The 2021 Bowl Schedule: Pac-12 Has at Least 7 Postseason Berths

San Francisco Bay Area is scheduled to host a bowl for a Pac-12 team, but the date and venue have not been set yet, so it's not clear it will be played

At least seven bowls will be available to Pac-12 teams in the 2021 college football season, although the bowl game scheduled for the San Francisco Bay Area does not have a site or a date yet and is in limbo.

The schedule for all 44 bowls to be played following the 2021 season was released this week.

The Pac-12 will get at least one berth in the six selection-committee bowls, probably the Rose Bowl, and could get a second berth in one of the other five elite bowls -- the two College Football Playoff semifinal games (Cotton and Orange bowls), plus the Peach, Fiesta and Sugar bowls. That would give the Pac-12 an eighth bowl berth.

Only two Pac-12 teams (Oregon and Colorado) played in bowl games last season, as a number of conference teams opted out of the postseason and most of the bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins were canceled because of the pandemic.

The bowls are set to return this coming season, although there is some uncertainty regarding two of the bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins.

No venue or date has been set for the Holiday Bowl, to be played in San Diego, although FOX/FS1 has been designated to televise the game.

The logistics of the Redbox Bowl, which will pair a Pac-12 team with a Big Ten team, are more uncertain. The game is listed to be held somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, but there is no site, date or TV coverage set for that game.

The 2020 Redbox Bowl was canceled last July, with officials saying it would return in 2021. Several months before that cancellation was announced, the 49ers made the decision not to renew the agreement to have the bowl game played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Redbox Bowl officials could not secure a new home before the pandemic hit last year, and Redbox Bowl officials have not named a venue for the 2021 version of its postseason game.

It suggests the Redbox Bowl might not be played this season, although it is among the bowls listed for the 2021 season. 

The Dec. 31 Sun Bowl will be a rise-and-shine affair, starting at 10:30 a.m. local time in El Paso and 9:30 a.m. Pacific time.

Two new NFL stadiums will host Pac-12 teams in bowls – the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.

Here are the bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins, listed in their pecking order:

College Football Playoff semifinals (if a Pac-12 team finishes among the top four teams in the final College Football Playoff rankings): Cotton Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time or 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium), ESPN, and Orange Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time or 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Hard Rock Stadium), ESPN.

1. Rose Bowl: Jan. 1, 2 p.m. Pacific time, Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl Stadium), ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big Ten.

2. Alamo Bowl: Dec. 29, 6:15 p.m. Pacific time, San Antonio (Alamodome), ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big 12.

3. Las Vegas Bowl: Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. Pacific time, Las Vegas (Allegiant Stadium), ESPN – Pac-12 s. Big Ten

4. Holiday Bowl: Date to be determined, time to be determined, San Diego (venue to be determined), FOX/FS1 – Pac-12 vs. ACC

5. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Dec. 31, 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl Stadium), CBS – Pac-12 vs. ACC

6. LA Bowl: Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi Stadium), ABC – Pac-12 vs. Mountain West.

*7. Redbox Bowl (if it is played): Date to be determined, time to be determined, San Francisco Bay Area (venue to be determined), TV to be determined – Pac-12 vs. Big Ten. It's unclear where the Redbox Bowl would fall in the pecking order if it is played.

Note: Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Pac-12 will have a tie-in to another bowl that has yet to be determined. The possibilities are the Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth), Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa) or First Responders Bowl (Dallas).

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Cover photo by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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