2024-25 Bowl Schedule: Ohio State, Notre Dame to face off in National Championship Game
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - For the first time since 2005-06, the Southeastern Conference will go back-to-back years without a team in the National Championship Game.
Despite having three teams seeded in the first edition of the 12-team format, Tennessee, Georgia, and lastly Texas were all eliminated.
With just over two minutes left in the Cotton Bowl Classic, the Longhorns faced fourth-and-goal with a chance to tie the game and potentially force overtime.
Instead, Jack Sawyer hit Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers in the back, forcing a fumble, and scored on an 83-yeard scoop-and-score, sending the Buckeyes to their third CFP National Championship Game.
The day before in the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame and Penn State was a much closer affair.
The Nittany Lions led 24-17 midway through the third quarter, but a 54-yard pass from Jaden Greathouse to Riley Leonard tied the game up with 4:38 remaining. Finally, with just seven seconds left, Mitch Jeter hit a 41-yard field goal to send Notre Dame to their first National Championship Game since the blowout loss to Alabama at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
Ohio State opened as a 9.5 point favorite over the Irish Saturday.
Despite the storied histories of both programs and relatively close proximity of the two schools, they’ve only met six times on the football field, with the first coming in 1995. In that time, the Buckeyes have never lost to Notre Dame.
Notre Dame now has a chance to finally end that streak and win their first national championship since 1988 in the heart of SEC country at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
With Ohio State’s win over Texas, the Big Ten can officially claim the 2024-25 bowl season with 10 postseason wins, including Michigan’s 19-13 win over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
At one point in the game, the Tide had more turnovers (three) than total yards (two).
Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama finishes their season at 9-4, snapping a 16-year streak of winning 10 or more games.
The SEC finished the bowl season 8-7, including Texas' two wins in the College Football playoff.
The American Athletic Conference finishes with the best winning percentage, going 6-2 this year, while the ACC did not fare well, going just 2-1.
Likewise, Conference USA’s bowl record is one to forget, going just 2-11, including a loss for this year’s C-USA champions.
Ohio, the Mid-American Conference Champions, entered the Cure Bowl as a 6-point favorite over the Conference USA Champion Jax State in the only bowl game that featured two conference champions.
The Gamecocks trailed at 27-7 at halftime, but pulled to within three points. Ultimately, the comeback fell short and Jax State lost the Cure Bowl 30-27 in just their second year as an FBS program.
Monday, January 20
| Bowl | Time | Team | Team | Location | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Football Playoff National Championship | 6:30 p.m. | No. 6 Ohio State | No. 5 Notre Dame | Atlanta, Ga. | ESPN |
FINAL SCORES
Saturday, December 14
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celebration Bowl | FINAL | Jackson St. - 28 | South Carolina St. -7 | Atlanta, Ga | ABC |
| Camellia Bowl | FIANL | South Alabama - 30 | Western Michigan - 23 | Montgomery, Ala. | ESPN |
Tuesday, December 17
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frisco Bowl | FINAL | No. 25 Memphis - 42 | West Virginia - 37 | Frisco, Tx. | ESPN |
Wednesday, December 18
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Raton Bowl | FINAL | Western Kentucky - 17 | James Madison - 27 | Boca Raton, Fla. | ESPN |
| LA Bowl | FINAL | California - 13 | No. 24 UNLV - 24 | Inglewood, Cali. | ESPN |
Thursday, December 19
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Bowl | FINAL | Georgia Southern - 26 | Sam Houston - 31 | New Orleans, La. | ESPN2 |
Friday, December 20
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cure Bowl | FINAL | Ohio - 30 | Jacksonville State - 27 | Orlando, Fla. | ESPN |
| Gasparilla Bowl | FINAL | Florida - 33 | Tulane - 8 | Tampa, Fla. | ESPN |
| CFP First Round | FINAL | No. 8 Indiana - 17 | No. 5 Notre Dame - 27 | South Bend, Ind. | ABC/ESPN |
Saturday, December 21
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFP First Round | FINAL | No. 10 SMU - 10 | No. 4 Penn State - 38 | University Park, Pa. | TNT/MAX |
| CFP First Round | FINAL | No. 16 Clemson - 24 | No. 3 Texas - 38 | Austin, Tx. | TNT/MAX |
| CFP First Round | FINAL | No. 7 Tennessee - 17 | No. 6 Ohio State - 42 | Columbus, Ohio | ABC/ESPN |
Monday, December 23
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | FINAL | Coastal Carolina - 15 | UTSA - 44 | Conway, SC. | ESPN |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | FINAL | Northern Illinois - 28 | Fresno State - 20 | Boise, Idaho | ESPN |
Tuesday, December 24
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawai’i Bowl | FINAL (5OT) | South Florida - 41 | San Jose St. - 39 | Honolulu, Hawaii | ESPN |
Thursday, December 26
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GameAbove Sports Bowl | FINAL ( 6OT) | Pitt - 46 | Toledo - 48 | Detroit, Mi. | ESPN |
| Rate Bowl | FINAL | Rutgers - 41 | Kansas St. - 44 | Phoenix, Ariz. | ESPN |
| 68 Ventures Bowl | FINAL | Arkansas St. - 38 | Bowling Green - 31 | Mobile, Ala. | ESPN |
Friday, December 27
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed Forces Bowl | FINAL | Navy - 21 | Oklahoma - 20 | Fort Worth, Tx. | ESPN |
| Birmingham Bowl | FINAL | Georgia Tech - 27 | Vanderbilt - 35 | Birmingham, Ala. | ESPN |
| Liberty Bowl | FINAL | Arkansas - 39 | Texas Tech - 27 | Memphis, Tenn. | ESPN |
| Holiday Bowl | FINAL | Syracuse - 52 | Washington St. - 35 | San Diego, Cali. | WBRC 6 News |
| Las Vegas Bowl | FINAL | USC - 35 | Texas A&M - 31 | Las Vegas, Nev. | ESPN |
Saturday, December 28
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenway Bowl | FINAL | UConn - 27 | North Carolina - 14 | Boston, Mass. | ESPN |
| Pinstripe Bowl | FINAL | Boston College - 15 | Nebraska - 20 | Bronx, NY | ABC |
| New Mexico Bowl | FINAL | TCU - 34 | Louisiana - 3 | Albuquerque, NM | ESPN |
| Pop-Tarts Bowl | FINAL | No. 13 Miami (FL) - 41 | No. 18 -Iowa St. - 42 | Orlando, Fla. | ABC |
| Arizona Bowl | FINAL | Colorado St. - 17 | Miami (OH) - 43 | Tucson, Ariz. | CW |
| Military Bowl | FINAL | NC State - 21 | East Carolina - 26 | Annapolis, Md. | ESPN |
| Alamo Bowl | FINAL | No. 17 BYU - 36 | No. 23 Colorado - 14 | San Antonio, Tx. | ABC |
| Independence Bowl | FINAL | No. 22 Army - 27 | Louisiana Tech - 6 | Shreveport, La. | ESPN |
Monday, December 30
| Bowl | Time | Team | Team | Location | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music City Bowl | 1:30 p.m. | No. 19 Missouri - 27 | Iowa - 24 | Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
Tuesday, December 31
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliaquest Bowl | FINAL | No. 11 Alabama - 13 | Michigan - 19 | Tampa, Fla. | ESPN |
| Sun Bowl | FINAL | Louisville - 35 | Washington - 34 | El Paso, Tx. | CBS |
| Citrus Bowl | FINAL | No. 15 South Carolina - 17 | No. 20 Illinois - 21 | Orlando, Fla. | ABC |
| Texas Bowl | FINAL | LSU - 44 | Baylor - 31 | Houston, Tx. | ESPN |
| Fiesta Bowl CFP Quarterfinal | FINAL | No. 4 Penn State - 31 | No. 9 Boise St. - 14 | Glendale, Ariz. | ESPN |
Wednesday, January 1
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peach Bowl CFP Quarterfinal | FINAL (2OT) | No. 3 Texas - 39 | No. 12 Arizona St. - 31 | Atlanta, Ga. | ESPN |
| Rose Bowl CFP Quarterfinal | FINAL | No. 8 Ohio State - 41 | No. 1 Oregon - 21 | Pasadena, Cali. | ESPN |
| Sugar Bowl CFP Quarterfinal | POSTPONED | No. 7 Notre Dame | No. 2 Georgia | New Orleans, La. | ESPN |
Thursday, January 2
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Bowl | FINAL | No. 7 Notre Dame - 23 | No. 2 Georgia - 10 | New Orleans, La. | ESPN |
| Gator Bowl | FINAL | No. 14 Ole Miss - 52 | Duke - 20 | Jacksonville, Fla. | ESPN |
Friday, January 3
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Responder Bowl | FINAL | North Texas - 28 | Texas St. - 30 | Dallas, Tx. | ESPN |
| Duke’s Mayo Bowl | FINAL | Minnesota - 24 | Virginia Tech - 10 | Charlotte, NC | ESPN |
Saturday, January 4
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahamas Bowl | FINAL | Liberty - 7 | Buffalo - 26 | Nassau, Bahamas | ESPN2 |
Thursday, January 9
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Bowl CFP Semifinal | FINAL | No. 4 Penn State - 24 | No. 5 Notre Dame - 27 | Miami Gardens, Fla. | ESPN |
Friday, January 10
| Bowl | Team | Team | Location | Channel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton Bowl CFP Semifinal | FINAL | No. 6 Ohio State - 28 | No. 3 Texas - 14 | Arlington, Tx. | ESPN |
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