It’s upon us! The bowl season is finally here and it is time to take a look at who is going where for the holidays. We will have some great matchups to take in this year, including the College Football Playoff matchups that headline the bowl season in January. Lets take a quick look at some of the notable matchups we have to look forward to.
College Football Playoff
Sugar Bowl: #1 Alabama vs #4 Ohio State
Two of college football’s blue bloods will meet up in New Orleans for what could be a very interesting matchup. You have one of the best offensive minds on one sideline and one of best defensive minds on the other; this will be a true chess match with two different styles in play. Ohio State is coming off a dismantling of Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game and Alabama coasted to a victory against Missouri in the SEC title game. It will be interesting to see how Cardale Jones does against one of the toughest defenses he will see in his college career. In order for Ohio State to have a chance in this one, they will need good, smart, and efficient quarterback play from Jones and Nick Saban has almost an entire month to prepare for him.
Rose Bowl: #2 Oregon vs. #3 Florida State
Out West we get treated to a matchup that is soon to feature two Heisman trophy winners (Marcus Mariota is taking it home this year) and two future first round quarterbacks. You won’t get to see this much talent at the quarterback position in one game very often and I think these teams are very evenly matched. Florida State has been subject of much criticism this year due to the fact they have been involved in many close calls this year, while Oregon avenged their only loss with a blowout of Arizona in the Pac-12 title game. With the regular season behind us, everyone has a clean slate and all that matters at this point is to survive and advance. If Florida State is able to repeat as National Champions, nobody will be able to knock what they did.
Other Notable Bowl Games
Orange Bowl: #7 Mississippi State vs. #12 Georgia Tech
This is an interesting matchup on paper here. Mississippi State went a tailspin late in the year as they dropped consecutive wins to Alabama and rival Ole Miss on the road, while Georgia Tech knocked off their in state rival in Georgia and went toe to toe with Florida State in the ACC championship. We all know how I feel about preparing for Tech’s flexbone offense, but the good thing for MSU is that they have awhile to prepare and Tech’s defense is giving up the goods. This could end up being a high scoring affair in Miami in the battle for the oranges.
Fiesta Bowl: #10 Arizona vs. #20 Boise State
Boise State is the representative from the Group of Five this year and they will head to familiar territory down in Arizona as they take on Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl. Arizona is still trying to recover from the beat down they suffered at the hands of Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, in which they used three different quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Boise State took home the Mountain West championship and hasn’t lost a game since September. While Arizona has had a great year, they might be catching Boise State at the wrong time and they feature a very potent offensive attack behind Grant Hedrick and Jay Ajayi.
Peach Bowl: #6 TCU vs. #9 Ole Miss
I’m still trying to figure out how the Peach Bowl got this matchup. The Georgia Dome will play host to a matchup that features an explosive offense and dominant defense and it also features teams that at one point or another were battling for a spot in the Final Four. Ole Miss ended the year on a high note after upsetting in state rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl and ruining their shot at making it into the College Football Playoff, and TCU absolutely destroyed Iowa State as they tried to convince the committee they deserved to make the cut. One thing is for sure, Gary Patterson’s bunch will either come into this game pissed off and ready to play or they will be disappointed with being there and be unfocused. It will be interesting to see which team shows up to Atlanta.
Cotton Bowl: #5 Baylor vs. #8 Michigan State
We have seen many good games go down in Jerry World and we will have another dandy just before the National Championship takes place there. Both of these teams were in the College Football Playoff conversation for most of the year, but both were left out for one reason or another. Since the Final Four was announced there has been no shortage of quotes from Baylor head coach Art Briles on how he feels about his team being left out this year, but I know he and his team better get over it and get their minds right for Michigan State because they are no pushover. Michigan State only suffered two blemishes on the resume this year, but unfortunately both losses were against teams that made the Final Four, leaving folks wondering if they are capable of notching a victory against a quality opponent. Mike Dantoni and his bunch will have their work cut out for them as they take on one of the more explosive offenses in the country in Arlington, but Pat Narduzzi has shown he can get his unit prepared, we shall see if they can circle the wagons for the Bears and go out on a high note.
Bowl Schedule:
Bowl | Location | Date/Time | TV | |
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Nevada vs. UL Lafayette | New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Sat., Dec. 20 11:00 a.m. ET | ESPN | |
Gildan New Mexico Bowl Utah State vs. UTEP | Albuquerque, NM University Stadium | Sat., Dec. 20 2:20 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (22) Utah vs. Colorado State | Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium | Sat., Dec. 20 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC | |
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Western Michigan vs. Air Force | Boise, ID Bronco Stadium | Sat., Dec. 20 5:45 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl South Alabama vs. Bowling Green | Montgomery, AL Cramton Bowl | Sat., Dec. 20 9:15 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Miami Beach Bowl BYU vs. Memphis | Miami, FL Marlins Park | Mon., Dec. 22 2:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Boca Raton Bowl Marshall vs. Northern Illinois | Boca Raton, FL FAU Stadium | Tue., Dec. 23 6:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl Navy vs. San Diego State | San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium | Tue., Dec. 23 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Central Michigan vs. WKU | Nassau, Bahamas Thomas Robinson Stadium | Wed., Dec. 24 Noon ET | ESPN | |
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Fresno State vs. Rice | Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium | Wed., Dec. 24 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech | Dallas, TX Cotton Bowl Stadium | Fri., Dec. 26 1:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Quick Lane Bowl Rutgers vs. North Carolina | Detroit, MI Ford Field | Fri., Dec. 26 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl NC State vs. UCF | St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field | Fri., Dec. 26 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Military Bowl Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech | Annapolis, MD Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium | Sat., Dec. 27 1:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Hyundai Sun Bowl (15) Arizona State vs. Duke | El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium | Sat., Dec. 27 2:00 p.m. ET | CBS | |
Duck Commander Independence Bowl Miami, FL vs. South Carolina | Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium | Sat., Dec. 27 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC | |
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Boston College vs. Penn State | Bronx, NY Yankee Stadium | Sat., Dec. 27 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
National University Holiday Bowl Nebraska vs. (24) USC | San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium | Sat., Dec. 27 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Texas A&M vs. West Virginia | Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl | Mon., Dec. 29 2:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Russell Athletic Bowl (17) Clemson vs. Oklahoma | Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl | Mon., Dec. 29 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
AdvoCare Texas Bowl Arkansas vs. Texas | Houston, TX NRG Stadium | Mon., Dec. 29 9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Franklin Amer. Mort. Music City Bowl Notre Dame vs. (23) LSU | Nashville, TN LP Field | Tue., Dec. 30 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Belk Bowl (13) Georgia vs. (21) Louisville | Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium | Tue., Dec. 30 6:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Foster Farms Bowl Maryland vs. Stanford | Santa Clara, CA Levi’s Stadium | Tue., Dec. 30 10:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (9) Ole Miss vs. (6) TCU | Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome | Wed., Dec. 31 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Vizio Fiesta Bowl (20) Boise State vs. (10) Arizona | Glendale, AZ U. of Phoenix Stadium | Wed., Dec. 31 4:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Capital One Orange Bowl (7) Mississippi St. vs. (12) Georgia Tech | Miami Gardens, FL Sun Life Stadium | Wed., Dec. 31 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Outback Bowl (19) Auburn vs. (18) Wisconsin | Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium | Thu., Jan. 1 Noon ET | ESPN2 | |
Goodyear Cotton Bowl (8) Michigan State vs. (5) Baylor | Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium | Thu., Jan. 1 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (25) Minnesota vs. (16) Missouri | Orlando, FL Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium | Thu., Jan. 1 1:00 p.m. ET | ABC | |
Rose Bowl Game (2) Oregon vs. (3) Florida State | Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl | Thu., Jan. 1 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Allstate Sugar Bowl (1) Alabama vs. (4) Ohio State | New Orleans, LA Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Thu., Jan. 1 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Houston vs. Pittsburgh | Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fri., Jan. 2 Noon ET | ESPN | |
TaxSlayer Bowl Iowa vs. Tennessee | Jacksonville, FL EverBank Field | Fri., Jan. 2 3:20 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Valero Alamo Bowl (11) Kansas State vs. (14) UCLA | San Antonio, TX Alamodome | Fri., Jan. 2 6:45 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
TicketCity Cactus Bowl Washington vs. Oklahoma State | Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium | Fri., Jan. 2 10:15 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
Birmingham Bowl East Carolina vs. Florida | Birmingham, AL Legion Field | Sat., Jan. 3 Noon ET | ESPN | |
GoDaddy Bowl Toledo vs. Arkansas State | Mobile, AL Ladd-Peebles Stadium | Sun., Jan. 4 9:00 p.m. ET | ESPN | |
College Football Championship Game Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner | Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium | Mon., Jan. 12 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |