What Are the New Year’s Six Bowl Games?

If you already know a thing or two about college football, the chances are that you’re familiar with the New Year’s six bowl games. However, not all NCAAF fans are clued up on the festive fun.

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The New Year’s six bowl games have an important place on the college football calendar. In this guide, we look at each game, highlight some interesting facts and provide some predictions.

New Year’s Six Bowl Games Explained

The New Year’s Six – often abbreviated as NY6 – is an unofficial but widely used term to describe the biggest bowl games in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.

As the name suggests, the annual games are typically played on or around New Year’s Day. The following clashes represent six of the 10 oldest bowl games played at the FBS level.

• Rose Bowl
• Sugar Bowl
• Orange Bowl
• Cotton Bowl
• Peach Bowl
• Fiesta Bowl

These games rotate the hosting of the two College Football Playoff semifinals, which determine the teams that compete in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

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Key Stats for the New Year’s Six Bowl Games

Now that you’re up to speed on the basics of the New Year’s six bowl games, let’s take a look at some of the key historical facts and figures relating to the iconic clashes.

Most New Year’s Six Bowl Game Appearances:

1. Ohio State – 9
2. Alabama – 8
3. Clemson – 7
4. Georgia – 6
5. Oklahoma – 6
6. Penn State – 4
7. Notre Dame – 4
8. Michigan – 4

Ohio State has made more New Year’s Six appearances than any other team, featuring on nine occasions. Alabama sits just behind Ohio State on the appearances leaderboard, although Alabama has won more games than Ohio State.

Most New Year’s Six Bowl Games Won:

1. Alabama – 10
2. Ohio State – 7
3. Georgia – 7
4. Clemson – 5
5. Penn State – 3
6. LSU – 3

Not only has Alabama played more NY6 games than most teams, but it has also picked up more wins than any other side. Ohio State and Georgia have each claimed seven victories, while Clemson have collected five wins.

Most New Year’s Six Bowl Appearances (Conference):

1. SEC – 27
2. Big Ten – 24
3. ACC – 16
4. Big 12 – 16
5. Pac-12 – 13
6. American – 7
7. Independent – 3
8. Mountain West – 1
9. MAC – 1

As you can see, the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten Conference are responsible for providing the highest number of NY6 teams over the years. Teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference have also featured heavily.

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New Year’s Six Bowl Game Predictions

The New Year’s six bowl games are on the horizon. Between December 29 and January 1, the high-profile clashes will take place across the country, with the National Championship game slated for January 8.

If you’re looking for some betting advice, be sure to sign up to SAS Premium for free by using the join link at the top of this page. This will give you access to expert New Year’s Six bowl game predictions for every game.