Bowl Games 2014-15: Schedule, TV Info and Predictions for All Games
College football's second season begins on December 20 at 11 a.m. ET when Nevada faces Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl. It will kick off nearly a month of month of football that will culminate in the championship game of the first four-team playoff.
You can practically hear college football fans giggling in excitement from here.
Below, you'll find the full bowl schedule, including start times, television info and a straight-up prediction for each game. I'll also look at some of the top storylines to watch for heading into the postseason.
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The Bowls are here, folks. Get pumped.
| New Orleans | Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette | New Orleans | Dec. 20, 11 a.m. | ESPN | Nevada |
| New Mexico | UTEP vs. Utah State | Albuquerque, N.M. | Dec. 20, 2:20 p.m. | ESPN | Utah State |
| Las Vegas | Colorado State vs. No. 22 Utah | Las Vegas | Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. | ABC | Utah |
| Famous Idaho Potato | Western Michigan vs. Air Force | Boise, Idaho | Dec. 20, 5:45 p.m. | ESPN | Air Force |
| Camellia | Bowling Green vs. South Alabama | Montgomery, Ala. | Dec. 20, 9:15 p.m. | ESPN | Bowling Green |
| Miami Beach | BYU vs. Memphis | Miami | Dec. 22, 2 p.m. | ESPN | BYU |
| Boca Raton | Marshall vs. Northern Illinois | Boca Raton, Fla. | Dec. 23, 6 p.m. | ESPN | Marshall |
| Poinsettia | Navy vs. San Diego State | San Diego | Dec. 23, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN | San Diego State |
| Bahamas | Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan | Nassau, Bahamas | Dec. 24, Noon | ESPN | Cental Michigan |
| Hawaii | Rice vs. Fresno State | Honolulu | Dec. 24, 8 p.m. | ESPN | Fresno State |
| Heart of Dallas | Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech | Dallas | Dec. 26, 1 p.m. | ESPN | Illinois |
| Quick Lane | Rutgers vs. North Carolina | Detroit | Dec. 26, 4:30 p.m. | ESPN | North Carolina |
| St. Petersburg | NC State vs. UCF | St. Petersburg, Fla. | Dec. 26, 8 p.m. | ESPN | UCF |
| Military | Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati | Annapolis, Md. | Dec. 27, 1 p.m. | ESPN | Virginia Tech |
| Sun | Duke vs. No. 15 Arizona State | El Paso, Texas | Dec. 27, 2 p.m | CBS | Arizona State |
| Independence | Miami vs. South Carolina | Shreveport, La. | Dec. 27, 4 p.m. | ABC | Miami |
| Pinstripe | Boston College vs. Penn State | Bronx, N.Y. | Dec. 27, 4:30 p.m. | ESPN | Boston College |
| Holiday | Nebraska vs. No. 24 USC | San Diego | Dec. 27, 8 p.m. | ESPN | USC |
| Liberty | West Virginia vs. Texas A&M | Memphis, Tenn | Dec. 29, 2 p.m. | ESPN | Texas A&M |
| Russell Athletic | No. 17 Clemson vs. Oklahoma | Orlando, Fla. | Dec. 29, 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Clemson |
| Texas | Texas vs. Arkansas | Houston | Dec. 29, 9 p.m. | ESPN | Arkansas |
| Music City | Notre Dame vs. No. 23 LSU | Nashville, Tenn. | Dec. 30, 3 p.m. | ESPN | LSU |
| Belk | No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 13 Georgia | Charlotte, N.C. | Dec. 30, 6:30 p.m. | ESPN | Georgia |
| Foster Farms | Maryland vs. Stanford | Santa Clara, Calif. | Dec. 30, 10 p.m. | ESPN | Stanford |
| Peach | No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 6 TCU | Atlanta | Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. | ESPN | Ole Miss |
| Fiesta | No. 20 Boise State vs. No. 10 Arizona | Glendale, Ariz. | Dec. 31, 4 p.m. | ESPN | Arizona |
| Orange | No. 7 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech | Miami Gardens, Fla. | Dec. 31, 8 p.m. | ESPN | Mississippi State |
| Citrus | No. 25 Minnesota vs. No. 16 Missouri | Orlando, Fla. | Jan. 1, 1 p.m. | ABC | Missouri |
| Outback | No. 18 Wisconsin vs. No. 19 Auburn | Tampa, Fla. | Jan. 1, 1 p.m. | ESPN2 | Wisconsin |
| Cotton | No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 5 Baylor | Arlington, Texas | Jan. 1, 12:30 p.m. | ESPN | Baylor |
| Rose (National semifinal) | No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State | Pasadena, Calif. | Jan. 1, 5 p.m. | ESPN | Oregon |
| Sugar (National semifinal) | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State | New Orleans | Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Alabama |
| Armed Forces | Houston vs. Pittsburgh | Fort Worth, Texas | Jan. 2, Noon | ESPN | Houston |
| TaxSlayer | Iowa vs. Tennessee | Jacksonville, Fla. | Jan. 2, 3 p.m. | ESPN | Iowa |
| Alamo | No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 14 UCLA | San Antonio | Jan. 2, 6:45 p.m. | ESPN | UCLA |
| Cactus | Washington vs. Oklahoma State | Tempe, Ariz. | Jan. 2, 10 p.m. | ESPN | Oklahoma State |
| Birmingham | Florida vs. ECU | Birmingham, Ala. | Jan. 3, 1 p.m. | ESPN | Florida |
| GoDaddy | Toledo vs. Arkansas State | Mobile, Ala. | Jan. 4, 9 p.m. | ESPN | Toledo |
| National Championship | Alabama/Ohio St. vs. Oregon/Florida St. | Arlington, Texas | Jan. 12, 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Oregon |
Top Storylines
Without question, the top storylines in this year's postseason come from the playoff teams, so we'll start there.
Last year's defending champions, Florida State, led by last year's Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston, have spent much of the season surviving by the smallest of margins. Can they keep up that run of good fortune against an Oregon team that finished the season third in points per game behind Heisman-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota?
It doesn't look good for the Seminoles. Since losing to Arizona on October 2, the Ducks have won every game by 12 or more points, including convincing victories over UCLA, Stanford and Utah. They defeated Arizona in the Pac-12 title game 51-13.
And if you weren't a fan of Mariota before, did you see his Heisman acceptance speech? SportsCenter shared the moment:
How could you not root for a guy like that?
In the other contest, the major question will be if Cardale Jones can lead Ohio State to the upset over Alabama. He certainly looked the part in the Big Ten title game, throwing for 257 yards and three touchdowns in Ohio State's decisive 59-0 victory over Wisconsin. Alabama will be a whole new challenge, of course.
Still, it's a testament to Ohio State's talent as a team that it has been able to overcome injuries to quarterbacks Braxton Miller, a preseason Heisman contender, and J.T. Barrett, a Heisman contender who threw for 2,834 yards, rushed for 938 and accumulated 45 total touchdowns before suffering a season-ending injury. This game is going to be closer than people think, and it wouldn't be shocking if Ohio State pulled off the upset. Few teams are hotter at the moment.
Of course, not everyone agrees. Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee thinks Alabama will win big, per B/R Radio on Twitter:
The other top bowls feature some tasty matchups. Can TCU prove it was a huge playoff snub by beating Ole Miss and the Rebels' talented defense? Can Baylor do the same against a tough Michigan State team? Can Mississippi State top off a season that saw it spend time atop the rankings with a victory over Georgia Tech? Will Boise State pull off yet another upset in a major bowl when it faces Arizona?
There will also be individual players to watch. Auburn will have its hands full with Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon. Ole Miss has faced plenty of talented players, but quarterback Trevone Boykin is as good as any it has played. And we're all excited to see Mariota and Winston do battle and Amari Cooper go up against Ohio State.
Gosh, it's going to be fun watching all of the above play out. There's nothing quite like bowl season, after all.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
