The 2020-21 college football bowl season will be unlike any previous incarnation. For college bowl betting, the best opportunities may come from lesser-known teams in lower-profile games this season.
On what seems like a daily basis, committees cancel more games as successive teams opt to skip out on postseason contests. There are still many D1 FBS teams planning to compete in the structure, however.
2020-21 bowl betting: Which college bowl games are canceled?
Thus far, bowl committees have called off 10 of the original 43 games planned for this season. In most of the cases, it’s because local regulations did not allow for the game to go on. The canceled list, as of the time of this article on Dec. 18, includes:
- Bahamas Bowl
- Celebration Bowl
- Fenway Bowl
- Hawaii Bowl
- Holiday Bowl
- LA Bowl
- Las Vegas Bowl
- Pinstripe Bowl
- Quick Lane Bowl
- RedBox Bowl
- Sun Bowl
While this means a lot fewer bowl games spots for teams, many college football programs have already given notice that they don’t intend to play a postseason game. Once again, at the time of this article, that list included:
- Boston College
- Kansas State
- Louisville
- Maryland
- Pittsburgh
- San Diego State
- Stanford
- UCLA
- Utah
- Virginia
- Virginia Tech
So most of the FBS ranks remain on track to play in the 33 bowl games still currently in contention. Some of the bids in those games are already a matter of public record.
2020-21 college bowl game schedule
These games (and their wacky names) get going as soon as Monday, Dec. 21, in places around the country. Thus, matchups for several of the games scheduled to take place before 2020 ends are already set.
It’s important for bettors to pay attention to headlines regarding these games, however. As with almost everything else this year, any of the details could change at any time.
On that same note, it’s good to familiarize yourself with the house rules of your sportsbook of choice when it comes to game cancelations and other contingencies. Don’t just assume you’ll get your bet back if a game gets postponed, for example.
At the time of publication, here’s what the 2020-21 bowl season looks like, in chronological order. All games will be broadcast by ESPN unless otherwise noted. All times listed are Eastern Time Zone (EST).
Myrtle Beach Bowl
- Date: Monday, Dec. 21
- Location: Brooks Stadium, Conway, South Carolina
- Time: 2:30 p.m.
- Teams: Appalachian State, North Texas
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22
- Location: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Teams: Nevada, Tulane
Boca Raton Bowl
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22
- Location: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Teams: BYU, UCF
New Orleans Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 23
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Teams: Georgia Southern, Louisiana Tech
Montgomery Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 23
- Location: Cramtown Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Teams: Florida Atlantic, Memphis
- Broadcast: ESPN, ESPN2
New Mexico Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 24
- Location: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Teams: Hawaii, Houston
Camellia Bowl
- Date: Friday, Dec. 25
- Location: Cramtown Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
- Time: 2:30 p.m.
- Teams: MAC team, Sun Belt team
Gasparilla Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
- Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
- Time: Noon
- Teams: Any two teams from the AAC, ACC, Big 12, C-USA, MAC, MWC, Pac-12 and/or SEC conferences
- Broadcast: ABC
Cure Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
- Location: Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Florida
- Time: Noon
- Teams: AAC team, Sun Belt team
First Responder Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
- Location: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Teams: U-Texas San Antonio, AAC, ACC, or Big 12 team
- Broadcast: ABC
Lending Tree Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
- Location: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Teams: Georgia State, Western Kentucky
Independence Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
- Location: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Teams: Army, TBD
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 26
- Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
- Time: 10:15 p.m.
- Teams: Big 12 team, Pac-12 team
Military Bowl
- Date: Monday, Dec. 28
- Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
- Time: 2:30 p.m.
- Teams: AAC team, ACC team
Cheez-It Bowl
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 29
- Location: Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Florida
- Time: 5:30 p.m.
- Teams: ACC team, Big 12 team
Alamo Bowl
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 29
- Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
- Time: 9 p.m.
- Teams: Big 12 team, Pac-12 team
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 30
- Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Time: Noon
- Teams: ACC team, Big Ten team
Music City Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 30
- Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Teams: Big Ten team, SEC team
Cotton Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 30
- Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- Time: 7:15 p.m.
- Teams: The College Football Playoff committee will set this matchup
Armed Forces Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 31
- Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
- Time: Noon
- Teams: Pac-12 team, SEC team
Arizona Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 31
- Location: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Teams: MAC team, MWC team
- Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
Autozone Liberty Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 31
- Location: Liberty Bowl Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Teams: Big 12 team, SEC team
Texas Bowl
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 31
- Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Teams: Big 12 team, SEC team
Birmingham Bowl
- Date: Friday, Jan. 1
- Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
- Time: Noon
- Teams: ACC team, SEC team
- Broadcast: ESPN2
Peach Bowl
- Date: Friday, Jan. 1
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Time: 12:30 p.m.
- Teams: The College Football Playoff committee will set this matchup
Citrus Bowl
- Date: Friday, Jan. 1
- Location: Camping World Bowl, Orlando, Florida
- Time: 1 p.m.
- Teams: Big Ten team, SEC team
- Broadcast: ABC
Rose Bowl
- Date: Friday, Jan. 1
- Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- Time: 5 p.m.
- Teams: The College Football Playoff committee will set this matchup
Sugar Bowl
- Date: Friday, Jan. 1
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Time: 8:45 p.m.
- Teams: The College Football Playoff committee will set this matchup
Gator Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 2
- Location: TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
- Time: Noon
- Teams: ACC team, SEC team
Outback Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 2
- Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
- Time: 12:30 p.m.
- Teams: Big Ten team, SEC team
Fiesta Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 2
- Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Teams: The College Football Playoff committee will set this matchup
Orange Bowl
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 2
- Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Teams: The College Football Playoff committee will set this matchup
College Football Playoff National Championship Game
- Date: Monday, Jan. 11
- Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Time: 8 p.m.
- Teams: Rose Bowl winner, Sugar Bowl winner
If the trends for this year continue, the 2020-21 bowl season could be full of lots of surprises. Each contest that actually takes place is an opportunity for bettors to have some skin in the game.
