Peach Bowl

The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. It started at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus, then moved to Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, the Georgia Dome, and finally to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.

Since 1997, the game has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially called the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. It often features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference.

From 2014 to 2023, the Peach Bowl was part of the College Football Playoff, sometimes serving as a semifinal game. With the playoff expanding to 12 teams in the 2024–25 season, the Peach Bowl now serves as either a quarterfinal or semifinal each year. The winner receives the George P. Crumbley Trophy, named after the game's founder, George Crumbley.

History

The Peach Bowl was approved by the NCAA on May 1, 1968. It was created to help raise money for the Georgia Lighthouse for the Blind Foundation, a project of the Lions Clubs of Georgia. A Lions Club member named George Pierre Crumbley Jr. helped start the game and is known as the "Father of the Peach Bowl." The game was originally played at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta.

Later, the game moved to Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. In 1986, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce took over the Peach Bowl. For many years, the game usually featured teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference or the Southeastern Conference.

Since 1997, the game has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A, a restaurant chain based in nearby College Park. From 2006 to 2013, the game was called the Chick-fil-A Bowl. In 2014, the game became one of the major bowls and returned to its original name, the Peach Bowl. The Peach Bowl has given more than $32 million to charity since 2016.

Notable games

The 1974 Peach Bowl ended in a tie, with Texas Tech and Vanderbilt each scoring two field goals, resulting in a 6–6 finish.

In 1976, Kentucky shut out North Carolina, winning 21–0.

The January 1981 game was the first Peach Bowl played outside of December.

In 2005, two top-10 ranked teams, LSU and Miami, played in the Peach Bowl for the first time. LSU won 40–3.

The 2007 game was the first Peach Bowl to go into overtime, with Auburn beating Clemson 23–20.

In 2012, the game set a new record for viewers, with over 8.5 million people watching Clemson defeat LSU 25–24.

The 2017 game featured undefeated UCF against Auburn. UCF won 34–27 and was the only undefeated team in the Football Bowl Subdivision that season.

In 2019, LSU scored a record 63 points in the Peach Bowl, beating Oklahoma 63–28 on their way to the national championship.

The January 2025 game was the second Peach Bowl to need overtime, with Texas defeating Arizona State 39–31 in double overtime.

Statistics

The Peach Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in college football history.

In 2006, it set a Georgia Dome attendance record with 75,406 fans watching Georgia against Virginia Tech.

From 1998 to 2013, the game sold out for 17 straight years.

It is the highest-attended non-BCS bowl game and has paid out more than $125 million through the 2013 season.

Game results

All rankings are taken from the AP poll, which started in 1936, before each game was played. The games that are in italics are tied games.

^QF Denotes College Football Playoff quarterfinal game

^SF Denotes College Football Playoff semifinal game

Most Outstanding Players

In each Peach Bowl game, special players are chosen for their great performance on offense and defense. From 1989 to 1998, these awards were given to players from both teams. The award is called the 'S. Truett Cathy Most Outstanding Player' in honor of the founder of Chick-fil-A.

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2026 edition (58 games, 116 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances

Teams with a single appearance

Won (11): Alabama, Army, Baylor, East Carolina, Houston, Michigan State, Syracuse, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, UCF
Lost (11): Cincinnati, Duke, Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Washington
Tied (2): Texas Tech, Vanderbilt

Appearances by conference

This section shows how often different college sports groups have played in the Peach Bowl up to January 2026. There have been 58 games with 116 total team appearances.

Some games marked with an asterisk (*) were played in January of the next year. The records show which group each team belonged to when they played. Some groups no longer exist or are not active in top-level college football. For example, the SWC and Big Eight merged in 1996 to form the Big 12, and the WAC no longer has top-level football teams.

Independent teams, those not part of a group, have also played in the Peach Bowl. These include Army in 1985, East Carolina in 1991*, Florida State in 1968 and 1983, Georgia Tech in 1971 and 1978, Miami (FL) in 1980*, Syracuse in 1989, Virginia Tech in 1980* and 1986, and West Virginia in 1969, 1972, 1975, and 1981.

The game after the 1980 season, played in January 1981, featured two independent teams. The game after the 2025 season, played in January 2026, featured two teams from the Big Ten.

Game records

Battle for Bowl Week

Before the big game, teams take part in fun events during the week leading up to the match. In 2021, some of these activities were a basketball challenge and go-kart racing. Between 2011 and 2023, the team that won these week-long events also won the game eight times out of thirteen.