ORLANDO, Fla. — The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl will move to New Year's Eve this year as a lead-in to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, and the Pop-Tarts Bowl shifts to a Saturday, Dec. 28, ESPN and Florida Citrus Sports announced Thursday as part of ESPN' 2024-25 football bowl schedule release Thursday.

This year marks the second time the Citrus Bowl has been played on Dec. 31. The last time was in 2016, when LSU defeated Louisville 29-9. 

The Citrus Bowl, played at Orlando's Camping World Stadium, features the top teams from the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences. The 2024 game will be the 79th and will kick off at 3 p.m. on ABC.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl, which last year became a national sensation for its mascot and production, will start at 3:30 p.m. and also will air on ABC. Top teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 compete in the game at Camping World Stadium.

This will be the second year with Pop-Tarts as the game's title sponsor. It will be featured in EA Sports' upcoming release of College Football 25 after last year's game received honors as Bowl Game Bestie for Best In-Game Presentation during the Bowl Season Annual Meeting and the Brand Activation of the Year award at the Sports Business Journal's 17th Annual Sports Business Awards. The Kansas City Wildcats, winners of last year's game, ate the edible Pop-Tarts mascot, Frosted Strawberry, as part of postgame trophy presentation ceremony.

Tickets to both of this year's games can be purchased now through Florida Citrus Sports. They won't go on sale to the general public until the day after this year's teams are selected Dec. 8.

The dates and times for Tampa's two bowl games also were announced by ESPN and the Tampa Bay Bowl Association.

The ReliaQuest Bowl will kick off the Dec. 31 games at noon on ESPN. The game, which is played at Raymond James Stadium, matches teams from the SEC and the Big Ten conferences. 

Tickets will go on sale to the public in the fall through Ticketmaster, with details to come. Premium ticket packages are available now through the bowl office by calling 813-874-BOWL. 

The Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl is set to take place at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, Dec. 20, at 3:30 pm ET and will air on ESPN. The teams for that game are selected from a group that includes the SEC, ACC and the American Athletic Conference.

Ticket information for the Gasparilla Bowl will be announced later this fall. 

This year's bowl season will include the expanded 12-team College Football Playoffs for the first time. First-round games will be Dec. 20 and 21 at campus sites. The quarterfinals are Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, 2025, with the semifinals set for Jan. 9 and 10 and the championship game on Jan. 20.