The 2005-06 NCAA college football bowl season is a series of thirty-one post-season games (including the Bowl Championship Series) that will be played in December 2005 and January 2006 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season will begin with the New Orleans Bowl on December 20, 2005, and conclude on January 28, 2006, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.
Minor Bowls
With 69 teams having winning records, and 56 slots in bowl games, there were more teams than slots available for teams to get a bowl bid. Again, as in 2004, two conferences — the Pac 10 and the SEC — did not have enough teams to fill the required number of slots for their non-BCS bowls. A third conference — the Big Ten — has two teams in the BCS (Penn State as the conference champion, and Ohio State and Notre Dame meeting in the Fiesta Bowl January 2nd. The biggest beneficiary this year might be the ACC, which will replace the SEC at the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl and the Pac-10 at the Emerald (Nuts) Bowl.
Participants in the minor bowls are selected on the basis of conference tie-ins.
The Wyndham New Orleans Bowl is usually played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 game will be played on December 20 in Lafayette, Louisiana at Cajun Field on the campus of University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Arkansas State, as champions of the Sun Belt Conference, will play in the game, their first as a Division I-A school.
The GMAC Bowl at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama is scheduled for December 21, 2005. Toledo will represent the MAC against C-USA's UTEP.
The Pioneer Pure Vision Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada is scheduled for December 22, 2005. BYU has been invited, and has accepted to be the representative from the Mountain West Conference, opposing California Berkley from the Pac-10.
The first annual San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California is scheduled for December 22, 2005. Navy will play against the Mountain West Conference representatives, the Colorado State Rams.
The Plains Capital Fort Worth Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas is scheduled for December 23, 2005. Kansas from the Big XII, who qualified on the last Saturday in November for a bowl game, will challenge Houston from C-USA.
The Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai'i is scheduled for December 24, 2005. It will mark the first time in four years that the Hawai'i Warriors will not play in this game, as they had a losing record in 2005. Nevada will be the WAC representative, taking on C-USA team Central Florida, playing in their first Division I-A Bowl Game.
The Motor City Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan is scheduled for December 26, 2005. MAC champion Akron will play their first Division I-A Bowl Game against a team to be determined.
The Champs Sports Bowl at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida is scheduled for December 27, 2005.
The Insight Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona is scheduled for December 27, 2005. Home town team Arizona State will play in the final Insight Bowl at the stadium formerly known as Bank One Ballpark facing Rutgers in their first bowl appearance since the late, lamented Garden State Bowl back in 1978 against...Arizona State. Next year's contest will be held at Sun Devil Stadium on ASU's campus.
The MPC Computers Bowl at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho is scheduled for December 28, 2005. Homestanding Boise State got the bid for the WAC and will play on their blue "Smurf Turf" against the ACC's Boston College Eagles.
The Mastercard Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas is scheduled for December 28, 2005. After a one-year abscence from post-season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers from the Big XII will take on the Michigan Wolverines from the Big Ten.
The Emerald Bowl at SBC Park in San Francisco, California is scheduled for December 29, 2005. Utah, which last year shocked the world by getting into the BCS, has accepted an invitation to this game as the MWC representative. The Pac-10 will forefit their spot in this game due to a lack of teams with the minimum six wins for eligability, and the ACC will replace them.
The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California is scheduled for December 29, 2005. The Pac-10's Oregon, not named to a BCS game, will play a Big XII team.
The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented by Bridgestone at The Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee is scheduled for December 30, 2005. With the SEC not having enough teams with six wins (or more) to qualify, an ACC team will replace them.
The Vitalis Sun Bowl at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas is scheduled for December 30, 2005. In the only Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup in bowl games this year, Northwestern will play UCLA.
The Independence Bowl at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana is scheduled for December 30, 2005.
The Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia is scheduled for December 30, 2005. The ACC's Miami (Florida) Hurricanes will take on LSU from the SEC.
The Meineke Car Care Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina is scheduled for December 31, 2005. South Florida will be making their first appearence in a Division I-A post-season game.
The AutoZone Liberty Bowl at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee is scheduled for December 31, 2005. The WAC's Fresno State will take on Tulsa, who won the first C-USA title game.
The EV1.Net Houston Bowl at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas is scheduled for December 31, 2005. The SEC, having not enough teams with the minimum six wins to qualify for bowl games, has forfeited this spot, and TCU, champions of the Mountain West Conference, will play against Iowa State from the Big XII.
The Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida is scheduled for January 2, 2006.
The AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (the new title sponsor as a result of the former SBC merger with AT&T) is scheduled to be played at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas on January 2, 2006. Alabama returns to the New Years' Day bowl picture as the SCE representative, and Texas Tech will be the Big XII opposition.
The Toyota Gator Bowl at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida is scheduled for January 2, 2006. In their inaugural voyage in the Big East, Louisville will play in their first New Years' Day game since the 1991 Fiesta Bowl and face Virginia Tech from the ACC.
The Capital One Bowl at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida is scheduled for January 2, 2006. Barry Alvarez will coach his final game as coach of Wisconsin against Auburn.
Bowl Championship Series games
The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona is scheduled for January 2, 2006. Notre Dame will be playing against Ohio State in the swan song for the game on the Arizona State University campus. Next year, the game — along with the new stand alone BCS Title Game — will be played at the new Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Due to damage to the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Nokia Sugar Bowl, scheduled for January 2, 2006 will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. SEC Champion Georgia will stay home and "hunker down" against Big East titleholder West Virginia.
The FedEx Orange Bowl at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida is scheduled for January 3, 2006. Big Ten champion Penn State will play in this game against ACC champion Florida State and a matchup of Division I-A's two winningest coaches, Joe Paterno of Penn State and Bobby Bowden of FSU.
The Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi will play host to the BCS National Championship between the last two unbeaten teams, the Big XII champions Texas and defending national champions and Pac-10 titleholder Southern Cal at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California on January 4, 2006.
All-Star Games
The East-West Shrine Game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas is scheduled for January 21, 2006. This is the first game in San Antonio after over seventy-five years in the San Francisco Bay area.
The Hula Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai'i is scheduled for January 21, 2006.
The Senior Bowl at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama is scheduled for January 28, 2006.
NOTE: The Gridiron Classic was cancelled after failing to secure sponsorship for the 2006 game.
Related Links
List of conference tie-ins to specific bowl games and placement order