The bowl season is 23 games, not counting the first round of the CFP, and a lot has gone down in the two-plus weeks of action since conference championship week concluded. Bowls have been played all across the country, from Myrtle Beach to Dallas to Hawaii to New Orleans to Yankee Stadium to Fenway Park.
The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, and the Xbox Bowl are all in the books (some of the most important must-see contests of the year), and an interim coach has officially been given a French
fry bath after leading Washington State to victory in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Fun all around—especially if you’re the team celebrating the W with the french fry bath or with Snoop Dogg. With all that action, there’s a lot to distill and digest.
Here are three takeaways from the 2025 bowl season so far, and what it means going forward:
1. Penn State bests Clemson in what would’ve been a top-5 matchup in Week 1
The Nittany Lions came into 2025 with the #2 preseason ranking and as trendy picks to win the national championship. Then they went from 3-0 to 3-6, firing coach James Franklin mid-way through the losing slide. But 3-6 then turned into 6-6 and sent them to Yankee Stadium for the Pinstripe Bowl Saturday against Clemson. The Tigers entered the season ranked 4th and also as strong CFP contenders.
Then they started 1-3 with a home loss to Syracuse, and later were 3-5 with more home losses to teams not scared at all of “Death Valley”. In all they lost four times at home, but finished the year with three straight wins to finish 7-5 and make the Pinstripe Bowl.
Thus, in a minor bowl in Yankee Stadium, the two heavyweights met, and Penn State used two touchdowns and a field goal in the 4th quarter to pull away 22-10. Now both teams finish the year 7-6, unranked but with winning records, when at times it looked like they would completely nosedive into the dirt.
2. Houston beats LSU, and Missouri falls to Virginia, dropping SEC to 2-4
LSU also entered the season with national championship aspirations, but the Tigers imploded as soon as reality set in on the field. Without much motivation once eliminated from CFP contention and moved on from Brian Kelly, they limped into bowl season 7-5 and took on Houston in the Texas Bowl.
The Cougars slipped a bit down the stretch but finished 9-3 and high up in the Big 12 standings. They took control after a 28-all tie heading into the 4th quarter and finished their year with a 10-win season.
In the Gator Bowl, Missouri took on the Virginia team that came a hair away from the CFP in the ACC title game. Plenty determined and motivated, the Cavaliers dominated on defense and didn’t allow a single Mizzou point after the first five minutes of the game in the 13-7 win.
The results drop the SEC to 2-4 now in bowl season, counting CFP games. Fortunately for the league, the biggest games are still to come.
3. Big Ten 5-0 so far in bowls and CFP games
On the other end of the spectrum, the Big Ten has been unstoppable in bowl season thus far, and its heavyweights, Indiana and Ohio State, haven’t even taken the field yet.
Oregon took care of JMU in the playoff, and Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington, and Penn State have all hoisted trophies in their bowls. Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, USC, and Illinois remain to try to add to that total in the upcoming days.
If things continue in this direction, it might be a banner postseason for the Big Ten.
