2019–20 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Season | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season | August 24, 2019 | – December 14, 2019||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of bowls | 41[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All-star games | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowl games | December 20, 2019[b] | – January 13, 2020||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National Championship | 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location of Championship | Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Champions | LSU Tigers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowl Challenge Cup winner | SEC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2019–20 NCAA football games were a series of college football bowl games played to complete the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 20, 2019, and, aside from the all-star games that followed, ended with the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 13, 2020.
The total of 40 team-competitive bowls in FBS, including the national championship game, was unchanged from the previous season. With the first staging of the Hula Bowl since January 2008, the number of all-star games increased from three to four.
The schedule for the 2019–20 bowl games is below. All times are EST (UTC−5). The schedule consists of 40 bowl games in FBS (the New Year's Six bowl games, 33 additional bowl games, and the National Championship game) and one bowl game in FCS (the Celebration Bowl). Division II bowls and Division III bowls are not included here. After the National Championship game, there are additionally four all-star games scheduled.
The College Football Playoff system is used to determine a national championship of Division I FBS college football. A 13-member committee of experts ranked the top 25 teams in the nation after each of the last seven weeks of the regular season. The top four teams in the final ranking were seeded in a single-elimination semifinal round, with the winners advancing to the National Championship game.
The semifinal games for the 2019–20 season were the Peach Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. Both were played on December 28, 2019, as part of a yearly rotation of three pairs of six bowls, commonly referred to as the New Year's Six bowl games. The winners advanced to the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, scheduled for January 13, 2020.
Semifinals | Championship | |||||||
December 28 – Peach BowlMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta | ||||||||
1 | LSU | 63 | ||||||
4 | Oklahoma | 28 | January 13 – National ChampionshipMercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans | |||||
1 | LSU | 42 | ||||||
December 28 – Fiesta BowlState Farm Stadium, Glendale | 3 | Clemson | 25 | |||||
2 | Ohio State | 23 | ||||||
3 | Clemson | 29 |
Each of the games in the following table was televised by ESPN.
For the 2019–20 bowl season, the Dollar General Bowl changed sponsors to become the LendingTree Bowl.[3] The Cure Bowl, previously held at Camping World Stadium, changed venues to Exploria Stadium—both are in Orlando, Florida.[4] As the First Responder Bowl's usual venue of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict with the 2020 NHL Winter Classic, the 2019 edition was played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in nearby University Park, Texas.[5]
The FCS has one bowl game. They also had a championship bracket that culminated in the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Affiliations | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 21 | 12:00 p.m. | Celebration Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia |
ABC | North Carolina A&T Aggies (8–3) Alcorn State Braves (9–3) |
MEAC SWAC |
North Carolina A&T 64 Alcorn State 44 |
Organizers renamed the East–West Shrine Game to East–West Shrine Bowl.[8] The Hula Bowl returned for its first playing since January 2008.[9]
Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan. 12 | Tropical Bowl | Spec Martin Stadium DeLand, Florida |
National Team American Team |
National 35 American 7 | ||
Jan. 18 | 3:00 p.m. | East–West Shrine Bowl | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida |
NFL Network | East Team West Team |
East 31 West 27 |
7:00 p.m. | NFLPA Collegiate Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California |
National Team American Team |
National 30 American 20 | ||
Jan. 25 | 2:30 p.m. | Senior Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama |
North Team South Team |
North 34 South 17 | |
Jan. 26 | 10:30 p.m. | Hula Bowl | Aloha Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii |
CBS Sports Network | Team Kai Team Aina |
Kai 23 Aina 7 |
On December 8, 2019, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced its final team rankings for the year.[10] Two of the four semifinalists – Clemson and Oklahoma – had also been semifinalists the previous season. This was the sixth year of the College Football Playoff era, and the first year that Alabama was not in the semifinals.
Rank | Team | W–L | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
LSU Tigers | 13–0 | SEC champions | Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
2 |
Ohio State Buckeyes | 13–0 |
Big Ten champions | Fiesta Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
3 |
Clemson Tigers | 13–0 |
ACC champions | Fiesta Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
4 |
Oklahoma Sooners | 12–1 |
Big 12 champions | Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
5 |
Georgia Bulldogs | 11–2 |
SEC East Division champions | Sugar Bowl (NY6) |
6 |
Oregon Ducks | 11–2 |
Pac-12 champions | Rose Bowl (NY6) |
7 |
Baylor Bears | 11–2 |
Big 12 first place (tie) | Sugar Bowl (NY6) |
8 |
Wisconsin Badgers | 10–3 |
Big Ten West Division co-champions | Rose Bowl (NY6) |
9 |
Florida Gators | 10–2 |
SEC East division second place | Orange Bowl (NY6) |
10 |
Penn State Nittany Lions | 10–2 |
Big Ten East Division second place | Cotton Bowl (NY6) |
11 |
Utah Utes | 11–2 |
Pac-12 South Division champions | Alamo Bowl |
12 |
Auburn Tigers | 9–3 |
SEC West Division third place | Outback Bowl |
13 |
Alabama Crimson Tide | 10–2 |
SEC West Division second place | Citrus Bowl |
14 |
Michigan Wolverines | 9–3 |
Big Ten East Division third place | Citrus Bowl |
15 |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 10–2 |
Independent | Camping World Bowl |
16 |
Iowa Hawkeyes | 9–3 |
Big Ten West Division third place | Holiday Bowl |
17 |
Memphis Tigers | 12–1 |
American champions | Cotton Bowl (NY6) |
18 |
Minnesota Golden Gophers | 10–2 |
Big Ten West Division co-champions | Outback Bowl |
19 |
Boise State Broncos | 12–1 |
Mountain West champions | Las Vegas Bowl |
20 |
Appalachian State Mountaineers | 12–1 |
Sun Belt champions | New Orleans Bowl |
21 |
Cincinnati Bearcats | 10–3 |
American East Division champions | Birmingham Bowl |
22 |
USC Trojans | 8–4 |
Pac-12 South Division second place | Holiday Bowl |
23 |
Navy Midshipmen | 10–2 |
American West Division co-champions | Liberty Bowl |
24 |
Virginia Cavaliers | 9–4 |
ACC Coastal Division champions | Orange Bowl (NY6) |
25 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys | 8–4 |
Big 12 third place (tie) | Texas Bowl |
Two bowls featured a matchup of conference champions—the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. Rankings are per the above CFP standings.
Conference | Champion | W–L | Rank | Bowl game |
---|---|---|---|---|
ACC | Clemson Tigers | 13–0 |
3 | Fiesta Bowl |
American | Memphis Tigers | 12–1 |
17 | Cotton Bowl |
Big Ten | Ohio State Buckeyes | 13–0 |
2 | Fiesta Bowl |
Big 12 | Oklahoma Sooners | 12–1 |
4 | Peach Bowl |
C-USA | Florida Atlantic Owls | 10–3 |
– | Boca Raton Bowl |
MAC | Miami (OH) RedHawks | 8–5 | – | LendingTree Bowl |
Mountain West | Boise State Broncos | 12–1 |
18 | Las Vegas Bowl |
Pac-12 | Oregon Ducks | 11–2 |
6 | Rose Bowl |
SEC | LSU Tigers | 13–0 |
1 | Peach Bowl |
Sun Belt | Appalachian State Mountaineers | 12–1 |
20 | New Orleans Bowl |
Generally, a team must have at least six wins to be considered bowl eligible, with at least five of those wins being against FBS opponents. The College Football Playoff semi-final games are determined based on the top four seeds in the playoff committee's final rankings. The remainder of the bowl eligible teams are selected by each respective bowl based on conference tie-ins, order of selection, match-up considerations, and other factors.
However, six teams (Army, East Carolina, Florida, Hawaii, Liberty and Virginia Tech) needed to win seven games to become bowl eligible for the 2019–20 season – Army and Hawaii because their regular season consisted of 13 games, and the other four because they defeated two FCS teams during the season. At season's end, Florida, Hawaii, Liberty, and Virginia Tech were bowl-eligible with at least seven wins each, while Army and East Carolina did not reach the seven win threshold.
Number of bowl berths available: 78
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 79
As there were more bowl-eligible teams than there were bowl berths available, one team that was bowl-eligible (Toledo, 6–6) did not receive an invitation.[11]
Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 51
All times Eastern.
Game | Date | Matchup | Network | Viewers (millions) | TV Rating | Location | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peach Bowl (semifinal) | December 28, 2019, 4:00 p.m. | No. 4 Oklahoma | 28 | No. 1 LSU | 63 | ESPN | 17.2 | 9.5 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA |
Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) | December 28, 2019, 8:00 p.m. | No. 3 Clemson | 29 | No. 2 Ohio State | 23 | 21.2 | 11.1 | State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ | |
National Championship | January 13, 2020, 8:00 p.m. | No. 3 Clemson | 25 | No. 1 LSU | 42 | 25.6 | 14.3 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA |