# 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games
The 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 40 postseason college football bowl games that completed the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, culminating in the [College Football Playoff National Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-football-playoff-national-championship) on January 9, 2017, in [Tampa, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/tampa-florida).[1](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bowl-records-by-conference-2016-17-season-acc-steps-up-in-a-major-way/) • [2](https://big12sports.com/news/2009/7/1/204777134.aspx) Clemson, the No. 2 seed in the four-team [College Football Playoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-football-playoff), won the national championship.[3](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/8/10/cfp-history)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Number of games | 40 bowl games plus the CFP National Championship, played over roughly three weeks in December and January[1](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bowl-records-by-conference-2016-17-season-acc-steps-up-in-a-major-way/) • [4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) |
| National champion | Clemson, the No. 2 seed, defeated Alabama in the CFP National Championship Game in Tampa[3](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/8/10/cfp-history) • [2](https://big12sports.com/news/2009/7/1/204777134.aspx) |
| CFP semifinals | Peach Bowl (Atlanta) and Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona), both played December 31, 2016[2](https://big12sports.com/news/2009/7/1/204777134.aspx) |
| Best conference | ACC, 9–3 in bowl games, capped by Clemson's title[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) |
| Worst conference | Big Ten, 3–7, with its East Division teams going 0–5[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) |
| Attendance | 1,634,287 across the 40 bowls (excluding the title game), down from 1,720,733 the previous season, with 651,373 seats left open[5](https://fbschedules.com/tracking-2016-17-college-football-bowl-game-attendance/) |
## Structure and selection
The season's postseason followed the four-team College Football Playoff format in place from 2014 through 2023, in which two CFP semifinal games set the matchup for the national championship game.[3](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/8/10/cfp-history) For 2016–17 the semifinals were hosted by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the [Fiesta Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiesta-bowl) in [Glendale, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/glendale-arizona), both on December 31, 2016, with the championship game on January 9 in Tampa.[2](https://big12sports.com/news/2009/7/1/204777134.aspx) The CFP Selection Committee ranked the top 25 teams and selected the four semifinal participants; the remaining [New Year's Six](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-six) bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Cotton) were filled after conference contract agreements, and the other bowls made selections from the remaining bowl-eligible teams.[2](https://big12sports.com/news/2009/7/1/204777134.aspx)
**Participation reached a record low in team quality.** By FiveThirtyEight's Elo ratings, the 2016–17 season had the lowest average matchup quality of any bowl season since at least 1988–89, the earliest season the site tracks.[6](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/this-seasons-bowl-games-are-less-terrible-than-usual/)
## Conference results
The ACC finished 9–3 in bowl games, a run that included Clemson's championship victory, NC State's win over Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech's blowout of Arkansas, Georgia Tech's defeat of Kentucky, Wake Forest's win over [American Athletic Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-athletic-conference) champion Temple, and [Boston College](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-college)'s victory over Maryland.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) The Big Ten placed four teams in the final top 10; Wisconsin, which beat Western Michigan, was its only winner, and the conference's East Division went 0–5.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) The two independent participants, BYU and Army, both won close games, giving independents a 2–0 record.[1](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bowl-records-by-conference-2016-17-season-acc-steps-up-in-a-major-way/)
## Playoff and championship
Clemson entered the playoff as the No. 2 seed and won the national championship.[3](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/8/10/cfp-history) In the title game, a rematch of the previous season's championship, Clemson quarterback [Deshaun Watson](https://www.edgepedia.org/deshaun-watson) scored a rushing touchdown that was the first the Alabama defense allowed to a quarterback all season, and he led four second-half touchdown drives as Clemson beat Alabama 35–31.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) • [8](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2017/1/12/game-recap-2017) Both December 31 semifinals were one-sided: Clemson shut out Ohio State, and Alabama held Washington in check.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/)
In the non-playoff New Year's Six games, Oklahoma defeated Auburn 35–19 in the [Sugar Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/sugar-bowl) on January 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.[7](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2016-bowls.html) The Rose Bowl, college football's oldest bowl, played its 103rd installment, in which USC rallied with three fourth-quarter scores to beat Penn State in a game featuring standout performances from [Chris Godwin](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-godwin), Saquon Barkley, Deontay Burnett, and [Sam Darnold](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-darnold).[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/)
## Notable games and records
The pre-Christmas slate produced several of the season's most competitive games. The season opener saw [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico) hold off UTSA, and Old Dominion completed a 10-win campaign by beating Eastern Michigan in the Bahamas Bowl, Eastern Michigan's first bowl in three decades.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) In the Las Vegas Bowl, San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey set the NCAA career rushing yardage record in a win over Houston.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/) Idaho capped a nine-win season with the highest scoring output of the postseason, beating Colorado State 61–50 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, a bittersweet result because the university had decided to drop to FCS after the 2017 season.[4](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/)
**Attendance declined.** Total attendance at the 40 FBS bowls, excluding the national title game, fell from 1,720,733 in 2015–16 to 1,634,287 in 2016–17, and 651,373 seats went unsold across the season.[5](https://fbschedules.com/tracking-2016-17-college-football-bowl-game-attendance/)
## References
1. [Bowl records by conference, 2016-17 season: ACC steps up in a major way, CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bowl-records-by-conference-2016-17-season-acc-steps-up-in-a-major-way/)
2. [2016-17 Bowl Selection Process, Big 12 Conference](https://big12sports.com/news/2009/7/1/204777134.aspx)
3. [Past CFP Results and Recaps, College Football Playoff](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/8/10/cfp-history)
4. [College Football's 2016-17 Bowl Season Winners and Losers, Athlon Sports](https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-2016-17-bowl-season-winners-and-losers/)
5. [Tracking 2016-17 college football bowl game attendance, FBSchedules.com](https://fbschedules.com/tracking-2016-17-college-football-bowl-game-attendance/)
6. [This Season's Bowl Games Are Less Terrible Than Usual, FiveThirtyEight](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/this-seasons-bowl-games-are-less-terrible-than-usual/)
7. [2016 College Football Bowl Games, Sports-Reference.com](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2016-bowls.html)
8. [2017 CFP National Championship - College Football Playoff](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2017/1/12/game-recap-2017)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Records and substantive reference › College football records and reference*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license