Bowl Season.
A time of college football cheer and bringing the family together around the television to watch Hawaii and California play each other in the wee hours of a cold holiday night.
Now, as of October 2026, Bowl Season is starting to feel more like doomsday.
A 24-team playoff bracket is likely to drastically change college football’s oldest postseason traditions. So, how will bowl games survive rapid expansion?
A Sinking Ship?
Even before the 24-team expansion came to light, many agreed that bowl season is on its last legs.
The Notre Dame opt-out of the Pop-Tart Bowl, following the Fighting Irish’s failure to make the CFP bracket, had everyone saying, “Wait, you can do that?”
Teams declining invites, players opting out and bowls barely surviving make the 24-team expansion not the driving force in the bowl erasure, but rather the final nail in a series of blows.
What This Means For PAC, MW
While a 24-team playoff hypothetically means a better chance for Mountain West/PAC-12 teams to make the CFP, it will likely kill the chance of any PAC/MW teams getting the opportunity to indulge in postseason play if not in the aforementioned 24 teams.
Over 30 teams have crossed the six-win mark to be bowl-eligible in the Mountain West since 2020. However, only five of those teams were ranked in the top-24 of the final AP Poll, meaning just a sixth of these teams would be able to play in postseason action in a bowl-less, 24-team bracket.
Along with the concept of conference championship games potentially going extinct, this means the new college football landscape could have limited avenues for not just PAC/MW teams, but G5 teams in general, to celebrate and make the most of successful seasons.
Change And Adapt
Is there any hope for bowl games? Maybe not right now, but smart changes to the old system could extend its lifespan.
One common idea that has been discussed is the idea of getting rid of bowl tie-ins, eliminating a rigid matchup system and opting for a draft-style setup, allowing bowl committees to set up regional face-offs or rivalry games to draw up interest.
Others talked about the disappointment in the possible end of bowl games, stating that it was their excuse for traveling to new places during the holidays.
Why not lean more into that?
On Thursday, the revamped “San Juan Bowl” was announced, with the ACC and Sun Belt set to battle it out in Puerto Rico.
Could emphasizing “destination games” bring the interest back into bowl games for schools and programs? Why not shift international games like England’s Union Jack Classic and Ireland’s Aer Lingus Classic to being bowl games?
Whatever it may be, change is needed, and it’ll be needed quickly if college football fans want to continue to watch bowl games on their television in December.