2018 in American football

2017–18 NCAA football bowl games

• December 16, 2017 – January 8, 2018: 2017–18 NCAA football bowl games

2017–18 College Football Playoff and Championship Game

• December 29, 2017: 2017 Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington at AT&T Stadium^[1]
  • The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the USC Trojans, 24–7.
• December 30, 2017: 2017 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale at University of Phoenix Stadium^[2]
  • The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Washington Huskies, 35–28.
• December 30, 2017: 2017 Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens at Hard Rock Stadium^[3]
  • The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 34–24.
• January 1: 2018 Peach Bowl in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium^[4]
  • The UCF Knights defeated the Auburn Tigers, 34–27.
• January 1: 2018 Rose Bowl in Pasadena at Rose Bowl^[5]
  • The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 54–48.
• January 1: 2018 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans at Mercedes-Benz Superdome^[6]
  • The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Clemson Tigers, 24–6.
• January 8: 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium^[7]
  • The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 26–23, to win the national championship.

2017–18 Non-CFP bowl games

• December 16, 2017: 2017 New Orleans Bowl in New Orleans at Mercedes-Benz Superdome^[8]
  • The Troy Trojans defeated the North Texas Mean Green, 50–30.
• December 16, 2017: 2017 Cure Bowl in Orlando at Camping World Stadium^[9]
  • The Georgia State Panthers defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 27–17.
• December 16, 2017: 2017 Las Vegas Bowl in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium^[10]
  • The Boise State Broncos defeated the Oregon Ducks, 38–28.
• December 16, 2017: 2017 New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque at Dreamstyle Stadium^[11]
  • The Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Colorado State Rams, 31–28.
• December 16, 2017: 2017 Camellia Bowl in Montgomery at Cramton Bowl^[12]
  • The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 35–30.
• December 19, 2017: 2017 Boca Raton Bowl in Boca Raton at FAU Stadium^[13]
  • The Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the Akron Zips, 50–3.
• December 20, 2017: 2017 Frisco Bowl in Frisco at Toyota Stadium^[14]
  • The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the SMU Mustangs, 51–10.
• December 21, 2017: 2017 Gasparilla Bowl in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field^[15]
  • The Temple Owls defeated the FIU Panthers, 28–3.
• December 22, 2017: 2017 Bahamas Bowl in Nassau at Thomas Robinson Stadium^[16]
  • The Ohio Bobcats defeated the UAB Blazers, 41–6.
• December 22, 2017: 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise at Albertsons Stadium^[17]
  • The Wyoming Cowboys defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas, 37–14.
• December 23, 2017: 2017 Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham at Legion Field^[18]
  • The South Florida Bulls defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 38–34.
• December 23, 2017: 2017 Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth at Amon G. Carter Stadium^[19]
  • The Army Black Knights defeated the San Diego State Aztecs, 42–35.
• December 23, 2017: 2017 Dollar General Bowl in Mobile at Ladd–Peebles Stadium^[20]
  • The Appalachian State Mountaineers defeated the Toledo Rockets, 34–0.
• December 24, 2017: 2017 Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu at Aloha Stadium^[21]
  • The Fresno State Bulldogs defeated the Houston Cougars, 26–20.
• December 26, 2017: 2017 Cactus Bowl in Phoenix at Chase Field^[22]
  • The Kansas State Wildcats defeated the UCLA Bruins, 35–17.
• December 26, 2017: 2017 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit at Ford Field^[23]
  • The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies, 36–14.
• December 26, 2017: 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl in Dallas at Cotton Bowl^[24]
  • The Utah Utes defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers, 30–14.
• December 27, 2017: 2017 Independence Bowl in Shreveport at Independence Stadium^[25]
  • The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 42–13.
• December 27, 2017: 2017 Pinstripe Bowl in The Bronx (New York City) at Yankee Stadium^[26]
  • The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Boston College Eagles, 27–20.
• December 27, 2017: 2017 Texas Bowl in Houston at NRG Stadium^[27]
  • The Texas Longhorns defeated the Missouri Tigers, 33–16.
• December 27, 2017: 2017 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium^[28]
  • The Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Arizona Wildcats, 38–35.
• December 28, 2017: 2017 Military Bowl in Annapolis at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium^[29]
  • The Navy Midshipmen defeated the Virginia Cavaliers, 49–7.
• December 28, 2017: 2017 Camping World Bowl in Orlando at Camping World Stadium^[30]
  • The Oklahoma State Cowboys defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies, 30–21.
• December 28, 2017: 2017 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio at Alamodome^[31]
  • The TCU Horned Frogs defeated the Stanford Cardinal, 39–37.
• December 28, 2017: 2017 Holiday Bowl in San Diego at SDCCU Stadium^[32]
  • The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Washington State Cougars, 42–17.
• December 29, 2017: 2017 Belk Bowl in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium^[33]
  • The Wake Forest Demon Deacons defeated the Texas A&M Aggies, 55–52.
• December 29, 2017: 2017 Sun Bowl in El Paso at Sun Bowl^[34]
  • The NC State Wolfpack defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, 52–31.
• December 29, 2017: 2017 Music City Bowl in Nashville at Nissan Stadium^[35]
  • The Northwestern Wildcats defeated the Kentucky Wildcats, 24–23.
• December 29, 2017: 2017 Arizona Bowl in Tucson at Arizona Stadium^[36]
  • The New Mexico State Aggies defeated the Utah State Aggies, 26–20.
• December 30, 2017: 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville at EverBank Field^[37]
  • The Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Louisville Cardinals, 31–27.
• December 30, 2017: 2017 Liberty Bowl in Memphis at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium^[38]
  • The Iowa State Cyclones defeated the Memphis Tigers, 21–20.
• January 1, 2018: 2018 Outback Bowl in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium^[39]
  • The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Michigan Wolverines, 26–19.
• January 1, 2018: 2018 Citrus Bowl in Orlando at Camping World Stadium^[40]
  • The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the LSU Tigers, 21–17.

National Football League

• January 28: 2018 Pro Bowl in Orlando at Camping World Stadium
  • The AFC defeated the NFC, 24–23.
  • Offensive MVP: Delanie Walker (Tennessee Titans)
  • Defensive MVP: Von Miller (Denver Broncos)
• February 4: Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium
  • The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots, 41–33, to win their first Super Bowl title.
• April 26–28: 2018 NFL draft in Arlington at AT&T Stadium
  • #1 pick: Baker Mayfield (to the Cleveland Browns from the Oklahoma Sooners)
• September 6 – December 30: 2018 NFL season
  • AFC Regular Season winners: Kansas City Chiefs
  • NFC Regular Season winners: New Orleans Saints

International Federation of American Football and other American football events

• June 14 – 24: 2018 World University American Football Championship in Harbin^[41]
  •  Mexico defeated  Japan, 39–3, in the final.  United States took third place.
• July 14 – 23: 2018 Men's IFAF U-19 World Championship in Mexico City^[42]
  •  Canada defeated  Mexico, 13–7, to win their second consecutive and third overall Men's IFAF U-19 World Championship title.
  •  United States took third place.
• August 9 – 12: 2018 IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Panama City^[43]
  • Men:  United States defeated  Austria, 19–13, to win their third consecutive and fourth overall Men's IFAF Flag Football World Championship title.
    •  Denmark took third place.
  • Women:  United States defeated  Panama, 27–12, to win their first Women's IFAF Flag Football World Championship title.
    •  Canada took third place.

IFAF Europe

• April 14 – June 10: 2018 BIG6 European Football League
  • The New Yorker Lions defeated fellow German team, the Frankfurt Universe, 20–19, to win their fourth consecutive and sixth overall league championship at Eurobowl XXXII.
• July 28 – August 5: 2018 European Championship of American football in Vantaa
  •  France defeated  Austria, 28–14, to win their first European Championship of American football title.
  •  Finland took third place.

Other leagues

• January 25: Vince McMahon announces a relaunch of the XFL to begin play in winter 2020.^[44]
• March 20: Charlie Ebersol announces the launch of the Alliance of American Football to begin play in winter 2019.^[45]