The final day of 2025 offers another full schedule of college football bowl games, culminating in the first of the four College Football Playoff quarterfinal contests.
But before Ohio State and Miami renew acquaintances for the first time in nearly a quarter century, there are several other compelling matchups on the undercard. The traditional year-end SEC vs. Big Ten twin bill in the Sunshine State is on the docket, and the ACC champion and a couple of contenders from the Big 12 also take the field.
Here’s everything you need to know if you want to end the calendar year with a day of gridiron action before that other ball drops at midnight.
Time/TV: noon ET, ESPN in Tampa, Fla.
Why watch: The New Year’s Eve fun kicks off with this attractive matchup of teams that were, at least for parts of the season, in the playoff conversation. The Commodores admittedly were significantly closer to the at-large pool, but the Hawkeyes gave eventual Big Ten champion and No.-1 seed Indiana as much of a battle as anyone. Vanderbilt QB and Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia will play, but one of his top weapons, TE Eli Stowers, will not as he prepares for the NFL draft. The Iowa defense is always fundamentally sound, and LB Karson Sharar will lead the effort to keep Pavia bottled up. Hawkeyes’ QB Mark Gronowski isn’t quite the explosive two-way threat Pavia is, but he does have 15 rushing TDs to go along with his eight scoring throws. His primary pursuer will be Commodores’ DE Miles Capers.
