Sunday, December 7, 2025, is a day that will live in college football infamy. To illuminate, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dropped bombs on the college football betting playoff and Bowl systems. After getting bypassed for the 2025 College Football Playoff, Notre Dame, in a petulant huff, stormed off the playground. Hence, the Fighting Irish took their ball and went home as the entitled, privileged crybabies that they always were. Notre Dame announced that it would categorically refuse to play in a bowl game, sending shockwaves throughout the sport.
But Notre Dame was hardly alone. The Kansas State Wildcats and Iowa State Cyclones told the bowl games to pound sand. In turn, with the bowl games and ESPN needing teams to fill the schedule, they begged 5-7 losing programs to play. Namely, Florida State, Auburn, UCF, Baylor, Kansas, Rutgers, and Temple were asked to fill the slots. All of them refused, preferring to stay home instead.
The bowl game optics are the dawn of a new reality in college football. It’s all about the College Football Playoff instead of making a minor bowl game. As a result of the 2025 opt-outs, the entire bowl system is now in question and may eventually be downsized or eliminated.
2025-26 College Football Bowl Games
First, gamblers must keep in mind that the four top bowl games are tied into the 2025-26 College Football Playoff.
On December 31, 2025, the Ohio State Buckeyes will face the offshore betting winner of the first round CFP game between the Miami-FL Hurricanes and the Texas A&M Aggies in the Cotton Bowl.
Specifically, on Thursday, January 1, 2026, three bowl games will serve as College Football Playoff quarterfinal games. The Texas Tech Red Raiders will face the winner of the first-round CFP matchup between the Oregon Ducks and James Madison Dukes in the Orange Bowl. The Rose Bowl will host the Indiana Hoosiers and the winner of the first round game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners. Finally, the Sugar Bowl features the Georgia Bulldogs and the winner of the first-round game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Tulane Green Wave.
Top Bowl Games of 2025-26
Trust & Will Holiday Bowl
One of the most appealing and underrated matchups of the bowl season is the Holiday Bowl between the SMU Mustangs and Arizona Wildcats on Friday, January 2, 2026.
SMU was a legitimate ACC contender but stumbled in its season finale against Cal. That college football odds loss cost the Ponies a berth in the ACC championship game and a shot at the CFP. Meanwhile, the Arizona Wildcats were one of the most improved teams in college football this year. Arizona is 9-3 straight up, 8-4 against the spread, and is riding a 5-game winning streak with four covers in that span.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Certainly, when it comes to the power of blueblood megabrands, the Citrus Bowl can’t be topped. The Michigan Wolverines will face the Texas Longhorns in a power helmet sticker matchup on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
The Longhorns were among the last cuts for the College Football Playoff. After struggling for two months, QB Arch Manning and the Longhorns finished strong with six wins in their final seven games. Most important of all, Texas routed Texas A&M 27-17 as 2.5-point home dogs in the regular season finale.
On the other hand, Michigan was mauled 27-9 by the Ohio State Buckeyes in its regular season finale, snapping a 4-game winning streak in the series by the Maize and Blue. The Wolverines covered the spread in only 4 of 12 games, and Sherrone Moore is on the clock after 2 years as HC.
Valero Alamo Bowl
Whenever the USC Trojans play, TV eyeballs and betting interest follow. To show, the Men of Troy will face the TCU Horned Frogs in the Alamo Bowl on Monday, December 29, 2025.
In turn, USC improved to 9-3 this season, showing that head coach Lincoln Riley is making gains. The Trojans will bring the nation’s 5th-ranked offense to the Alamo Bowl against a leaky TCU defense that ranked 86th overall and 77th for fewest points allowed.