There are 36 traditional bowl games scheduled for the 2025–26 college football postseason, plus 11 College Football Playoff (CFP) games, for a total of 47 postseason games involving FBS teams.

Current bowl game count

  • Major sports outlets list 36 bowl games on the 2025–26 schedule (these are the named bowls like the Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, etc.).
  • On top of those, the expanded playoff adds 11 CFP games (first round, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the national championship), all counted as part of the postseason slate.

So when people ask “how many bowl games are there?” for this season, the precise answer is usually framed in one of two ways:

  • 36 bowl games (if you mean the standard named bowls only).
  • 47 postseason games total (if you include the 11 CFP games).

Why the number changes

The number of bowl games is not fixed and has grown significantly over time.

  • In 1971 there were only 10 competitive bowl games; by 2015 that number had climbed to 41 , including the title game.
  • In recent years, the count in a given season has typically landed in the 30–40+ range, depending on NCAA approvals, sponsorships, and the playoff format.

How this fits 2025–26

For the 2025–26 season specifically:

  • ESPN’s bowl schedule shows 36 named bowl matchups spread across December and early January.
  • The expanded CFP uses some of the big bowls (New Year’s Six and others) as playoff sites, which is why official coverage separates the 35–36 “bowl games” from the 11 CFP games even though they are all postseason contests.

In casual conversation, most fans will say there are “about 40 bowl games,” but if you want the accurate, current-season figure, 36 bowls plus 11 CFP games is the up-to-date breakdown.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.