Now that the College Football Playoff is headed for a 24-team playoff in 2027, what happens to bowls that previously weren't involved in the four- and 12-team playoffs?
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl President Greg McGarity wishes he knew.
"We don't know," McGarity told the Times-Union. "I think the conferences have to make a decision on participating in non-CFP bowls, and do they want to create a space for teams that don't qualify for the CFP? The conferences have not had discussions yet with the athletic directors and until then, we're just on hold."
The Gator Bowl (Dec. 30, 11:30 p.m., ESPN) will match an SEC vs. an ACC team for the seventh year in a row at EverBank Stadium.
According to preliminary reports, the first 16 games of the playoff will be at the campus stadiums of the higher-seeded teams. Eight teams will then play the quarterfinals and semifinals at the usual rotation of New Year's Six stadiums, the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Peach, Orange and Cotton Bowls.
McGarity is 'bullish' on Gator Bowl
As the nation's sixth-oldest bowl game and a long-time partner with the SEC, the Gator Bowl is in position to survive any contraction of the bowl season. It will be played for 83rd time this year and is slotted in the SEC rotation after the current playoff teams and Orlando's Citrus Bowl, and in the ACC rotation after the CFP and the Pop Tarts Bowl.
But with 24 teams headed for the CFP after this year, and two more going to Orlando, will other games such as the Gator Bowl and games in Tampa, Nashville, Houston, Charlotte and Memphis survive?
"I'm bullish on the Gator Bowl," McGarity said. "We've been part of the bowl season for 82 years, we have the new stadium coming on board in 2028 (the Gator Bowl will be in Gainesville in 2027) and I feel we're in a good position."
McGarity isn't the only person who isn't sure about the future of the bowl system.
“Certainly, there will be a significant impact to postseason opportunities outside of the Playoff,” Florida Citrus Sports chief executive officer Steve Hogan told the Athletic. “What that means, I don’t yet know.”
McGarity said he has not heard of any timeline by conferences to decide the future of non-CFP bowls.
Who's projected to play in the 2026 Gator Bowl?
With the college season in week eight, the bowl picture outside of the obvious teams for the CFP is clearing up a bit, and the Gator Bowl is in the mix for the Florida Gators. Five of eight national media projections this week predicted UF would in the Gator Bowl, against ACC teams such as Clemson, Wake Forest, SMU or Duke.
Slotting the Gators for Jacksonville makes sense: The Florida-Georgia game is in Atlanta, so the reasoning is that First Coast Gator fans would snap up tickets.
"As long as they keep winning some games and don't make the playoff," McGarity said. "If they're right there near the top and don't get into the CFP, I'm sure Orlando would love to have them, but we'd love to have them also."
A Florida-Clemson game, matching the two teams who have played the most Gator Bowls (Clemson 10, Florida nine) would please McGarity to no end.
"That would be outstanding," he said.
The Gators last played in the Gator Bowl in 2012, beating Ohio State 24-17. Clemson broke a tie with UF for the most Gator Bowls in 2023, beating Kentucky 38-35.
With EverBank Stadium's capacity reduced to 42,500, there's less concern about selling out than about generating the solid TV ratings the Gator Bowl has enjoyed in recent years. Last year's 13-7 Virginia win over Missouri drew more than 6 million viewers, the most since Bobby Bowden's final game as Florida State's coach in 2010. It was 20 percent higher than the 5 million that saw Ole Miss rout Duke in 2024.
The Gator Bowl will be the only bowl game for the nighttime slot on Dec. 30, so a healthy viewership is expected again.
"I think we're going to have a good crowd and we're going to have a lot of people watching on TV," McGarity said.
Gator Bowl projections (through week seven)
- USA Today: Florida vs. Wake Forest.
- ESPN: Florida vs. Pittsburgh (Sal Bonagura), LSU vs. Virginia Tech (Mark Schlabach).
- Athlon Sports: Florida vs. Clemson.
- The Athletic: Florida vs. Wake Forest.
- CBS Sports: LSU vs. Duke.
- Sports Illustrated: Florida vs. Wake Forest.
- College Football News: Ole Miss vs. Louisville.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Gator Bowl President is 'bullish' on game's future despite 24-team playoff