It all starts on December 17 with the smaller schools and ends Jan. 9 with the big boys in LSU and Alabama battling for the national title.
Along the way, the college football bowl schedule includes 35 games where potatoes and poinsettias and roses and oranges make their way into the football betting vernacular.
The New Mexico Bowl kicks it all off among three games on Dec. 17. Three days later, it’s the Beef O Bradys Bowl, the former St. Petersburg Bowl.
The BCS Bowls – Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange – kick off Jan. 2 with Wisconsin battling Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Stanford vs. Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, Michigan vs. Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl and Clemson vs. West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
Check out all the bowl game odds and terrific bowl bonuses at shops such as Sportsbook and Sportsbook this December and January. Bookmark this page for dates and links to odds and matchup reports on every game.
December 17, 2011
Gildan New Mexico Bowl -- Albuquerque, NM
Wyoming vs. Temple 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl -- Boise, ID
Ohio vs. Utah State 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl -- New Orleans, LA
San Diego State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 20, 2011
Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl -- St. Petersberg, FL
Florida International vs. Marshall 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 21, 2011
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl -- San Diego, CA
TCU vs. Louisiana Tech 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 22, 2011
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas -- Las Vegas, NV
Boise State vs. Arizona State 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 24, 2011
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- Honolulu, HI
Southern Mississippi vs. Nevada 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 26, 2011
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl -- Shreveport, LA
North Carolina vs. Missouri 5 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 27, 2011
Little Sportsbook Pizza Bowl -- Detroit, MI
Purdue vs. Western Michigan 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Belk Bowl -- Charlotte, NC
North Carolina State vs. Louisville 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 28, 2011
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman -- Washington, D.C.
Toledo vs. Air Force 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl -- San Diego, CA
California vs. Texas 8 p.m. ET ESPN
December 29, 2011
Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State vs. Notre Dame -- Orlando, FL 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl -- San Antonio, TX
Baylor vs. Washington 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 30, 2011
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl -- Dallas, TX
BYU vs. Tulsa 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
New Era Pinstripe Bowl -- New York, NY
Iowa State vs. Rutgers 3:20 p.m. ET, ESPN
Franklin Am. Mortgage Music City Bowl -- Nashville, TN
Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest 6:40 p.m. ET, ESPN
Insight Bowl -- Tempe, AZ
Iowa vs. Oklahoma 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
December 31, 2011
AutoZone Liberty Bowl -- Memphis, Tenn.
Vanderbilt vs. Cincinnati 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl -- San Francisco, CA
Illinois vs. UCLA 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Chick-fil-A Bowl -- Atlanta, GA
Virginia vs. Auburn 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl -- Houston, TX
Texas A&M vs. Northwestern 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl -- El Paso, TX
Georgia Tech vs. Utah 2 p.m. ET, CBS
January 2, 2012
TicketCity Bowl -- Dallas, TX
Penn State vs. Houston 12 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Outback Bowl -- Tampa, FL
Michigan St. vs. Georgia 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl -- Jacksonville, FL
Florida vs. Ohio State 1 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Capital One Bowl Orlando, FL
South Carolina vs. Nebraska 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Rose Bowl presented by VIZIO -- Pasadena, CA
Wisconsin vs. Oregon 5 p.m. ET, ESPN
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl -- Glendale, AZ
Oklahoma State vs. Stanford 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
January 3, 2012
Allstate Sugar Bowl -- New Orleans, LA
Michigan vs. Virginia Tech 8: 30 p.m. ET, ESPN
January 4, 2012
Discover Orange Bowl -- Miami, FL
Clemson vs. West Virginia 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
January 6, 2012
AT&T Cotton Bowl -- Arlington, TX
Arkansas vs. Kansas St. 8 p.m. ET, Fox
January 7, 2012
BBVA Compass Bowl -- Birmingham, AL
Pittsburgh vs. SMU 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
January 8, 2012
GoDaddy.com Bowl -- Mobile, AL
Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
January 9, 2012
Allstate BCS National Championship Game -- New Orleans, LA
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama 8:30 p.m., ESPN