2020–21 NCAA football bowl games
The 2020–21 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games scheduled to complete the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Team-competitive games began on December 21, 2020, and concluded with the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 11, 2021. Three all-star games followed, concluding with the 2021 Hula Bowl, played on January 31, 2021.
| 2020–21 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | September 3, 2020 – December 19, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of bowls | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All-star games | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl games | December 21, 2020 – January 11, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Championship | 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location of Championship | Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champions | Alabama Crimson Tide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Challenge Cup winner | Big 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The number of bowl games was lower than in recent seasons (25 team-competitive bowls aside from the National Championship Game, and three all-star games), as both the regular season and postseason were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-October 2020, the NCAA waived bowl eligibility requirements for the 2020–21 bowl season, intended "to allow as many student-athletes as possible the opportunity to participate in bowl games this year." This led to nine teams with losing records accepting bids to bowl games, surpassing the six teams with losing records who were deemed bowl eligible (rules not waived) in order to fill the 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games – consistent with the ongoing proliferation of what used to be a limited number of bowl games intended to reward the best teams in college football.