Why are there no New Year's Eve bowl games this year?

We are beginning the final busy college football time of the season, bowl week. In reality, it’s a two-plus week feast of games on nearly every day, whether it’s in the afternoon or at night. Bowl games are big for the teams that make them, whether they’re undefeated or at 6-6 like Virginia Tech.

This is the time of year when college football junkies can settle down and watch nearly all the bowls as they are, for the most part, staggered times. As has been the case in the past, the College Football Playoff semifinals have always been played on New Year’s Eve, but this year, they are being held on New Year’s Night. Why? It’s simple really.

No bowl games on New Year’s Eve this season is because it falls on a Sunday

The two CFP games, Alabama vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl and Washington vs. Texas in the Sugar Bowl, is being played on New Year’s Night because New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday, and basically, the NFL rules Sundays. They also own Monday nights as well and that was the case yesterday with the Famous Toastry Bowl between Old Dominion and Western Kentucky being played at 2:30 p.m. ahead of the Monday night NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.

After seven bowl games this coming Saturday, the NFL will take over on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, meaning the next set of bowl games will be played on Dec. 26.

During football season, the NFL is King and can’t be dethroned on Sundays and Mondays. Despite that and all of the opt-outs at bowl season, this is still a fun time to be a college football fan with wall-to-wall college football games on TV, that is except for Sundays, Mondays, and New Year’s Eve.