The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing the University of Minnesota in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. Since the establishment of the team in 1882, Minnesota has appeared in 24 bowl games. Included in these games are 2 appearances in the Rose Bowl. The latest bowl appearance for Minnesota came in their win against Bowling Green in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl. A win in that game brought Minnesota's all-time bowl record to 12 wins and 12 losses (12-12–0).
The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA. It is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of 10 prominent universities, which accounts for its name. As of 2014, it consists of 14 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions, with 4 new member institutions scheduled to join in 2024. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport.
In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivision had avoided using a playoff tournament to determine an annual national champion, which was instead traditionally determined by a vote of sports writers and other non-players. In place of such a playoff, various cities across the United States developed their own regional festivals featuring postseason college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals. Despite attempts to establish a permanent system to determine the FBS national champion on the field, various bowl games continue to be held because of the vested economic interests entrenched in them.
Bowl eligibility in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level is the standard through which teams become available for selection to participate in postseason bowl games. When a team achieves this state, it is described as "bowl-eligible".
The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its inception in 1896 as the Western Conference. The Golden Gophers claim seven national championships: 1904, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, and 1960. Since 2009, the Golden Gophers have played all their home games at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Florida Atlantic Owls football program represents Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the sport of American football. The Owls compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the American Athletic Conference (American/AAC). The Owls' head coach from 2020 to 2022 was Willie Taggart. Florida Atlantic has produced a Sun Belt Conference co-championship team in 2007, two Conference USA championships in 2017 and 2019, along with 4 postseason bowl appearances and one appearance in the 2003 I-AA Playoffs. The Owls play their home games at FAU Stadium which has a seating capacity of 29,419.
The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships. It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA. Through the 2022 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,049 games with an all-time record of 525–492–32.
The 2011–12 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They concluded the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and included 35 team-competitive games and five all-star games. The games began on December 17, 2011 and, aside from the all-star games, concluded with the 2012 BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans, that was played on January 9, 2012.
The 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, the seventh edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas as part of the 2012-13 NCAA football bowl season. The game, which was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams, was broadcast at 8 PM CT on ESPN, and featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference against the Texas Tech Red Raiders from the Big 12 Conference. The Golden Gophers accepted their invitation after finishing the regular season at six-wins, six-losses, while the Red Raiders accepted their invitation following a campaign during which they totaled seven-wins, five-losses. This was not the first time the Golden Gophers and Red Raiders met in a bowl game; the two teams had previously met in the 2006 Insight Bowl, with the Red Raiders winning 44–41 in overtime.
The 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They concluded the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and included 35 team-competitive games and three all-star games. The games began on Saturday December 21, 2013 and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2014 BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that was played on January 6, 2014.
The 2015–16 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football bowl games. They completed the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The games began on December 19, 2015 and, aside from the all-star games, ended with the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship which was played on January 11, 2016.
The 2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Golden Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by third-year head coach P. J. Fleck.