That pair, and others like it, became part of notable trend in the 2024-25 bowl season: 21 of the 30 non-Playoff bowls that aired on an ESPN network through Jan. 2 saw year-over-year viewership increases, the majority of them by 20 percent or more.

The expanded College Football Playoff has more teams and, according to some eyewitness reports, more empty seats. As it contemplates potential changes, one of them should be to include San Antonio and the Valero Alamo Bowl.

It is a blue blood Final Four in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The teams left standing -- 6-seed Penn State, 7-seed Notre Dame, 8-seed Ohio State and 5-seed Texas-- have combined for 20 national championships.

Will the Texas football season end at the hands of Ohio State in the CFP? Here's the case for a Buckeyes win in the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State and Texas have drawn each other as semifinal opponents in the College Football Playoff. This is the fourth matchup between the blue bloods.