Bowl Games 2014-15: Schedule and Predictions for Top Matchups on Slate

The college football bowl season is set to begin with five games on Saturday. The biggest games won't occur until closer to New Year's Day, but college football fans will simply be thrilled to see the sport return after an almost month-long break from a full schedule.

Things will get underway early with an 11 a.m. start for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns will have a substantial home-field advantage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

Here's a look at the full slate of bowl games. Just below the table is a closer look at the two national semifinals in the College Football Playoff.

Bowl	Location	Date/Time	Network
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Nevada vs. Louisiana-Lafayette	New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Dec. 20 11 a.m.	ESPN
Gildan New Mexico Bowl Utah State vs. UTEP	Albuquerque, N.M. University Stadium	Dec. 20 2:20 p.m.	ESPN
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl Utah vs. Colorado State	Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium	Dec. 20 3:30 p.m.	ABC
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Western Michigan vs. Air Force	Boise, Idaho Albertsons Stadium	Dec. 20 5:45 p.m.	ESPN
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl South Alabama vs. Bowling Green	Montgomery, Ala. Cramton Bowl	Dec. 20 9:15 p.m.	ESPN
Miami Beach Bowl BYU vs. Memphis	Miami Marlins Park	Dec. 22 2 p.m.	ESPN
Boca Raton Bowl Marshall vs. Northern Illinois	Boca Raton, Fla. FAU Stadium	Dec. 23 6 p.m.	ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Navy vs. San Diego State	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium	Dec. 23 9:30 p.m.	ESPN
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky	Nassau, Bahamas Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium	Dec. 24 Noon	ESPN
Hawai'i Bowl Fresno State vs. Rice	Honolulu Aloha Stadium	Dec. 24 8 p.m.	ESPN
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech	Dallas Cotton Bowl	Dec. 26 1 p.m.	ESPN
Quick Lane Bowl Rutgers vs. North Carolina	Detroit Ford Field	Dec. 26 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl NC State vs. UCF	St. Petersburg, Fla. Tropicana Field	Dec. 26 8 p.m.	ESPN
Military Bowl presented By Northrop Grumman Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech	Annapolis, Md. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium	Dec. 27 1 p.m.	ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl Arizona State vs. Duke	El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl	Dec. 27 2 p.m.	CBS
Duck Commander Independence Bowl Miami vs. South Carolina	Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium	Dec. 27 3:30 p.m.	ABC
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Boston College vs. Penn State	Bronx, N.Y. Yankee Stadium	Dec. 27 4:30 p.m.	ESPN
National University Holiday Bowl Nebraska vs. USC	San Diego Qualcomm Stadium	Dec. 27 8 p.m.	ESPN
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Texas A&M vs. West Virginia	Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium	Dec. 29 2 p.m.	ESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl Oklahoma vs. Clemson	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Dec. 29 5:30 p.m.	ESPN
AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl Arkansas vs. Texas	Houston NRG Stadium	Dec. 29 9 p.m.	ESPN
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Notre Dame vs. LSU	Nashville, Tenn. LP Field	Dec. 30 3 p.m.	ESPN
Belk Bowl Georgia vs. Louisville	Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium	Dec. 30 6:30 p.m.	ESPN
Foster Farms Bowl Maryland vs. Stanford	Santa Clara, Calif. Levi's Stadium	Dec. 30 10 p.m.	ESPN
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 6 TCU	Atlanta Georgia Dome	Dec. 31 12:30 p.m.	ESPN
VIZIO Fiesta Bowl No. 20 Boise State vs. No. 10 Arizona	Glendale, Ariz. University of Phoenix Stadium	Dec. 31 4 p.m.	ESPN
Capital One Orange Bowl No. 7 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Georgia Tech	Miami Gardens, Fla. Sun Life Stadium	Dec. 31 8 p.m.	ESPN
Outback Bowl Auburn vs. Wisconsin	Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium	Jan. 1 Noon	ESPN2
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 5 Baylor	Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium	Jan. 1 12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl Missouri vs. Minnesota	Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl	Jan. 1 1 p.m.	ABC
Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual College Football Playoff Semifinal No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State	Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl	Jan. 1 5 p.m.	ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State	New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome	Jan. 1 8:30 p.m.	ESPN
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Houston vs. Pittsburgh	Fort Worth, Texas Amon G. Carter Stadium	Jan. 2 Noon	ESPN
TaxSlayer Bowl Iowa vs. Tennessee	Jacksonville, Fla. EverBank Field	Jan. 2 3:20 p.m.	ESPN
Valero Alamo Bowl Kansas State vs. UCLA	San Antonio Alamodome	Jan. 2 6:45 p.m.	ESPN
TicketCity Cactus Bowl Washington vs. Oklahoma State	Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium	Jan. 2 10:15 p.m.	ESPN
Birmingham Bowl East Carolina vs. Florida	Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field	Jan. 3 Noon	ESPN
GoDaddy Bowl Toledo vs. Arkansas State	Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium	Jan. 4 9 p.m.	ESPN
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T TBD vs. TBD	Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium	Jan. 12 8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Florida State Will Outlast Oregon

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All year long, the defending champions have been finding ways to win close games. It's hard to find a game in which you could say Jameis Winston and Co. have actually played well as a team.

For some reason, it feels as if this is the game the Noles play like defending champions for close to—or a full—60 minutes. Winston won the 2013 Heisman Trophy, and he is going up against this year's winner in the Oregon Ducks' Marcus Mariota.

There's no disputing Mariota's worthiness of the sport's top individual honor, but Winston wouldn't be a competitor if he didn't want to outperform this year's winner. College Football 24/7 calls Mariota vs. Winston the best matchup of bowl season.

Because of the way Winston's teammates respect him, there's no question they want to help him get the best of the matchup—not to mention defend the school's national championship.

The key here is Florida State's ability to run the ball against the Oregon defense. Dalvin Cook has been a constant for Florida State all season. Even when Winston has struggled, Cook has given the Noles a stabilizing presence.

The freshman leads the Noles in rushing and undoubtedly has a bright future in Tallahassee. Oregon's run defense has been far from stout this season.

The Ducks rank just 50th in rushing yards allowed per game. Look for Florida State to pound the ball on the ground and set up play-action opportunities for Winston. The Noles' defense represents the most athletic and explosive defense Mariota has seen all season.

The result will be a surprisingly easy win for Florida State.

Alabama is Too Fast For Ohio State

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Ohio State Buckeyes fans will hate to hear this, but it's still true. The Alabama Crimson Tide are too fast as a team.

From the linebackers to secondary and pass-rushers, the Tide can get after the Bucks' receivers and quarterback Cardale Jones like no team Ohio State has faced.

The only prayer Ohio State has is to establish a strong run game early and somehow force Alabama into turnovers. The first is obviously easier said than done.

Bama's run defense is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Led by linebacker Trey DePriest, Alabama fills its gaps and swarms to the ball. If the Bucks can't run the ball, too much pressure will fall on the shoulders of Jones to lead his team to victory.

Jones played great—as did the Bucks defense—in the Big Ten title game against the Wisconsin Badgers; he didn't turn the ball over and Ohio State restricted the nation's leading rusher, Melvin Gordon, to under 80 yards in the 59-0 rout.

Wisconsin definitely isn't on Alabama's level on either side of the ball. 

Heisman finalist Amari Cooper changes the way teams have to defend Alabama. He stretches defenses, which opens up the Bama running game. Ohio State doesn't have one cornerback capable of handling Cooper, and that means safety help will be required constantly.

Bama will win the battle at the line of scrimmage and maul Ohio State in a rout.