The 2018–19 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games completing the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 15, 2018, and, aside from the all-star games that follow, ended with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship, which was played on January 7, 2019.
| 2018–19 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | August 25, 2018 – December 8, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of bowls | 41[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All-star games | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl games | December 15, 2018 – January 7, 2019[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Championship | 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location of Championship | Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, CA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champions | Clemson Tigers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Challenge Cup winner | Conference USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The total of 40 team-competitive bowls in FBS, including the national championship game,[1] was unchanged from the previous year. To fill the 78 available bowl slots, a total of 10 teams (13% of all participants) with non-winning records (6–6) were invited to bowl games. This was the second consecutive year, and only the third time in eight years, that no teams with losing seasons (6–7 or 5–7) were invited to fill available bowl berths.
Only 39 of the 40 bowls were played, with the First Responder Bowl becoming the first ever postseason game at the FBS-level (or its predecessors) to be cancelled, as a severe lightning storm lingered for over two hours near the Cotton Bowl Stadium.[2][3] The game was scored as a no-contest for the teams involved.[4]
The three all-star games were the East–West Shrine Game and NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, played on January 19, and the Senior Bowl, played on January 26.
Schedule
The schedule for the 2018–19 bowl games is below. All times are EST (UTC−5).
College Football Playoff and Championship Game
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. The top four teams in the final ranking play in a single-elimination semifinal round, with the winners advancing to the National Championship game.
The semifinal games for the 2018–19 season were the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl. Both were played on December 29 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 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on January 7.
.jpg)
| Semifinals | Championship | |||||||
| December 29 – Orange BowlHard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens | ||||||||
| 1 | Alabama | 45 | ||||||
| 4 | Oklahoma | 34 | January 7 – National ChampionshipLevi's Stadium, Santa Clara | |||||
| 1 | Alabama | 16 | ||||||
| December 29 – Cotton BowlAT&T Stadium, Arlington | 2 | Clemson | 44 | |||||
| 2 | Clemson | 30 | ||||||
| 3 | Notre Dame | 3 | ||||||
Each of the games in the following table was televised by ESPN.
Non-CFP bowl games
For the 2018–19 bowl season, the Gasparilla Bowl was re-located from Tropicana Field to Raymond James Stadium (which already hosts the Outback Bowl). Under new sponsorship deals in comparison to the prior season's bowl games, the Cactus Bowl was renamed the Cheez-It Bowl, the Heart of Dallas Bowl was renamed the First Responder Bowl, and the Foster Farms Bowl was renamed the Redbox Bowl. The Gator Bowl name was reinstated for the first time since the 2013 season, as it had been known as the TaxSlayer Bowl for the four prior editions.
FCS bowl game
The FCS has one bowl game; they also have a championship bracket that began on November 24 and ended on January 5.
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Affiliations | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Celebration Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia | ABC | North Carolina A&T Aggies (9–2) Alcorn State Braves (9–3) | MEAC SWAC | North Carolina A&T 24 Alcorn State 22 |
All-star games
| Date | Time (EST) | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 13 | Tropical Bowl | Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, Florida | American Team National Team | American 24 National 16 | ||
| Jan. 19[5] | 3:00 p.m. | East–West Shrine Game | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Florida | NFL Network | West Team East Team | West 21 East 17 |
| 5:00 p.m. | NFLPA Collegiate Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | FS1 | American Team National Team | American 10 National 7 | |
| Jan. 26[6] | 2:30 p.m. | Senior Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama | NFL Network | North Team South Team | North 34 South 24 |
Team selections
Generally, a team must have at least six wins to be considered bowl eligible. 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.
CFP top 25 standings and bowl games
On December 2, 2018, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced their final team rankings for the season.[7]
Three of the four semifinalists – Alabama, Clemson, and Oklahoma – had also been semifinalists the previous season.
| Rank | Team | W–L | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 13–0 | SEC champions | Orange Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
2 | Clemson Tigers | 13–0 | ACC champions | Cotton Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
3 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 12–0 | Independent | Cotton Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
4 | Oklahoma Sooners | 12–1 | Big 12 champions | Orange Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
5 | Georgia Bulldogs | 11–2 | SEC East Division champions | Sugar Bowl (NY6) |
6 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 12–1 | Big Ten champions | Rose Bowl (NY6) |
7 | Michigan Wolverines | 10–2 | Big Ten East Division co-champions | Peach Bowl (NY6) |
8 | UCF Knights | 12–0 | AAC champions | Fiesta Bowl (NY6) |
9 | Washington Huskies | 10–3 | Pac-12 champions | Rose Bowl (NY6) |
10 | Florida Gators | 9–3 | SEC East Division second place (tie) | Peach Bowl (NY6) |
11 | LSU Tigers | 9–3 | SEC West Division second place (tie) | Fiesta Bowl (NY6) |
12 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 9–3 | Big Ten East Division third place | Citrus Bowl |
13 | Washington State Cougars | 10–2 | Pac-12 North Division co-champions | Alamo Bowl |
14 | Kentucky Wildcats | 9–3 | SEC East Division second place (tie) | Citrus Bowl |
15 | Texas Longhorns | 9–4 | Big 12 second place | Sugar Bowl (NY6) |
16 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 8–3 | Big 12 third place (tie) | Camping World Bowl |
17 | Utah Utes | 9–4 | Pac-12 South Division champions | Holiday Bowl |
18 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 8–4 | SEC West Division fourth place | Outback Bowl |
19 | Texas A&M Aggies | 8–4 | SEC West Division second place (tie) | Gator Bowl |
20 | Syracuse Orange | 9–3 | ACC Atlantic Division second place | Camping World Bowl |
21 | Fresno State Bulldogs | 11–2 | Mountain West champions | Las Vegas Bowl |
22 | Northwestern Wildcats | 8–5 | Big Ten West Division champions | Holiday Bowl |
23 | Missouri Tigers | 8–4 | SEC East Division fourth place (tie) | Liberty Bowl |
24 | Iowa State Cyclones | 8–4 | Big 12 third place (tie) | Alamo Bowl |
25 | Boise State Broncos | 10–3 | MWC West Division champions | First Responder Bowl |
Conference champions' bowl games
Three bowls will feature two conference champions playing against each other—the Boca Raton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Rose Bowl. Rankings are per the above CFP standings.
Bowl–eligible teams
- ACC (11): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), NC State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
- American (7): Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, UCF
- Big Ten (9): Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
- Big 12 (7): Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia
- C-USA (7): FIU, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Southern Miss, UAB
- MAC (7): Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
- Mountain West (7): Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming
- Pac-12 (7): Arizona State, California, Oregon, Stanford, Utah, Washington, Washington State
- SEC (11): Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
- Sun Belt (6): Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Louisiana–Monroe, Troy
- Independent (3): Army, BYU, Notre Dame
Number of bowl berths available: 78
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82
Bowl-eligible teams that did not receive a berth
As there were more bowl-eligible teams than berths available, four teams that were bowl-eligible did not receive an invitation.
- Louisiana–Monroe (6–6)
- Miami (OH) (6–6)
- Southern Miss (6–5)
- Wyoming (6–6)
Bowl–ineligible teams
- ACC (3): Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina
- American (5): East Carolina, Navy, SMU, Tulsa, UConn
- Big Ten (5): Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Rutgers
- Big 12 (3): Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech
- C-USA (7): Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, Rice, UTEP, UTSA, Western Kentucky
- MAC (5): Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State
- Mountain West (5): Air Force, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV
- Pac-12 (5): Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, USC
- SEC (3): Arkansas, Ole Miss,[c] Tennessee
- Sun Belt (4): Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, South Alabama, Texas State
- Independent (3): Liberty,[d] New Mexico State, UMass
Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 48
Television Ratings
Non-CFP bowl games
College Football Playoff
| Game | Date | Matchup | Network | Viewers (millions) | TV Rating | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton Bowl (semifinal) | December 29, 2018, 4:00 ET | #3 Notre Dame | 3 | #2 Clemson | 30 | ESPN | 16.9 | 9.4 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX |
| Orange Bowl (semifinal) | December 29, 2018, 8:00 ET | #4 Oklahoma | 34 | #1 Alabama | 45 | 19.1 | 9.9 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL | |
| National Championship | January 7, 2019, 8:00 ET | #2 Clemson | 44 | #1 Alabama | 16 | 25.3 | 13.6 | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA | |
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- Kelly, Doug (ed.). "2018–19 Football Bowl Association Media Guide" (PDF). footballbowlassociation.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Amazon Web Services.
- Low, Chris (January 10, 2019). "College football all-bowl team: Trevor Lawrence, Quinnen Williams lead the way". ESPN. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- McGee, Ryan (January 4, 2019). "Bowl season: Still crazy after all these years". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2019.