# 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games

The 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They concluded the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season and included 35 team-competitive games and three all-star games (down from four as the Texas vs the Nation game was cancelled for this season). The games began on Saturday, December 21, 2013, and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2014 BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that was played on January 6, 2014.
The total of 35 team-competitive bowls was unchanged from the previous year. While bowl games had been the purview of only the very best teams for nearly a century, this was the eighth consecutive year that teams with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games. To fill the 70 available bowl slots, a total of eight teams (11% of all participants) with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games—all eight had a .500 (6–6) season.

## Schedule

The 2013–14 bowl season served as the last for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) format. Starting in 2014–15, a new system, the College Football Playoff, was used.
The 2013–2014 bowl game schedule, with 70 teams to compete in 35 bowls, was announced in May 2013. All bowl game participants were selected by December 8, 2013.
Note: All times are EST (UTC−5). Rankings from final BCS poll.

### Non-BCS games

| Date | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Dec. 21 | New Mexico Bowl | University Stadium University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 2:00 pm | ESPN | Colorado State Rams (7–6) Washington State Cougars (6–6) | MW Pac-12 | Colorado State 48 Washington State 45 |
| Dec. 21 | Las Vegas Bowl | Sam Boyd Stadium University of Nevada, Las Vegas Whitney, NV 3:30 pm | ABC | #25 USC Trojans (9–4) #20 Fresno State Bulldogs (11–1) | Pac-12 MW | USC 45 Fresno State 20 |
| Dec. 21 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Bronco Stadium Boise, ID 5:30 pm | ESPN | San Diego State Aztecs (7–5) Buffalo Bulls (8–4) | MW MAC | San Diego State 49 Buffalo 24 |
| Dec. 21 | New Orleans Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA 9:00 pm | ESPN | Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (8–4) Tulane Green Wave (7–5) | Sun Belt C-USA | Louisiana–Lafayette 24 Tulane 21 |
| Dec. 23 | Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL 2:00 pm | ESPN | East Carolina Pirates (9–3) Ohio Bobcats (7–5) | C-USA MAC | East Carolina 37 Ohio 20 |
| Dec. 24 | Hawai'i Bowl | Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI 8:00 pm | ESPN | Oregon State Beavers (6–6) Boise State Broncos (8–4) | Pac-12 MW | Oregon State 38 Boise State 23 |
| Dec. 26 | Little Caesars Pizza Bowl | Ford Field Detroit, MI 6:00 pm | ESPN | Pittsburgh Panthers (6–6) Bowling Green Falcons (10–3) | ACC MAC | Pittsburgh 30 Bowling Green 27 |
| Dec. 26 | Poinsettia Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA 9:30 pm | ESPN | Utah State Aggies (8–5) #23 NIU Huskies (12–1) | MW MAC | Utah State 21 NIU 14 |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 2:30 pm | ESPN | Marshall Thundering Herd (9–4) Maryland Terrapins (7–5) | C-USA ACC | Marshall 31 Maryland 20 |
| Dec. 27 | Texas Bowl | Reliant Stadium Houston, TX 6:00 pm | ESPN | Syracuse Orange (6–6) Minnesota Golden Gophers (8–4) | ACC Big Ten | Syracuse 21 Minnesota 17 |
| Dec. 27 | Fight Hunger Bowl | AT&T Park San Francisco, CA 9:30 pm | ESPN | Washington Huskies (8–4) BYU Cougars (8–4) | Pac-12 Independent | Washington 31 BYU 16 |
| Dec. 28 | Pinstripe Bowl | Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY Noon | ESPN | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8–4) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6–6) | Independent American | Notre Dame 29 Rutgers 16 |
| Dec. 28 | Belk Bowl | Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC 3:20 pm | ESPN | North Carolina Tar Heels (6–6) Cincinnati Bearcats (9–3) | ACC American | North Carolina 39 Cincinnati 17 |
| Dec. 28 | Russell Athletic Bowl | Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL 6:45 pm | ESPN | #18 Louisville Cardinals (11–1) Miami Hurricanes (9–3) | American ACC | Louisville 36 Miami 9 |
| Dec. 28 | Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 10:15 pm | ESPN | Kansas State Wildcats (7–5) Michigan Wolverines (7–5) | Big 12 Big Ten | Kansas State 31 Michigan 14 |
| Dec. 30 | Armed Forces Bowl | Amon G. Carter Stadium Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX 11:45 am | ESPN | Navy Midshipmen (8–4) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (8–4) | Independent C-USA | Navy 24 Middle Tennessee 6 |
| Dec. 30 | Music City Bowl | LP Field Nashville, TN 3:15 pm | ESPN | Ole Miss Rebels (7–5) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7–5) | SEC ACC | Ole Miss 25 Georgia Tech 17 |
| Dec. 30 | Alamo Bowl | Alamodome San Antonio, TX 6:45 pm | ESPN | #10 Oregon Ducks (10–2) Texas Longhorns (8–4) | Pac-12 Big 12 | Oregon 30 Texas 7 |
| Dec. 30 | Holiday Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA 10:15 pm | ESPN | Texas Tech Red Raiders (7–5) #14 Arizona State Sun Devils (10–3) | Big 12 Pac-12 | Texas Tech 37 Arizona State 23 |
| Dec. 31 | AdvoCare V100 Bowl | Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA 12:30 pm | ESPN | Arizona Wildcats (7–5) Boston College Eagles (7–5) | Pac-12 ACC | Arizona 42 Boston College 19 |
| Dec. 31 | Sun Bowl | Sun Bowl Stadium University of Texas El Paso El Paso, TX 2:00 pm | CBS | #17 UCLA Bruins (9–3) Virginia Tech Hokies (8–4) | Pac-12 ACC | UCLA 42 Virginia Tech 12 |
| Dec. 31 | Liberty Bowl | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN 4:00 pm | ESPN | Mississippi State Bulldogs (6–6) Rice Owls (10–3) | SEC C-USA | Mississippi State 44 Rice 7 |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-A Bowl | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA 8:00 pm | ESPN | #21 Texas A&M Aggies (8–4) #24 Duke Blue Devils (10–3) | SEC ACC | Texas A&M 52 Duke 48 |
| Jan. 1 | Gator Bowl | EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL Noon | ESPN2 | Nebraska Cornhuskers (8–4) #22 Georgia Bulldogs (8–4) | Big Ten SEC | Nebraska 24 Georgia 19 |
| Jan. 1 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX Noon | ESPNU | North Texas Mean Green (8–4) UNLV Rebels (7–5) | C-USA MW | North Texas 36 UNLV 14 |
| Jan. 1 | Capital One Bowl | Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL 1:00 pm | ABC | #9 South Carolina Gamecocks (10–2) #19 Wisconsin Badgers (9–3) | SEC Big Ten | South Carolina 34 Wisconsin 24 |
| Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL 1:00 pm | ESPN | #16 LSU Tigers (9–3) Iowa Hawkeyes (8–4) | SEC Big Ten | LSU 21 Iowa 14 |
| Jan. 3 | Cotton Bowl Classic | AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX 7:30 pm | FOX | #8 Missouri Tigers (11–2) #13 Oklahoma State Cowboys (10–2) | SEC Big 12 | Missouri 41 Oklahoma State 31 |
| Jan. 4 | BBVA Compass Bowl | Legion Field Birmingham, AL 1:00 pm | ESPN | Vanderbilt Commodores (8–4) Houston Cougars (8–4) | SEC American | Vanderbilt 41 Houston 24 |
| Jan. 5 | GoDaddy Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL 9:00 pm | ESPN | Arkansas State Red Wolves (7–5) Ball State Cardinals (10–2) | Sun Belt MAC | Arkansas State 23 Ball State 20 |

### BCS Games

| Date | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA 5:00 pm | ESPN | #4 Michigan State Spartans (12–1) #5 Stanford Cardinal (11–2) | Big Ten Pac-12 | Michigan State 24 Stanford 20 |
| Jan. 1 | Fiesta Bowl | University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ 8:30 pm | ESPN | #15 UCF Knights (11–1) #6 Baylor Bears (11–1) | American Big 12 | UCF 52 Baylor 42 |
| Jan. 2 | Sugar Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA 8:30 pm | ESPN | #11 Oklahoma Sooners (10–2) #3 Alabama Crimson Tide (11–1) | Big 12 SEC | Oklahoma 45 Alabama 31 |
| Jan. 3 | Orange Bowl | Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, FL 8:30 pm | ESPN | #12 Clemson Tigers (10–2) #7 Ohio State Buckeyes (12–1) | ACC Big Ten | Clemson 40 Ohio State 35 |
| Jan. 6 | BCS National Championship Game | Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA 8:30 pm | ESPN | #1 Florida State Seminoles (13–0) #2 Auburn Tigers (12–1) | ACC SEC | Florida State 34 Auburn 31 |

### Post BCS all-star games

| Date | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Results |
| Jan. 11 | Medal of Honor Bowl | Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC 2:00 pm | NBCSN | American Team vs. National Team | American 20 National 3 |
| Jan. 18 | East-West Shrine Game | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL 4:00 pm | NFL Network | East Team vs. West Team | East 23 West 13 |
| Jan. 18 | NFLPA Collegiate Bowl | StubHub Center Carson, CA 6:00 pm | ESPN2 | American Team vs. National Team | National 31 American 17 |
| Jan. 25 | Senior Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL 4:00 pm | NFL Network | North Team vs. South Team | South 20 North 10 |

## Bowl Challenge Cup standings

| Conference | Total games | Wins | Losses | Pct. |
| Sun Belt * | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| SEC | 10 | 7 | 3 | .700 |
| Independents | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| Pac-12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 |
| Big 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| C-USA | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| MW | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| ACC | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| American | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 |
| Big Ten | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 |
| MAC | 5 | 0 | 5 | .000 |
* Sun Belt does not meet minimum game requirement of three teams needed for a conference to be eligible.

## Selection of the teams

To play in a bowl game, a college football team must qualify to do so according to the NCAA rules of bowl eligibility.
As in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons, initial bowl eligibility would go to teams with no lower than a non-losing record (6–6) for the season. On August 2, 2012, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a significant change to the process to determine bowl eligible teams, going so far as to potentially allow 5–7 teams to go to a bowl, in case there were not enough regular bowl-eligible teams to fill every game.
The easing of the bowl eligibility rules resulted in a record number of teams, 79 versus the 71 or 72 of the past few seasons, being deemed eligible for selection to a 2013–14 bowl game. The easing of rules to include teams with losing records and teams from the lower Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), will carry extra importance starting in the 2014–15 bowl season, when the number of bowl games will increase to 39—requiring 78 eligible teams.
If a bowl has one or more conferences/teams unable to meet their contractual commitments and there are no available bowl-eligible teams, the open spots can be filled – by the particular bowl's sponsoring agencies – as follows:
* Teams finishing with an above .500 record, that is, 7–5. In case of two teams with identical record, the team with a .500 or above in conference play, AND winning percentage in a) FIRST non-conference Road games against i) BCS conference opponents, ii) Division I non BCS conference opponents, b) SECOND non-conference Neutral-site games against iii) BCS conference opponents, iv) Division I non BCS conference opponents, c) THIRD non-conference Home games against v) BCS conference opponents, vi) Division I non BCS conference opponents, and last, games at home against lower division opponents.
* Teams finishing 6–6 with one win against a team from the lower Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), regardless of whether that FCS school meets NCAA scholarship requirements. Until now, an FCS win counted only if that opponent met the scholarship requirements—specifically, that school had to award at least 90% of the FCS maximum of 63 scholarship equivalents over a two-year period. In the 2013 season, programs in four FCS conferences cannot meet the 90% requirement (56.7 equivalents)—the Ivy League, which prohibits all athletic scholarships; the Pioneer Football League, which does not currently award football scholarships; the Patriot League, which only began awarding football scholarships in the 2012 season and had a limit of 30 equivalents in the 2013 season; and the Northeast Conference, which limits football scholarships to 40 equivalents.
* 6–6 teams with two wins over FCS schools.
* 6–7 teams that normally play a 13-team schedule, such as Hawaii's home opponents. Although Hawaii normally plays a 13-game schedule, it is only playing 12 games this season.
* FCS teams who are in the final year of the two-year FBS transition process, if they have at least a 6–6 record.
* Finally, 5–7 teams that have a top-5 Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. This was later adjusted to allow other 5–7 teams to be selected thereafter—in order of their APR.
Under a rule change approved by the NCAA Legislative Council on May 3, 2013, teams that enter a conference championship game with a 6–6 record, with no more than one win over an FCS school, are bowl-eligible regardless of the result of the championship game, without the team having to seek an NCAA waiver.

### Bowl Championship Series

Ten teams were selected for the Bowl Championship Series:

### BCS top 25 teams

| Rank | Team | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
| 1 | Florida State Seminoles | ACC champions | National Championship Game |
| 2 | Auburn Tigers | SEC champions | National Championship Game |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide | SEC Western Division co-champions | Sugar Bowl |
| 4 | Michigan State Spartans | Big Ten champions | Rose Bowl |
| 5 | Stanford Cardinal | Pac-12 champions | Rose Bowl |
| 6 | Baylor Bears | Big 12 champions | Fiesta Bowl |
| 7 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Big Ten Leaders Division champions | Orange Bowl |
| 8 | Missouri Tigers | SEC Eastern Division champions | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| 9 | South Carolina Gamecocks | SEC Eastern Division second place | Capital One Bowl |
| 10 | Oregon Ducks | Pac-12 North Division co-champions | Alamo Bowl |
| 11 | Oklahoma Sooners | Big 12 second place (tie) | Sugar Bowl |
| 12 | Clemson Tigers | ACC Atlantic Division second place | Orange Bowl |
| 13 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | Big 12 second place (tie) | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| 14 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Pac-12 South Division champions | Holiday Bowl |
| 15 | UCF Knights | American champions | Fiesta Bowl |
| 16 | LSU Tigers | SEC Western Division third place | Outback Bowl |
| 17 | UCLA Bruins | Pac-12 South Division second place (tie) | Sun Bowl |
| 18 | Louisville Cardinals | American second place | Russell Athletic Bowl |
| 19 | Wisconsin Badgers | Big Ten Leaders Division second place | Capital One Bowl |
| 20 | Fresno State Bulldogs | MWC champions | Las Vegas Bowl |
| 21 | Texas A&M Aggies | SEC Western Division fourth place | Chick-fil-A Bowl |
| 22 | Georgia Bulldogs | SEC Eastern Division third place | Gator Bowl |
| 23 | NIU Huskies | MAC West Division champions | Poinsettia Bowl |
| 24 | Duke Blue Devils | ACC Coastal Division Champions | Chick-fil-A Bowl |
| 25 | USC Trojans | Pac-12 South Division second place (tie) | Las Vegas Bowl |

### Teams that became bowl eligible

* American (5) : Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, UCF (Champions), Rutgers
* ACC (11) : Boston College, Clemson, Duke (ACC Coastal Division Champions), Florida State (ACC Atlantic Division Champions, Champions), Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami (FL), North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
* Big Ten (7) : Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State (Big Ten Legends Division Champions, Champions), Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State (Big Ten Leaders Division Champions), Wisconsin
* Big 12 (6) : Baylor (Champions), Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech
* Conference USA (7) : East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Marshall (C-USA East Division Champions), Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Rice (Champions, C-USA West Division Champions), Tulane
* Independents (3) : BYU, Navy, Notre Dame
* MAC (7) : Ball State, Bowling Green (MAC East Division Champions, Champions), Buffalo, Central Michigan, NIU (MAC West Division Champions), Ohio, Toledo
* Mountain West (7) : Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State (Mountain West West Division Champions, Champions), San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State (Mountain West Mountain Division Champions)
* Pac-12 (9) : Arizona, Arizona State (Pac-12 South Division Champions), Oregon (Pac-12 North Division Co-Champions), Oregon State, Stanford (Pac-12 North Division Co-Champions, Champions), UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State
* SEC (10) : Alabama (SEC West Division Co-Champions), Auburn (SEC West Division Co-Champions, Champions), Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri (SEC East Division Champions), Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
* Sun Belt (7) : Arkansas State (Co-Champions), Louisiana–Lafayette (Co-Champions), Louisiana–Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, Western Kentucky
Number of bowl berths available: 70 Number of teams bowl eligible: 79
The easing of the bowl eligibility rules, to include teams with non-losing (6–6) or even losing records, resulted in a record number of teams – 79 versus the 71 or 72 of the past few seasons – being deemed eligible for selection to a 2013–14 bowl game.
Nine eligible teams did not receive a bowl invitation, including two with winning records: Western Kentucky (8–4), Toledo (7–5), Central Michigan (6–6), Florida Atlantic (6–6), Louisiana-Monroe (6–6), San Jose State (6–6), South Alabama (6–6), Texas State (6–6), and Troy (6–6).

### Teams that did not become bowl eligible

* American (5) : Connecticut, Memphis, South Florida, SMU, Temple
* ACC (3) : NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest
* Big Ten (5) : Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State (via NCAA sanctions), Purdue
* Big 12 (4) : Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, West Virginia
* Conference USA (7) : FIU, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, Tulsa, UAB, UTEP, UTSA (via transition)
* Independents (3) : Army, Idaho, New Mexico State
* MAC (6) : Akron, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), UMass, Western Michigan
* Mountain West (5) : Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming
* Pac-12 (3) : California, Colorado, Utah
* SEC (4) : Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee
* Sun Belt (1) : Georgia State
Number of teams bowl ineligible: 46

## Changes for 2014–15

Starting in 2014–15, a new system, the College Football Playoff, has been used to determine the national champion.
The new format uses a committee of 13 people to select and seed the top 12 teams. These teams are paired in six of the ten oldest bowl games—the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Peach and Fiesta bowls. These games have been marketed as the "New Year's Six", with three bowls played daily, typically on consecutive days around New Year's Day.
Within this New Year's Six format, the top four seeded teams are paired in two national semi-finals, followed by a national championship game played on the first Monday that is six or more days after the semifinals, at a neutral site. The two semi-finals will rotate each year, first at the Rose and Sugar bowls, then the Orange and Fiesta bowls, then the Cotton and Peach bowls.
In addition, the number of bowls expanded to 39 games in 2014–15, with four new games – the Camellia Bowl, scheduled for the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama pitting the Sun Belt against the MAC; the Bahamas Bowl, played in Nassau between the MAC and the American Athletic Conference; the Miami Beach Bowl, played in Marlins Park with an AAC team as host; and the Boca Raton Bowl, played at FAU Stadium, with a third MAC team taking on a team from Conference USA. The increase to 76 teams (38 bowls + national championship played by semi-final bowl winners) in bowl play required the easing of bowl eligibility rules, allowing teams with losing records or teams in the lower FCS to be deemed eligible for invitation to a bowl game.