# 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games

The 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They completed the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and included 39 team-competitive games and four all-star games. The games began on December 20, 2014 and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 12, 2015.
A new record total of 39 team-competitive bowl games were played, including the national championship game and the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl, Camellia Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl and Bahamas Bowl. While bowl games had been the purview of only the very best teams for nearly a century, this was the ninth consecutive year that teams with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games. To fill the 76 available team-competitive bowl slots, a total of 13 teams (17% of all participants) with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games—12 with a .500 (6-6) season and, for the third time in four years, a team with a sub-.500 (6-7) season.

## Schedule

The schedule for the 2014–15 bowl games is below. All times are EST (UTC−5). The rankings used are the CFP rankings.

### Playoff

The 2014–15 postseason was the first to feature a College Football Playoff (CFP) to determine a national champion of Division I FBS college football. Four teams were selected by a 13-member committee to participate in a single-elimination tournament, whose semifinals were held at the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl as part of a yearly rotation of six bowls. Their winners advanced to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| January 1 – Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans | January 1 – Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans | January 1 – Sugar Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans | | |
| 1 | Alabama | 35 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 42 | January 12 – National Championship AT&T Stadium, Arlington | January 12 – National Championship AT&T Stadium, Arlington | January 12 – National Championship AT&T Stadium, Arlington |
| | | | 4 | Ohio State | 42 |
| January 1 – Rose Bowl Rose Bowl, Pasadena | January 1 – Rose Bowl Rose Bowl, Pasadena | January 1 – Rose Bowl Rose Bowl, Pasadena | 2 | Oregon | 20 |
| 2 | Oregon | 59 |
| 3 | Florida State | 20 |
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### CFP bowl games and Championship Game

Starting with the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games will host two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis—the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. The games will be played on two days, on or around January 1. The winners of the two semifinal games will advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship. These six bowl games are also known as the New Year's Six. All games will be televised by ESPN and broadcast on the radio by ESPN Radio.
| Date | Game | Site | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Dec. 31 | Peach Bowl | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA 12:30 pm | No. 6 TCU Horned Frogs (11–1) No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels (9–3) | Big 12 SEC | TCU 42 Ole Miss 3 |
| Dec. 31 | Fiesta Bowl | University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, AZ 4:00 pm | No. 20 Boise State Broncos (11–2) No. 10 Arizona Wildcats (10–3) | Mountain West Pac-12 | Boise State 38 Arizona 30 |
| Dec. 31 | Orange Bowl | Sun Life Stadium Miami Gardens, FL 7:30 pm | No. 12 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10–3) No. 7 Mississippi State Bulldogs (10–2) | ACC SEC | Georgia Tech 49 Mississippi State 34 |
| Jan. 1 | Cotton Bowl Classic | AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX 1:00 pm | No. 8 Michigan State Spartans (10–2) No. 5 Baylor Bears (11–1) | Big Ten Big 12 | Michigan State 42 Baylor 41 |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl (Playoff Semifinal Game) | Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA 5:00 pm | No. 2 Oregon Ducks (12–1) No. 3 Florida State Seminoles (13–0) | Pac-12 ACC | Oregon 59 Florida State 20 |
| Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl (Playoff Semifinal Game) | Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA 8:30 pm | No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (12–1) No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (12–1) | Big Ten SEC | Ohio State 42 Alabama 35 |
| Jan. 12 | College Football Playoff National Championship (Rose Bowl Winner vs. Sugar Bowl Winner) | AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX 8:30 pm | No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (13–1) No. 2 Oregon Ducks (13–1) | Big Ten Pac-12 | Ohio State 42 Oregon 20 |

### Non-CFP bowl games

For the 2014–15 postseason, four new bowl games were added — the Camellia Bowl, Miami Beach Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl, and Bahamas Bowl — bringing the total number of bowl games to 39. Additionally, the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl was replaced by the Quick Lane Bowl.
| Date | Game | Site | Television | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Dec. 20 | New Orleans Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA 11:00 am | ESPN | Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (8–4) Nevada Wolf Pack (7–5) | Sun Belt Mountain West | Louisiana–Lafayette 16 Nevada 3 |
| Dec. 20 | New Mexico Bowl | University Stadium Albuquerque, NM 2:20 pm | ESPN | Utah State Aggies (9–4) UTEP Miners (7–5) | Mountain West C-USA | Utah State 21 UTEP 6 |
| Dec. 20 | Las Vegas Bowl | Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV 3:30 pm | ABC | No. 22 Utah Utes (8–4) Colorado State Rams (10–2) | Pac-12 Mountain West | Utah 45 Colorado State 10 |
| Dec. 20 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID 5:45 pm | ESPN | Air Force Falcons (9–3) Western Michigan Broncos (8–4) | Mountain West MAC | Air Force 38 Western Michigan 24 |
| Dec. 20 | Camellia Bowl | Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL 9:15 pm | ESPN | Bowling Green Falcons (7–6) South Alabama Jaguars (6–6) | MAC Sun Belt | Bowling Green 33 South Alabama 28 |
| Dec. 22 | Miami Beach Bowl | Marlins Park Miami, Florida 2:00 pm | ESPN | Memphis Tigers (9–3) BYU Cougars (8–4) | American Independent | Memphis 55 BYU 48 (2OT) |
| Dec. 23 | Boca Raton Bowl | FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida 6:00 pm | ESPN | Marshall Thundering Herd (12–1) Northern Illinois Huskies (11–2) | C-USA MAC | Marshall 52 Northern Illinois 23 |
| Dec. 23 | Poinsettia Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California 9:30 pm | ESPN | Navy Midshipmen (7–5) San Diego State Aztecs (7–5) | Independent Mountain West | Navy 17 San Diego State 16 |
| Dec. 24 | Bahamas Bowl | Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas 12:00 pm | ESPN | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7–5) Central Michigan Chippewas (7–5) | C-USA MAC | Western Kentucky 49 Central Michigan 48 |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI 8:00 pm | ESPN | Rice Owls (7–5) Fresno State Bulldogs (6–7) | C-USA Mountain West | Rice 30 Fresno State 6 |
| Dec. 26 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX 1:00 pm | ESPN | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8–5) Illinois Fighting Illini (6–6) | C-USA Big Ten | Louisiana Tech 35 Illinois 18 |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Ford Field Detroit, MI 4:30 pm | ESPN | Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7–5) North Carolina Tar Heels (6–6) | Big Ten ACC | Rutgers 40 North Carolina 21 |
| Dec. 26 | St. Petersburg Bowl | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL 8:00 pm | ESPN | NC State Wolfpack (7–5) UCF Knights (9–3) | ACC American | NC State 34 UCF 27 |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD 1:00 pm | ESPN | Virginia Tech Hokies (6–6) Cincinnati Bearcats (9–3) | ACC American | Virginia Tech 33 Cincinnati 17 |
| Dec. 27 | Sun Bowl | Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX 2:00 pm | CBS | No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils (9–3) Duke Blue Devils (9–3) | Pac-12 ACC | Arizona State 36 Duke 31 |
| Dec. 27 | Independence Bowl | Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA 4:00 pm | ABC | South Carolina Gamecocks (6–6) Miami Hurricanes (6–6) | SEC ACC | South Carolina 24 Miami 21 |
| Dec. 27 | Pinstripe Bowl | Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY 4:30 pm | ESPN | Penn State Nittany Lions (6–6) Boston College Eagles (7–5) | Big Ten ACC | Penn State 31 Boston College 30 (OT) |
| Dec. 27 | Holiday Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California 8:00 pm | ESPN | No. 24 USC Trojans (8–4) Nebraska Cornhuskers (9–3) | Pac-12 Big Ten | USC 45 Nebraska 42 |
| Dec. 29 | Liberty Bowl | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN 2:00 pm | ESPN | Texas A&M Aggies (7–5) West Virginia Mountaineers (7–5) | SEC Big 12 | Texas A&M 45 West Virginia 37 |
| Dec. 29 | Russell Athletic Bowl | Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL 5:30 pm | ESPN | No. 17 Clemson Tigers (9–3) Oklahoma Sooners (8–4) | ACC Big 12 | Clemson 40 Oklahoma 6 |
| Dec. 29 | Texas Bowl | NRG Stadium Houston, TX 9:00 pm | ESPN | Arkansas Razorbacks (6–6) Texas Longhorns (6–6) | SEC Big 12 | Arkansas 31 Texas 7 |
| Dec. 30 | Music City Bowl | LP Field Nashville, TN 3:00 pm | ESPN | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7–5) No. 23 LSU Tigers (8–4) | Independent SEC | Notre Dame 31 LSU 28 |
| Dec. 30 | Belk Bowl | Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC 6:45 pm | ESPN | No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs (9–3) No. 21 Louisville Cardinals (9–3) | SEC ACC | Georgia 37 Louisville 14 |
| Dec. 30 | Foster Farms Bowl | Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, CA 10:00 pm | ESPN | Stanford Cardinal (7–5) Maryland Terrapins (7–5) | Pac-12 Big Ten | Stanford 45 Maryland 21 |
| Jan. 1 | Outback Bowl | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL 12:00 pm | ESPN2 | No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers (10–3) No. 19 Auburn Tigers (8–4) | Big Ten SEC | Wisconsin 34 Auburn 31 (OT) |
| Jan. 1 | Citrus Bowl | Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL 1:00 pm | ABC | No. 16 Missouri Tigers (10–3) No. 25 Minnesota Golden Gophers (8–4) | SEC Big Ten | Missouri 33 Minnesota 17 |
| Jan. 2 | Armed Forces Bowl | Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX 12:00 pm | ESPN | Houston Cougars (7–5) Pittsburgh Panthers (6–6) | American ACC | Houston 35 Pittsburgh 34 |
| Jan. 2 | TaxSlayer Bowl | EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL 3:20 pm | ESPN | Tennessee Volunteers (6–6) Iowa Hawkeyes (7–5) | SEC Big Ten | Tennessee 45 Iowa 28 |
| Jan. 2 | Alamo Bowl | Alamodome San Antonio, TX 6:45 pm | ESPN | No. 14 UCLA Bruins (9–3) No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats (9–3) | Pac-12 Big 12 | UCLA 40 Kansas State 35 |
| Jan. 2 | Cactus Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ 10:15 pm | ESPN | Oklahoma State Cowboys (6–6) Washington Huskies (8–5) | Big 12 Pac-12 | Oklahoma State 30 Washington 22 |
| Jan. 3 | Birmingham Bowl | Legion Field Birmingham, AL 12:00 pm | ESPN | Florida Gators (6–5) East Carolina Pirates (8–4) | SEC American | Florida 28 East Carolina 20 |
| Jan. 4 | GoDaddy Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL 9:00 pm | ESPN | Toledo Rockets (8–4) Arkansas State Red Wolves (7–5) | MAC Sun Belt | Toledo 63 Arkansas State 44 |

### Post College Football Playoff all-star games

| Date | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Results |
| Jan. 10 | Medal of Honor Bowl | Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC 2:30 pm | NBCSN | National Team vs. American Team | National 26 American 14 |
| Jan. 17 | East–West Shrine Game | Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL 4:00 pm | NFL Network | East Team vs. West Team | East 19 West 3 |
| Jan. 17 | NFLPA Collegiate Bowl | StubHub Center Carson, CA 6:00 pm | ESPN2 | National Team vs. American Team | National 17 American 0 |
| Jan. 24 | Senior Bowl | Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL 4:00 pm | NFL Network | North Team vs. South Team | North 34 South 13 |

## Selection of the teams
### CFP top 25 teams

On December 7, 2014, the 13-member College Football Playoff selection committee announced their final team rankings for the year.
| Rank | Team | W–L | Conference and standing | Bowl game |
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 12–1 | SEC champions | Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
| 2 | Oregon Ducks | 12–1 | Pac-12 champions | Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
| 3 | Florida State Seminoles | 13–0 | ACC champions | Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
| 4 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 12–1 | Big Ten champions | Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) |
| 5 | Baylor Bears | 11–1 | Big 12 co-champions | Cotton Bowl Classic (NY6) |
| 6 | TCU Horned Frogs | 11–1 | Big 12 co-champions | Peach Bowl (NY6) |
| 7 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 10–2 | SEC Western Division second place | Orange Bowl (NY6) |
| 8 | Michigan State Spartans | 10–2 | Big Ten East Division second place | Cotton Bowl Classic (NY6) |
| 9 | Ole Miss Rebels | 9–3 | SEC Western Division third place | Peach Bowl (NY6) |
| 10 | Arizona Wildcats | 10–3 | Pac-12 South Division champions | Fiesta Bowl (NY6) |
| 11 | Kansas State Wildcats | 9–3 | Big 12 third place | Alamo Bowl |
| 12 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 10–3 | ACC Coastal Division champions | Orange Bowl (NY6) |
| 13 | Georgia Bulldogs | 9–3 | SEC Eastern Division second place | Belk Bowl |
| 14 | UCLA Bruins | 9–3 | Pac-12 South Division second place (tie) | Alamo Bowl |
| 15 | Arizona State Sun Devils | 9–3 | Pac-12 South Division second place (tie) | Sun Bowl |
| 16 | Missouri Tigers | 10–3 | SEC Eastern Division champions | Citrus Bowl |
| 17 | Clemson Tigers | 9–3 | ACC Atlantic Division second place | Russell Athletic Bowl |
| 18 | Wisconsin Badgers | 10–3 | Big Ten West Division champions | Outback Bowl |
| 19 | Auburn Tigers | 8–4 | SEC Western Division fourth place (tie) | Outback Bowl |
| 20 | Boise State Broncos | 11–2 | Mountain West champions | Fiesta Bowl (NY6) |
| 21 | Louisville Cardinals | 9–3 | ACC Atlantic Division third place | Belk Bowl |
| 22 | Utah Utes | 8–4 | Pac-12 South Division fifth place | Las Vegas Bowl |
| 23 | LSU Tigers | 8–4 | SEC Western Division fourth place (tie) | Music City Bowl |
| 24 | USC Trojans | 8–4 | Pac-12 South Division second place (tie) | Holiday Bowl |
| 25 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 8–4 | Big Ten West Division second place (tie) | Citrus Bowl |

### Conference champions' bowl games

Three bowls featured two conference champions playing against each other—the Boca Raton Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. Rankings are per the above CFP standings.
| Conference | Champion | W–L | Rank | Bowl game |
| ACC | Florida State Seminoles | 13–0 | 3 | Rose Bowl |
| American† | Cincinnati Bearcats | 9–3 | — | Military Bowl |
| American† | Memphis Tigers | 9–3 | — | Miami Beach Bowl |
| American† | UCF Knights | 9–3 | — | St. Petersburg Bowl |
| Big Ten | Ohio State Buckeyes | 12–1 | 4 | Sugar Bowl |
| Big 12† | Baylor Bears | 11–1 | 5 | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Big 12† | TCU Horned Frogs | 11–1 | 6 | Peach Bowl |
| C-USA | Marshall Thundering Herd | 12–1 | — | Boca Raton Bowl |
| MAC | Northern Illinois Huskies | 11–2 | — | Boca Raton Bowl |
| Mountain West | Boise State Broncos | 11–2 | 20 | Fiesta Bowl |
| Pac-12 | Oregon Ducks | 12–1 | 2 | Rose Bowl |
| SEC | Alabama Crimson Tide | 12–1 | 1 | Sugar Bowl |
| Sun Belt | Georgia Southern Eagles | 9–3 | — | none‡ |
† denotes a conference that named co-champions ‡ Georgia Southern was not bowl-eligible, due to their transition from FCS to FBS

### Bowl-eligible teams

* American (6): Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Temple, UCF
* ACC (11): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech
* Big 12 (7): Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia
* Big Ten (10): Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
* Conference USA (7): Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, Rice, UAB, UTEP, Western Kentucky
* Independents (3): BYU, Navy, Notre Dame
* MAC (6): Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
* Mountain West (7): Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, Utah State
* Pac-12 (8): Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
* SEC (12): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M
* Sun Belt (4): Arkansas State, Louisiana–Lafayette, South Alabama, Texas State
Number of bowl berths available: 76
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 81

### Bowl-eligible teams that did not receive a berth

As there were more bowl-eligible teams than bowl berths, five bowl-eligible teams did not receive a bowl berth:
* Middle Tennessee (6–6)
* Ohio (6–6)
* Temple (6–6)
* Texas State (7–5)
* UAB (6–6)

### Bowl-ineligible teams

* American (5): Connecticut, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, USF
* ACC (3): Syracuse, Virginia, Wake Forest
* Big Ten (4): Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue
* Big 12 (3): Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech
* Conference USA (6): FIU, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Old Dominion†, Southern Miss, UTSA
* Independents (1): Army
* MAC (7): Akron, Ball State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Massachusetts, Miami (OH)
* Mountain West (5): Hawai'i, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming
* Pac 12 (4): California, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State
* SEC (2): Kentucky, Vanderbilt
* Sun Belt (7): Appalachian State†, Georgia Southern†, Georgia State, Idaho‡, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, Troy
Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 47
† – Appalachian State (7–5), Georgia Southern (9–3, Sun Belt champions), and Old Dominion (6–6) were conditionally eligible based on win–loss record. However, under FCS-to-FBS transition rules, they were not eligible because enough teams qualified under normal circumstances.
‡ – Idaho was ineligible for postseason play due to an insufficient Academic Progress Rate. However, the Vandals would not have been eligible without the ban, as they finished with a 1–10 record.