Bowl Games Schedule 2014-15: TV and Live Stream Info for Every Matchup

The 2014-15 bowl schedule features matchups capable of becoming instant classics all across the board, but only four teams are playing for the chance to make an encore performance.

That's because the first year of the College Football Playoff is finally here, with four storied programs entering the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl games possessing the chance to get to Arlington, Texas, for the national championship game with a win.

The controversy and second-guessing appropriately followed the CFP selection committee's decisions, but that quickly took a back seat when it was released that snubbed teams like Baylor and TCU would get huge chances in New Year's Six games to prove their worth against elite foes.

Let's take a look at every single bowl matchup of the 2014-15 postseason and glance closer at the two games with even bigger implications.

Date	Bowl	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Dec. 20	R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette	11 a.m.	ESPN
Dec. 20	Gildan New Mexico Bowl	UTEP vs. Utah State	2:20 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 20	Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl	Colorado St. vs. Utah	3:30 p.m.	ABC
Dec. 20	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Western Michigan vs. Air Force	5:45 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 20	Raycom Media Camellia Bowl	Bowling Green vs. South Alabama	9:15 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 22	Miami Beach Bowl	BYU vs. Memphis	2 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 23	Boca Raton Bowl	Marshall vs. Northern Illinois	6 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 23	San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl	Navy vs. San Diego State	9:30 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 24	Popeyes Bahamas Bowl	Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan	12 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 24	Sheraton Hawaii Bowl	Rice vs. Fresno State	8 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 26	Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl	Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech	1 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 26	Quick Lane Bowl	Rutgers vs. North Carolina	4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 26	BITCOIN St. Petersburg Bowl	NC State vs. UCF	8 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 27	Military Bowl	Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati	1 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 27	Hyundai Sun Bowl	Duke vs. Arizona State	2 p.m.	CBS
Dec. 27	Duck Commander Independence Bowl	Miami (Fl.) vs. South Carolina	3:30 p.m.	ABC
Dec. 27	New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Boston College vs. Penn State	4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 27	National University Holiday Bowl	Nebraska vs. USC	8 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 29	AutoZone Liberty Bowl	West Virginia vs. Texas A&M	2 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 29	Russell Athletic Bowl	Clemson vs. Oklahoma	5:30 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 29	AdvoCare Texas Bowl	Texas vs. Arkansas	9 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 30	Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	Notre Dame vs. LSU	3 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 30	Belk Bowl	Louisville vs. Georgia	6:30 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 30	Foster Farms Bowl	Maryland vs. Stanford	10 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 31	Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl	Ole Miss vs. TCU	12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 31	Vizio Fiesta Bowl	Boise State vs. Arizona	4 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 31	Capital One Orange Bowl	Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech	8 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 1	Outback Bowl	Michigan State vs. Baylor	12 p.m.	ESPN2
Jan. 1	Goodyear Cotton Bowl	Minnesota vs. Missouri	12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 1	Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl	Wisconsin vs. Auburn	1 p.m.	ABC
Jan. 1	Rose Bowl Game	Oregon vs. Florida State	5 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 1	Allstate Sugar Bowl	Alabama vs. Ohio State	8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 2	Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl	Pittsburgh vs. Houston	12 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 2	TaxSlayer Bowl	Iowa vs. Tennessee	3:20 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 2	Valero Alamo Bowl	Kansas State vs. UCLA	6:45 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 2	Cactus Bowl	Oklahoma St. vs. Washington	10:15 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 3	Birmingham Bowl	Florida vs. East Carolina	1 p.m.	ESPN2
Jan. 4	GoDaddy Bowl	Toledo vs. Arkansas State	9 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 12	College Football Championship Game	TBD	8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Live Stream: Games on ABC and ESPN networks can be streamed live on WatchESPN.com. The Hyundai Sun Bowl can be streamed live on CBSSports.com.

Note: Bowl schedule courtesy of ESPN.com.

Rose Bowl: No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The unbeaten Florida State Seminoles have kept their hopes of defending their national title alive, despite playing in tough tests every week down the stretch. To keep themselves alive for one more game, they'll have to top a team that hasn't faced a tough test in months.

Ever since an early October loss to Arizona at home, the Ducks have been more than unbeatable, scoring 40 points in each of their games to follow it up. After drubbing the Wildcats 51-13 in a Pac-12 Championship Game rematch, they more than earned the right to play close to home in the Rose Bowl.

The matchup pegs not only two of the top teams in the country, but also more than likely two Heisman Trophy winners. Last year's champion, Jameis Winston, will go up against Marcus Mariota, who will more than likely snag the 2014 Heisman. 

ESPN Stats and Information showed the similarity between the two passers' Heisman campaigns:

Mariota has been much more careful with the ball this season, throwing just two interceptions all year to Winston's 17. Add that to the speed and weapons Mariota has at his disposal in a dangerous Oregon offense, and the Ducks boast an even larger advantage.

But one aspect of the game all too often ignored is a mouth-watering matchup of young running backs in Royce Freeman and Dalvin Cook, as Sports Illustrated's Martin Rickman noted:

Florida State's defense has not been the dominant force it was a year ago, but even in its struggles, the Seminoles have found ways to generate turnovers and give Winston chances to win the game. Getting any sort of stops will be tough for them in this one, against an Oregon offense that not only avoids turnovers but also generates points at a gaudy rate.

Winston has put his team on his back and led it through some incredibly tough situations, but New Year's Day will prove to be the toughest position yet. Whether he can rise to the occasion against the mighty Oregon Ducks will decide whether Florida State's run continues or is brought to a screeching halt. 

Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Head coaches Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are no strangers, from their SEC battles to battling in games with national title implications. But when the Sugar Bowl arrives, it will be unchartered territory for both coaches.

This time, Meyer leads the Ohio State Buckeyes into the first-ever CFP against Alabama in a game that pegs two elite foes that have overcome a plethora of adversity throughout the season.

An early season loss at Ole Miss put the Crimson Tide behind the eight ball in the treacherous SEC, but they navigated through tough games against LSU, Auburn and Mississippi State. Alabama's once-unstoppable defense has been porous in stretches, but the offense has more than bailed it out.

Much of that is due to Blake Sims' emergence, as Saban told Sports Illustrated's Zac Ellis:

Ohio State knows all about overcoming adversity this season. The Buckeyes suffered an early defeat to Virginia Tech, but they have since won 11 straight, despite losing freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett for the season and replacing him with Cardale Jones.

The squad's performance resulted in Meyer lauding the team as the most improved one he's ever coached, which is saying something, as Big Ten Football noted:

Jones was magnificent in his starting debut against a strong Wisconsin defense, but matching that success against Alabama will be tough. Even with the Tide's struggling secondary, Alabama's run defense remains formidable and should plug up Ezekiel Elliott's running lanes.

Ohio State will be forced to put Jones in positions where he has to make the winning plays, and that's not a position he's been in through his young career. The Buckeyes defense will have to make some huge plays to stifle Amari Cooper and the Alabama offense in order to give Jones and Ohio State an outside shot at pulling off the upset.