The 2021 college football season is just about ready to kick off, and while there are sure to be innumerable twists, turns, thrills and chills along the way, we’re going to skip the main course and head right to the dessert table by predicting all 44 bowl matchups, including the College Football Playoff semifinals and CFP National Championship game.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have dusted off their crystal balls and made their preseason picks, and will continue to hone their bowl forecasts as the season progresses. But for now, here’s how they see bowl season shaping up.
All times Eastern
College Football Playoff
CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis) Jan. 10, 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Alabama vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Alabama vs. Georgia
CFP Semifinal at Capital One Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Alabama vs. Ohio State Schlabach: Alabama vs. Clemson
CFP Semifinal at Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) Dec. 31, 3:30 or 7:30 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Clemson vs. Oklahoma Schlabach: Georgia vs. Oklahoma
Bowl Season
Dec. 17
Bahamas Bowl Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium (Nassau, Bahamas) Noon on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Toledo vs. FAU Schlabach: Ball State vs. FAU
Cure Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 6 p.m. on ESPN2 and the ESPN App Bonagura: Charlotte vs. Houston Schlabach: Tulane vs. Western Kentucky
Dec. 18
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl FAU Stadium (Boca Raton, Florida) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: East Carolina vs. Miami (Ohio) Schlabach: Appalachian State vs. Memphis
Cricket Celebration Bowl Mercedes Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Noon on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Alcorn State vs. South Carolina State Schlabach: Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T
New Mexico Bowl University Stadium (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 2:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Wyoming vs. Eastern Michigan Schlabach: San Jose State vs. Kent State
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Independence Stadium (Shreveport, Louisiana) 3:30 p.m. on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Marshall vs. BYU Schlabach: Louisiana Tech vs. BYU
LendingTree Bowl Ladd-Peebles Stadium (Mobile, Alabama) 5:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Arkansas State vs. Western Michigan Schlabach: Georgia State vs. Western Michigan
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) 7:30 p.m. on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Colorado vs. San Jose State Schlabach: UCLA vs. Boise State
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) 9:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: UTSA vs. Coastal Carolina Schlabach: Louisiana vs. Marshall
Dec. 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium (Conway, South Carolina) 2:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Louisiana Tech vs. Kent State Schlabach: Tulsa vs. Coastal Carolina
Dec. 21
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho) 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Buffalo vs. San Diego State Schlabach: Toledo vs. San Diego State
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas) 7:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: SMU vs. North Texas Schlabach: SMU vs. Wyoming
Dec. 22
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, Texas) 8 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Army vs. Middle Tennessee Schlabach: Army vs. UTEP
Dec. 23
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) 7 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: South Carolina vs. Louisville Schlabach: Virginia vs. Troy
Dec. 24
EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (Honolulu) 8 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Nevada vs. Stanford Schlabach: Fresno State vs. California
Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama) 2:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Southern Miss. vs. Fresno State Schlabach: Southern Miss. vs. Liberty
Dec. 27
Quick Lane Bowl Ford Field (Detroit) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Purdue vs. Ball State Schlabach: Maryland vs. Ohio
Military Bowl presented by Peraton Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Annapolis, Maryland) 2:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: NC State vs. UCF Schlabach: Navy vs. Louisville
Dec. 28
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Legion Field (Birmingham, Alabama) Noon on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Mississippi State vs. Tulsa Schlabach: Mississippi State vs. UAB
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium (Dallas) 3:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: West Virginia vs. Tulane Schlabach: Houston vs. Air Force
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Memphis, Tennessee) 6:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Arkansas vs. Texas Tech Schlabach: Arkansas vs. West Virginia
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl Petco Park (San Diego) 8 p.m. on Fox Bonagura: Arizona State vs. Pitt Schlabach: Stanford vs. NC State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl Chase Field (Phoenix) 10:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Baylor vs. Michigan State Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Minnesota
Dec. 29
Fenway Bowl Fenway Park (Boston) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Virginia vs. Memphis Schlabach: Florida State vs. UCF
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium (New York) 2:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Michigan vs. Boston College Schlabach: Northwestern vs. Virginia Tech
Cheez-It Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 5:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Oklahoma State vs. Miami Schlabach: Oklahoma State vs. North Carolina
Valero Alamo Bowl Alamodome (San Antonio) 9:15 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Texas vs. Washington Schlabach: Texas vs. Washington
Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina) 11:30 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech Schlabach: Kentucky vs. Pittsburgh
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee) 3 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Auburn vs. Northwestern Schlabach: Auburn vs. Indiana
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 7 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Notre Dame vs. Cincinnati Schlabach: Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) 10:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Utah vs. Indiana Schlabach: Michigan vs. Arizona State
Dec. 31
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Florida) 11 a.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Ole Miss vs. North Carolina Schlabach: Ole Miss vs. Miami
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso, Texas) 12:30 p.m. on CBS Bonagura: UCLA vs. Wake Forest Schlabach: Utah vs. Boston College
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 5:30 p.m. Bonagura: Central Michigan vs. Boise State Schlabach: Miami (Ohio) vs. Nevada
Jan. 1
Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Florida) Noon on ESPN2 and the ESPN App Bonagura: LSU vs. Iowa Schlabach: LSU vs. Penn State
Vrbo Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida) 1 p.m. on ABC and the ESPN App Bonagura: Florida vs. Penn State Schlabach: Florida vs. Iowa
PlayStation Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona) 1 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: USC vs. Texas A&M Schlabach: Oregon vs. Cincinnati
Rose Bowl Game Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 5 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Wisconsin vs. Oregon Schlabach: Ohio State vs. USC
Allstate Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans) 8:45 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Georgia Schlabach: Iowa State vs. Texas A&M
Jan. 4
Texas Bowl NRG Stadium (Houston) Time TBD on ESPN and the ESPN App Bonagura: TCU vs. Missouri Schlabach: TCU vs. Missouri
Date TBD
Redbox Bowl Site TBD Bonagura: Minnesota vs. California Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Colorado
After an epic Game 3 that went a record-tying 18 innings, Game 4 of the 2025 World Series will be a true test for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. Can the Dodgers ride the high of Freddie Freeman‘s walk-off home run to a third straight victory, or will the Blue Jays’ bats bounce back to tie the Fall Classic at two games apiece? What will Shohei Ohtani — who will be on the mound for L.A. — do for an encore after a history-making night at the plate?
LOS ANGELES — U.S. viewers for the first two games of World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays dropped 14% from last year’s matchup between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees, but Canadian and Japanese audiences set records.
Last year’s first two games averaged 14.55 million and this year’s first two averaged 12..5 million on Fox, Fox Deportes, Fox One streaming, the Fox Sports app and Univision, Major League Baseball said Tuesday.
MLB said the combined 32.6 million viewers for the opener in the U.S., Canada and Japan were its highest since the Chicago Cubs‘ ended their 108-year title draught by beating Cleveland in Game 7 of the 2016 Series.
Toronto’s 11-4 win in Game 1 averaged 13,305,000 and Los Angeles’ 5-1 victory in Game 2, which did not include Univision coverage, averaged 11.63 million, Fox said.
Los Angeles’ 6-3, 10-inning win in last year’s opener that ended with Freddie Freeman‘s grand slam was seen by 15.2 million, the most-watched Series game since 2019. The Dodgers’ 4-2 victory in Game 2 last year was viewed by 13.44 million.
Game 1 this year drew 7 million viewers in Canada and Game 2 was watched by 6.6 million, the two most-watched Blue Jays games on Sportsnet. The network is owned by Rogers Communications Inc., the parent company of the Blue Jays.
The opener also was broadcast with French-language commentary on TVA Sports and drew 502,000, that network’s most-watched game.
This year’s opener averaged 11.8 million on NHK-G, the most-viewed World Series game in Japan televised by a single network, and Game 2 averaged 9.5 million on NHK-BS for a two-game Japanese average of 10.7 million.
The two-game average in the U.S., Canada and Japan was 30.5 million.
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
LOS ANGELES — Toronto Blue Jays star George Springer was not in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s Game 4 of the World Series after leaving Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with right side discomfort.
Springer, 36, suffered the injury on a swing in the seventh inning of Game 3, exiting not long after calling for the athletic trainer.
Springer underwent an MRI, but the team wasn’t forthcoming about the results, with manager John Schneider indicating only that Springer was “hour-to-hour.”
“I think swinging will be the key to kind of determine if he’s in there or not,” Schneider said earlier Tuesday, not long before the lineup was announced. “But he was the first one here, a lot of treatment, a lot of work, and George is going to do everything he can to be ready.”
Springer has been a key offensive cog and leader during the Blue Jays’ postseason run. He has four home runs this month to go along with an .884 OPS, including a three-run homer in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners.
He injured his right knee on a hit by pitch in that series but was able to start the next day.