Bowl season starts before the 2020 college football season ends.
That is par for the course for what has been an unprecedented college football season played through the COVID-19 pandemic. Several teams have accepted bowl bids, and SMU will play UTSA in the Tropical Care Smoothie Bowl on Saturday.
MORE: Eight College Football Playoff scenarios
That is the start of what promises to be a bowl season that will include teams opting out and bowl ties being tested from now until the College Football Playoff championship game. Stadium’s Brett McMurphy first reported several of the early bowl matchups so far.
This season’s semifinals are scheduled for Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl. The Playoff championship game will be Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Sporting News tracks the 2020-21 college football bids here.
College football bowl schedule 2020-21
Monday, Dec. 21
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | North Texas vs. Appalachian State | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Tuesday, Dec. 22
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Nevada vs. Tulane | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Boca Raton Bowl | UCF vs. BYU | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Wednesday, Dec. 23
| R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana Tech | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Montgomery Bowl* | Memphis vs. FAU | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN/ESPN2 |
Thursday, Dec. 24
| New Mexico Bowl | Hawaii vs. Houston | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Friday, Dec. 25
| Camellia Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Saturday, Dec. 26
| Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | TBA vs.TBA | 12 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Cure Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| SERVPRO First Responder Bowl | UTSA vs. TBD | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| LendingTree Bowl | Georgia State vs. Western Kentucky | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Army vs. TBA | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Guaranteed Rate Bowl | TBA vs.TBA | 10:15 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Monday, Dec. 28
| Military Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Tuesday, Dec. 29
| Cheez-It Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Wednesday, Dec. 30
| TransPerfect Music City Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Thursday, Dec. 31
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| AutoZone Liberty Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 4 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Arizona Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 4 p.m. ET | CBSSN |
| Texas Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN |
Friday, Jan. 1
| TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN2 |
| Vrbo Citrus Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 1 p.m. ET | ABC |
Saturday, Jan. 2
| TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Outback Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 12:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
New Year’s Day Six bowls
| DATE | BOWL GAMES | TEAMS | TIME | TV |
| Dec. 30 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | TBA vs. TBA | 7:15 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Jan. 1 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Jan. 2 | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 4 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Jan. 2 | Capital One Orange Bowl | TBA vs. TBA | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN |
College Football Playoff schedule
| DATE | BOWL GAMES | TEAMS | TIME |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl Game (CFP Semifinal) | TBA vs. TBA | 5 p.m. ET |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal) | TBA vs. TBA | 8:45 p.m. ET |
| Jan. 11 | CFP National Championship | TBA vs. TBA | 8 p.m. ET |
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