College football playoff thread: A Tournament, a Tournament, a Tournament of Lies

[dixiehack]

Here is the 2025-26 College Football Playoff Schedule. All times Central.

Dec. 19
No. 9 Alabama (-1.5) at Oklahoma 7 pm ABC

Dec. 20
No. 10 Miami (Fla.) (+4) at No. 7 Texas A&M 11 am ABC
No. 11 Tulane (+16.5) at No. 6 Ole Miss 2:30 pm TNT
No. 12 James Madison (+20.5) at No. 5 Oregon 6:30 pm TNT

Dec. 31
Cotton: No. 2 Ohio State vs. TBD 6:30 pm ESPN

Jan. 1
Orange: No. 4 Texas Tech vs. TBD 11 am ESPN
Rose: No. 1 Indiana vs. TBD 3 pm ESPN
Sugar: No. 3 Georgia vs. TBD 7 pm ESPN

Jan. 8
Fiesta: TBD

Jan. 9
Peach: TBD

Jan. 19
National championship game (at Miami Gardens, Fla.)

 

[Huggy]

Quality thread title there

 

[Jake from State Farm]

Is there going to be a thread for the other bowls, do we put them here or do we give a ****?

 

[FileNotFound]

Is there going to be a thread for the other bowls, do we put them here or do we give a ****?

One vote for “don’t give a ****.” The bowls have become like the NIT.

 

[dixiehack]

Is there going to be a thread for the other bowls, do we put them here or do we give a ****?

There will be but probably not coming until tomorrow. Need finalized matchups and then it takes time for lines to be set.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Texas Tech looks pretty damn good.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Is there going to be a thread for the other bowls, do we put them here or do we give a ****?

Don’t care. No dog in that … well, it’s not really a hunt, is it? More like a dog and pony show.

The Quidditch World Cup is more relevant.

 

[jr/shotglass]

The Irish say if you don't let us into your party, you don't get to see our golden helmets at all.

Irish say no bowl after CFP snub, rankings 'farce'

 

[micropolitan guy]

Don’t care. No dog in that … well, it’s not really a hunt, is it? More like a dog and pony show.

The Quidditch World Cup is more relevant.

And yet some of us will watch as much college football as possible and miss it when it's gone.

But hey, I admit I need help, having attended in person six MAC games, two CUSA games, a CAA game, a Northwest Conference game, two MWC games, six Pac-12 games and 11 Pac-2 games in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons.

I seriously considered road-tripping to Pullman on Nov. 29, had it been a noon kickoff instead of a 3:30 game.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The Irish say if you don't let us into your party, you don't get to see our golden helmets at all.

Irish say no bowl after CFP snub, rankings 'farce'

Isn’t that exactly what they used to do if they didn’t get into a New Year’s Day bowl?

 

[dixiehack]

December 19 is both my first full day back at work after three days in Nashville and my last day of work until the 29th. There is so much I will need to do.

Will any of that stop me from dropping everything and watching Kennesaw State in the Myrtle Beach Bowl at 11 am? It will not.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

One vote for “don’t give a ****.” The bowls have become like the NIT.

I do not recognize participation trophy games - except the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Isn’t that exactly what they used to do if they didn’t get into a New Year’s Day bowl?

No, they have played in at least one Insight Bowl and one Sun Bowl that I know of in recent years. Neither was a NYD game. Neither was very high-profile.

 

[MarkWatney]

Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline them ...

 

[HanSenSE]

The Irish say if you don't let us into your party, you don't get to see our golden helmets at all.

Irish say no bowl after CFP snub, rankings 'farce'

If you ever needed a reason to hate Notre Dame, this is it. The college football world doesn't revolve around them. No one's digging up Lindsey Nelson to do the highlights. And "Rudy" was mostly a pipe dream. May as well have put up a gif of Cartman saying "Screw you guys, I'm going home."

 

[maumann2]

The equivalent of the rich kid who didn't get picked in the sandlot game taking his ball and going home.

And Notre Dame wonders why they're so despised by a large portion of the fanbase.

What would George Gipp think?

EDIT: @HanSenSE is my twin.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

I do not recognize participation trophy games - except the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

If a pop-tart is willing to risk its life and drop into the toaster, the least I can do is sit on the couch and watch the game.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

No, they have played in at least one Insight Bowl and one Sun Bowl that I know of in recent years. Neither was a NYD game. Neither was very high-profile.

I’m thinking further back, not recent years. Seems like back before the Fiesta Bowl expanded the holiday field, if Notre Dame wasn’t getting Sugar, Orange or Cotton, it was out of the picture.

 

[maumann2]

According to Wiki, their first non-NYD game was the 1976 Gator Bowl when they beat Penn State. They didn't play in any bowl game between the 1924 Rose Bowl and 1969 Cotton Bowl.

 

[Batman]

One vote for “don’t give a ****.” The bowls have become like the NIT.

And yet they are holiday season entertainment that will offer up some goofy moments, crazy plays, and fun clips. So whether they mean anything or not, I'm good with them. Hell, 30 of the 60 games on any given Saturday involve teams playing out the string in some form or fashion and we don't downgrade them for taking the field.