Bowl Games Schedule 2014-15: Dates, Live Stream Info and Predictions

Just one slate of games remains prior to Selection Sunday, but nothing is determined at this point. Even with Florida State, Oregon and Alabama appearing to control their own destiny, any of the top programs might see a fall from grace.

Outside of the top four, there are several tough decisions for the committee and lower-tier bowls on the horizon. Rick Catlett, the CEO of the TaxSlayer Bowl, spoke about how wild the process will be, via Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports:

"

For the first time in 22 years, team selection is fun again. And it’s certainly going to be fun for the fans, because they’re not going to have any clue. ...

You’re not going to have obstacles getting in the way like the guy with the second pick is going to screw it up by picking the wrong team. The commissioners will make sure of it.

"

Needless to say, getting every single pick right at this point is nearly impossible to predict. With conference championships coming this weekend, nothing is a given for any program in the bowl projections.

In anticipation of championship weekend, here's a look at the bowl schedule, projections and analysis for the college football playoff.

Bowl Game	Date	Projected Teams	Live Stream
National Championship	Jan. 12	Alabama vs. Oregon	WatchESPN
Sugar Bowl	Jan. 1	Alabama vs. TCU	WatchESPN
Rose Bowl	Jan. 1	Oregon vs. Florida State	WatchESPN
Cotton Bowl	Jan. 1	Arizona vs. Wisconsin	WatchESPN
Orange Bowl	Dec. 31	Georgia Tech vs. Michigan State	WatchESPN
Fiesta Bowl	Dec. 31	Ohio State vs. Boise State	WatchESPN
Peach Bowl	Dec. 31	Baylor vs. Mississippi State	WatchESPN
GoDaddy.com Bowl	Jan. 4	N. Illinois vs. Arkansas State	WatchESPN
Birmingham Bowl	Jan. 3	Cincinnati vs. South Carolina	WatchESPN
Cactus Bowl	Jan. 2	Air Force vs. Washington	WatchESPN
Alamo Bowl	Jan. 2	Kansas State vs. Arizona State	WatchESPN
TaxSlayer Bowl	Jan. 2	Iowa vs. Ole Miss	WatchESPN
Armed Forces Bowl	Jan. 2	Houston vs. Ohio	WatchESPN
Outback Bowl	Jan. 1	Maryland vs. Georgia	WatchESPN
Citrus Bowl	Jan. 1	Minnesota vs. Missouri	WatchESPN
Foster Farms Bowl	Dec. 30	Rutgers vs. USC	WatchESPN
Belk Bowl	Dec. 30	Notre Dame vs. Tennessee	WatchESPN
Music City Bowl	Dec. 30	Louisville vs. Auburn	WatchESPN
Texas Bowl	Dec. 29	Texas vs. LSU	WatchESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl	Dec. 29	Clemson vs. Oklahoma	TBD
Liberty Bowl	Dec. 29	West Virginia vs. Arkansas	WatchESPN
Holiday Bowl	Dec. 27	Nebraska vs. UCLA	WatchESPN
Pinstripe Bowl	Dec. 27	Boston College vs. Penn State	WatchESPN
Independence Bowl	Dec. 27	Texas A&M vs. Virginia Tech	WatchESPN
Sun Bowl	Dec. 27	Duke vs. Stanford	WatchESPN
Military Bowl	Dec. 27	N.C. State vs. East Carolina	WatchESPN
Bitcoin Bowl	Dec. 26	Miami (FL) vs. UCF	WatchESPN
Quick Lane Bowl	Dec. 26	North Carolina vs. Florida	WatchESPN
Heart of Dallas Bowl	Dec. 26	Illinois vs. Marshall	WatchESPN
Hawaii Bowl	Dec. 24	Fresno State vs. Rice	WatchESPN
Bahamas Bowl	Dec. 24	Louisiana Tech vs. W. Michigan	WatchESPN
Poinsettia Bowl	Dec. 23	San Diego State vs. Navy	WatchESPN
Boca Raton Bowl	Dec. 23	Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan	WatchESPN
Miami Beach Bowl	Dec. 22	Memphis vs. BYU	WatchESPN
Camellia Bowl	Dec. 20	Texas State vs. Arkansas State	WatchESPN
Idaho Potato Bowl	Dec. 20	Toledo vs. Western Michigan	WatchESPN
Royal Purple Bowl	Dec. 20	Colorado State vs. Utah	WatchESPN
New Mexico Bowl	Dec. 20	Utah State vs. Texas-El Paso	WatchESPN
New Orleans Bowl	Dec. 20	UL Lafayette vs. Nevada	WatchESPN

Playoff Analysis

At this point, there is little doubt who the top three teams in the country are. Regardless of how fans feel about Florida State, the Seminoles remain undefeated and are one game away from joining Oregon and Alabama in the College Football Playoff—results pending.

Even with just one weekend remaining, there is a chance for even more insanity prior to the bowl announcements. Gabe DeArmond of Rivals.com notes all the teams that can upset the committee with wins:

The Seminoles appear to be the team most under pressure after struggling against Florida. Georgia Tech is far from the Duke team FSU faced last year in the ACC championship and comes in with one of the most prolific offenses in the country.

Georgia Tech has gone with a ground-and-pound system yet again this year, leading to the team ranking No. 1 in the country in third-down percentage (57 percent). Joe Schad of ESPN also points out other areas where the Yellow Jackets have found success:

FSU has some convincing to do against the Jackets, but Alabama and Oregon also have stiff tests against Missouri and Arizona, respectively. If all three come away victorious, they will more than likely be playing for a spot in the national championship game.

However, the No. 4 spot is a controversial one between a multitude of programs.

TCU, Baylor and Ohio State all look like the most likely candidates, with the Big 12 teams having the best chance. The Horned Frogs face lowly Iowa State, the Bears have a showdown with Kansas State and the Buckeyes must win handily against a strong Wisconsin program.

With the Big 12 teams on the inside track, the Horned Frogs went out and dismantled Texas 48-10. TCU coach Gary Patterson spoke about the decisive victory, per Jim Vertuno of The Associated Press (via The Sacramento Bee):

"

You want style points? The style points tonight were defense, turnovers, doing the things you needed to do. ...

You know, this team deserves to go home and win a championship," Patterson said. "We've got one more to do it, and I'm very proud of them. I'm finally going to go maybe smile once, but we've got to get ready to play Iowa State.

"

TCU has proved it is worthy of making the playoff, but it did lose to Baylor earlier this season. Following that win, the Bears went out and laid an egg against West Virginia before struggling recently against Texas Tech.

Another component that is not convincing about Baylor is its nonconference schedule, as Danny Kanell notes on ESPN College Football:

If Baylor wins on Saturday and TCU closes with a narrow win over Iowa State, the margin might become even closer. Outside of the Big 12, Ohio State will hope it can prove to the committee it deserves a spot with Cardale Jones leading the way after losing J.T. Barrett for the season.

The picture is still wide open for a plethora of teams, but it will all become much more clear by the end of Saturday night. Having a tough decision is nothing new in college football, and the committee certainly has one on their hands on Sunday.

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