College Football Playoff New Year's Six
The College Football Playoff (CFP) New Year's Six (NY6) bowls are the top six major NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision bowl games: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. The New Year's Six represent six of the ten oldest bowl games currently played at the FBS level. These 6 top-tier bowl games rotate the hosting of the two semifinal games, which determine the teams that play in the final College Football Playoff National Championship game.[1] The rotation is set on a three-year cycle with the following pairings: Rose/Sugar, Orange/Cotton, and Fiesta/Peach.
The selection committee seeds and pairs the top four teams, and along with their final CFP rankings determine the participants for the other four non-playoff New Year's Six bowls that are not hosting the semifinals that year. These four non-playoff bowls are also referred to as the Selection Committee bowl games. These six games focus on the top 12 teams in the rankings, with only five teams ranked lower than 12th (all five were still ranked in the top 20) having ever played in the New Year's Six since the College Football Playoff system was inaugurated.
Twelve schools are selected for these major, top tier bowls. These include the champions of the "Power Five" conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC). The highest-ranked champion from the "Group of Five" conferences (The American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) is guaranteed a berth if the group's top team is not in the playoff.[2]
Bowl game conference tie-ins
The following bowls have tie-ins with the following conference champions in the years they are not hosting playoff semifinals.
- Rose Bowl: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
- Sugar Bowl: SEC vs. Big 12
- Orange Bowl: ACC
When the conference champion is unavailable, the bowls invite the next-best team from that conference. The Fiesta and Peach Bowls have no conference tie-ins; as such, the best team from the "Group of Five" ends up in one of those bowls if it doesn't end up in a playoff semifinal.
History and schedule
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created five bowl game match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football, including an opportunity for the top two teams to compete in the BCS National Championship Game. The system was in place for the 1998 through 2013 seasons and in 2014 was replaced by the College Football Playoff. The four-team playoffs consist of two semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the College Football Playoff National Championship. If New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, those games traditionally on New Year's Day will be played the next day on January 2 in deference to the National Football League's Week 17, which marks the end of the NFL regular season.
The games are listed in chronological order, the rankings reflecting the final CFP rankings, and the win-loss data was prior to the respective CFP NY6 Bowl.
2014–15 season
These CFP NY6 bowl games were played following the 2014 regular season:
- Wednesday, December 31, 2014 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA): No. 6 TCU (11–1) 42 vs. No. 9 Ole Miss (9-3) 3
- Wednesday, December 31, 2014 – Vizio Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): No. 20 Boise State (11–2) 38 vs. No. 10 Arizona (10–3) 30
- Wednesday, December 31, 2014 – Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL): No. 12 Georgia Tech (10–3) 49 vs. No. 7 Mississippi State (10–2) 34
- Thursday, January 1, 2015 – Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX): No. 8 Michigan State (10–2) 42 vs. No. 5 Baylor (11–1) 41
- Thursday, January 1, 2015 – (CFP Semifinal) Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, CA): No. 2 Oregon (12–1) 59 vs. No. 3 Florida State (13–0) 20
- Thursday, January 1, 2015 – (CFP Semifinal) Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA): No. 4 Ohio State (12–1) 42 vs. No. 1 Alabama (12–1) 35
- Monday, January 12, 2015 – College Football Playoff National Championship (Arlington, TX): No. 4 Ohio State (13–1) 42 vs. No. 2 Oregon (13–1) 20
2015–16 season
These CFP NY6 bowl games were played following the 2015 regular season:
- Thursday, December 31, 2015 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA): No. 18 Houston (12–1) 38 vs. No. 9 Florida State (10-2) 24
- Thursday, December 31, 2015 – (CFP Semifinal) Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL): No. 1 Clemson (13–0) 37 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (11–1) 17
- Thursday, December 31, 2015 – (CFP Semifinal) Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX): No. 2 Alabama (12–1) 38 vs. No. 3 Michigan State (12–1) 0
- Friday, January 1, 2016 – BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): No. 7 Ohio State (11–1) 44 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame (10–2) 28
- Friday, January 1, 2016 – Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, CA): No. 6 Stanford (11–2) 45 vs. No. 5 Iowa (12–1) 16
- Friday, January 1, 2016 – Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA): No. 12 Ole Miss (9–3) 48 vs. No. 16 Oklahoma State (10–2) 20
- Monday, January 11, 2016 – College Football Playoff National Championship (Glendale, AZ): No. 2 Alabama (13–1) 45 vs. No. 1 Clemson (14–0) 40
2016–17 season
These CFP NY6 bowl games were played following the 2016 regular season:
- Friday, December 30, 2016 – Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL): No. 11 Florida State (9–3) 33 vs. No. 6 Michigan (10–2) 32
- Saturday, December 31, 2016 – (CFP Semifinal) Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA): No. 1 Alabama (13–0) 24 vs. No. 4 Washington (12–1) 7
- Saturday, December 31, 2016 – (CFP Semifinal) PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): No. 2 Clemson (12–1) 31 vs. No. 3 Ohio State (11–1) 0
- Monday, January 2, 2017 – Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX): No. 8 Wisconsin (10–3) 24 vs. No. 15 Western Michigan (13–0) 16
- Monday, January 2, 2017 – Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, CA): No. 9 USC (9–3) 52 vs. No. 5 Penn State (11–2) 49
- Monday, January 2, 2017 – Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA): No. 7 Oklahoma (10–2) 35 vs. No. 14 Auburn (8–4) 19
- Monday, January 9, 2017 – College Football Playoff National Championship (Tampa, FL): No. 2 Clemson (13–1) 35 vs. No. 1 Alabama (14–0) 31
2017–18 season
These CFP NY6 bowl games were played following the 2017 regular season:
- Friday, December 29, 2017 – Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX): No. 5 Ohio State (11–2) 24 vs. No. 8 USC (11–2) 7
- Saturday, December 30, 2017 – PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): No. 9 Penn State (10–2) 35 vs. No. 11 Washington (10–2) 28
- Saturday, December 30, 2017 – Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL): No. 6 Wisconsin (12–1) 34 vs. No. 10 Miami (FL) (10–2) 24
- Monday, January 1, 2018 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA): No. 12 UCF (12–0) 34 vs. No. 7 Auburn (10–3) 27
- Monday, January 1, 2018 – (CFP Semifinal) Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, CA): No. 3 Georgia (12–1) 54 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (12–1) 48 (2 OT)
- Monday, January 1, 2018 – (CFP Semifinal) Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA): No. 4 Alabama (11–1) 24 vs. No. 1 Clemson (12–1) 6
- Monday, January 8, 2018 – College Football Playoff National Championship (Atlanta, GA): No. 4 Alabama (12–1) 26 vs. No. 3 Georgia (13–1) 23 (OT)
2018–19 season
These CFP NY6 bowl games will be played following the 2018 regular season:
- Saturday, December 29, 2018 – Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA):
- Saturday, December 29, 2018 – (CFP Semifinal) Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL):
- Saturday, December 29, 2018 – (CFP Semifinal) Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, TX):
- Tuesday, January 1, 2019 – PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ):
- Tuesday, January 1, 2019 – Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (Pasadena, CA):
- Tuesday, January 1, 2019 – Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA):
- Monday, January 7, 2019 – College Football Playoff National Championship (Santa Clara, CA):
CFP New Year's Six bowl appearances
CFP New Year's Six bowl appearances by team
+ Denotes CFP Semifinal
CFP New Year's Six bowl appearances by conference
| Conference | Appearances | Games | W | L | Pct | # Schools | School(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ten | 12 | 13 | 8 | 5 | .615 | 6 | Ohio State 4 (4–1) Wisconsin 2 (2–0) Michigan State 2 (1–1) Penn State 2 (1–1) Iowa 1 (0–1) Michigan 1 (0–1) |
| SEC | 10 | 14 | 6 | 7 | .462 | 5 | Alabama 4 (5–2) Ole Miss 2* (0–1) Auburn 2 (0–2) Georgia 1 (1–1) Mississippi State 1 (0–1) |
| ACC | 8 | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | 4 | Clemson 3 (3–2) Florida State 3 (1–2) Georgia Tech 1 (1–0) Miami (FL) 1 (0–1) |
| Pac-12 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 5 | USC 2 (1–1) Washington 2 (0–2) Oregon 1 (1–1) Stanford 1 (1–0) Arizona 1 (0–1) |
| Big 12 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 4 | Oklahoma 3 (1–2) TCU 1 (1–0) Baylor 1 (0–1) Oklahoma State 1 (0–1) |
| The American | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | Houston 1 (1–0) UCF 1 (1–0) |
| Mountain West | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | Boise State 1 (1–0) |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Notre Dame 1 (0–1) |
| MAC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Western Michigan 1 (0–1) |
Conference USA and Sun Belt Conference have never appeared in the CFP New Year's Six.
- Ole Miss vacated 2016 Sugar Bowl due to NCAA Sanctions.
College Football Playoff appearances
College Football Playoff appearances by team
College Football Playoff appearances by conference
| Conference | Appearances | Games | W | L | Pct | # Schools | School(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 5 | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Alabama 4 (5–2) Georgia 1 (1–1) |
| ACC | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2 | Clemson 3 (3–2) Florida State 1 (0–1) |
| Big Ten | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2 | Ohio State 2 (2–1) Michigan State 1 (0–1) |
| Pac-12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 2 | Oregon 1 (1–1) Washington 1 (0–1) |
| Big 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | Oklahoma 2 (0–2) |
College Football Playoff National Championship appearances
College Football Playoff National Championship appearances by team
| Appearances | School | W | L | Pct | Games | Title Season(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Alabama | 2 | 1 | .667 | Won 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Lost 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Won 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship | 2015, 2017 |
| 2 | Clemson | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Won 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship | 2016 |
| 1 | Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship | 2014 |
| 1 | Oregon | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship | |
| 1 | Georgia | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship |
College Football Playoff National Championship appearances by conference
| Conference | Appearances | W | L | Pct | # Schools | School(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2 | Alabama (2–1) Georgia (0–1) |
| ACC | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 | Clemson (1–1) |
| Big Ten | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | Ohio State (1–0) |
| Pac-12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | Oregon (0–1) |
Big 12 Conference has never appeared in the CFP National Championship
See also
References
- ↑ Staff reports (July 22, 2013). "Sources: 'New Year's Six' likely the working title for College Football Playoff's six bowl games". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
- ↑ Stewart Mandel (12 November 2012). "Stewart Mandel: Big East, rest of 'Group of Five' score victory with six-bowl decision". SI.com. Retrieved 10 December 2015.