texas advancing to the quarterfinals to face off against No. 4 seed Florida State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Then they have the Longhorns going to the semifinals after defeating the Seminoles to play No. 1 seed Georgia on Jan. 9 in the Capital One Orange Bowl. However, as high as Sporting News is on the Longhorns, they have them losing to the Bulldogs in the semifinals.

The New York Times via the Athletic has similar to Sporting News has Texas as the No. 5 seed hosting Memphis in the first round of the playoffs. They don’t give a full project of the playoffs as other publications have but they are quoted as saying,

“The Longhorns came within one play of making the title game last year. Don’t be surprised if they get there this season.”

247 Sports has Texas as the No. 5 seed hosting Liberty in the first round of the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, they have the Longhorns going up against the No. 4 seed Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. They have Texas advancing to the semifinals to play No. 2 seed Georgia in the Cotton Bowl. 247 Sports though does not have the Longhorns advancing to the title game.

Overall, all publications listed have Texas making the college football playoffs. Most have them making it to the semifinals but none of them have them advancing to the championship game. However, the games being played on the actual field this Fall and early Winter will determine how far the Longhorns advance in post season play.

College football bowl schedule for 2024-25 released

The college football bowl game system is undergoing changes as the playoff bracket expands to 12 teams. Florida is hoping to finish the season bowl eligible after ending 2023 with five wins.

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

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Duke Blue Devils are one of 12 programs to make the NCAA postseason in all five major spots

Duke reached a bowl game, both NCAA basketball tournaments, and regionals for softball and baseball in 2023-24, a feat only matched by 11 other schools.

With the Duke baseball team officially the No. 2 seed in the Norman Regional, the Blue Devils joined an exclusive club on Monday.

Duke was one of just 12 athletic programs to make a college football bowl game, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, a baseball regional, and a softball regional in the 2023-24 academic year.

The Duke football team, in its second year under Mike Elko, won its first four games and finished with an 8-4 regular-season record despite losing starting quarterback Riley Leonard to injury for most of the season. Interim head coach Trooper Taylor helped lead the Blue Devils to a Birmingham Bowl victory to cap the year.

Both basketball teams overachieved in the bracket. The men’s team took down No. 1 Houston in the Sweet 16 to reach the Elite Eight despite being a fourth-seed, and the women’s team upset No. 2 Ohio State in the second round to reach the Sweet 16.

Softball clinched its first Women’s College World Series appearance on Sunday by defeating Missouri at the Columbia Super Regional.

Three other ACC schools accomplished this feat, including two more from North Carolina. Clemson and UNC, expectedly, and NC State’s miraculous March Madness run helped them join the list.

Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M also made the cut from the Power 5 conferences, as did James Madison.

Duke baseball gets the chance to add its resume to what may be the best year in the history of Blue Devils athletics when regional action begins on Friday.

USA TODAY Sports lists Tennessee, Ole Miss as bowl season winners

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg named the Volunteers and the Rebels, as well as the playoff champs, as bowl season’s biggest champions.

With bowl season in the rearview mirror, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg took to the internet to decide who the biggest champions were from the past two weeks in college football.

The list of course kicked off with the two playoff champions, Michigan and Washington. The Wolverines finally got over the hump for their first playoff victory after coming up empty the previous two years, and the Huskies rode a superstar performance from quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Outside of the final four, however, Myerberg pointed out a trio of SEC teams. Tennessee got glimpses of promising young quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who put up 178 yards of offense and scored four touchdowns against Iowa’s formidable defense, while Missouri’s win over Ohio State issued a statement about the Tigers’ place in the college football pantheon.

Ole Miss set itself up for some positive 2024 momentum as well by capping off the first 11-win season in program history. The Rebels will only get better as Myerberg pointed out quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 2024 return and the best incoming transfer portal class in the nation will set Lane Kiffin’s team up well for the 12-team playoff.

The USA TODAY Sports writer rounded out his column by tabbing Kansas, who beat UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and Northwestern, who defeated Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, as other big winners. His full insight, as well as his losers list, can be found here.

Ranking the best bowl mascots of the season, including the edible Pop-Tart and a giant jar of mayo

Ranking the best bowl-specific mascots we’ve enjoyed this year.

College football bowl season is about to officially end, with the national championship game between Michigan and Washington on Monday finishing out the postseason.

But before we say goodbye, it’s time to have one last look at the most important parts of bowl season: The mascots.

I’m not talking about the ones that come with the various football programs playing in the bowls. I’m talking bowl-specific mascots, the ones that have gone viral on social media and in our hearts. We’re going to rank them by … I don’t know … how wacky they are and how much we loved watching them.

Let’s dive in:

Iowa punter Tory Taylor breaks single-season punt record

The Hawkeyes punter needed 20 yards during Monday’s Cheez-It Bowl against Tennessee, a record he broke on Iowa’s first possession.

The greatest record chase of the 2023 season came to a successful close on Monday as Iowa‘s Tory Taylor broke the single-season punt yardage record against Tennessee in the Cheez-It Bowl.

Taylor, this year’s Ray Guy Award winner as the nation’s best punter, had 4,119 punt yards in the regular season. Needing just 20 yards in Monday’s game to set the record, on Iowa’s opening possession, he boomed a 62-yarder to set the record emphatically.

The record, previously set by Michigan State‘s Johnny Pingel at 4,138 yards, had stood since 1938. Pingel needed 99 punts in his record-setting season. Taylor broke the record on his 90th punt of the year.

No other punter surpassed 3,600 punting yards this season. Taylor’s 47.9-yard average over the regular season was the third-best in the country despite the fact that he booted six more punts than any other player in the FBS. He averaged 6.6 punts per game in Iowa’s first 13 contests.

His most outstanding game came against Wisconsin when he kicked 10 punts for a total of 506 yards. Iowa won that game 15-6.

How has the SEC fared in bowl games so far?

The SEC has won three and lost three games.

The SEC has played in six games so far this postseason and the conference is currently batting .500. The SEC has won three and lost three games. The conference came out of the gate slow as Texas A&M and Kentucky lost the first two matchups to put the SEC in an 0-2 hole.

Then the marquee games hit and the wins started rolling in. Missouri took down Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to give them an 11-win season. Then Lane Kiffin secured Ole Miss’ first 11-win season in school history with a beatdown of Penn State. In a non-marquee game, Maryland destroyed Auburn to drop the conference to a 2-3 record, but then the Dawgs showed up.

Georgia was paired up against the Florida State Seminoles in a game of two teams that thought they were snubbed out of the playoffs. Apparently, “All games mattered” to Georgia as they showed up in the Orange Bowl with a 63-3 drubbing of the Seminoles. Maybe now the narratives can be put to rest.

Georgia wins Orange Bowl in an absolute rout over Florida State

The Bulldogs missed out on the College Football Playoff and took out some frustration on the Seminoles in the 63-3 victory.

Georgia didn’t get a spot in the College Football Playoffs to defend their consecutive national championships, but the Bulldogs took out those frustrations on a depleted Florida State team in a 63-3 Orange Bowl victory on Saturday.

The Bulldogs slammed the gas pedal to the floor from the opening whistle. After a 15-yard touchdown run from running back Kendall Milton in the first quarter, Georgia found the end zone five times in the second quarter. Milton scored again in the opening seconds of the second quarter, and running back Daijun Edwards got in on the action with a 15-yard touchdown of his own. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck threw two touchdowns, too, and wide receiver Ladd McConkey even got in on a trick play, running 27 yards to the end zone after a backward pass.

Beck sat out for the entire second half, but the Georgia offense didn’t slow down. Edwards punched into the end zone for a second touchdown, and backup quarterback Gunnar Stockton tossed a pair of touchdowns himself to keep the blowout going.

After a few more quiet minutes, the final score was solidified. Georgia ended the game with 673 yards of offense to Florida State’s 209.

Here are the best photos from Georgia’s massive victory.