Bowl Games 2014-15: Full Postseason Schedule and Predictions for Top Battles

Bowl season is in full swing, and the anticipation for games on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day is at an all-time high.

The unveiling of a new system to decide the college football champion has mixed up the postseason entirely. While the top BCS bowl games used to be spread out over five days or more, now all New Year's Six games will be played on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1

That includes the College Football Playoff semifinals between Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Florida State, generating excitement at a fever pitch for what is already an enticing bowl slate.

Let's take a look at every bowl game ahead of us on the schedule and predict the outcomes of three marquee games.

Date	Bowl	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
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	Wisconsin vs. Auburn	12 p.m.	ESPN2
Jan. 1	Goodyear Cotton Bowl	Michigan State vs. Baylor	12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Jan. 1	Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl	Minnesota vs. Missouri	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

Predictions for Top Battles

Peach Bowl: No. 6 TCU vs. No. 9 Ole Miss

If watching elite defenses trying to unravel high-octane offenses is your thing, the Ole Miss defense going up against TCU's offense will be must-watch television in the Peach Bowl.

There are enticing matchups all around this postseason, but there may not be one better than this. According to CFBStats.com, the Rebels boast the nation's best scoring defense, while the Horned Frogs have the second-best scoring offense in the country.

Ole Miss' defensive front is used to chasing down speedsters but will have its hands full containing quarterback Trevone Boykin. He makes his impact on the ground with eight touchdowns and 642 yards but is even better at rolling out and connecting deep down the field.

The Rebels have the star power in the secondary with Cody Prewitt and Senquez Golson, but they'll have to stay composed to make big plays against the poised Boykin.

TCU's offense is sure to put up some points regardless of the tough matchup. But where this game will be won is offensively for the Rebels, as Bo Wallace has a pretty solid stable of weapons on his side as well.

There's no Laquon Treadwell, but Jaylen Walton has been breaking out and will do the same against a less-than-average TCU defense. It will be a shootout that goes late into the fourth quarter, but Wallace will keep the Rebels on top.

Prediction: Ole Miss 34, TCU 30

Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Arizona vs. No. 20 Boise State

The Arizona Wildcats are on one of the biggest stages in the program's history, playing what is almost a home game in Glendale, Arizona. Boise State enters as the Fiesta Bowl darlings. They look to add another chapter to the storybook.

Rich Rodriguez's Wildcats were trounced 51-13 the last time out, but that was against a peaking Oregon squad they had already beaten earlier this season. As for the Broncos, they haven't lost since September and are on a tear of seven straight wins by two possessions or more.

Boise State may be the road team in essence, but it will be well represented, according to B.J. Rains of the Idaho Press-Tribune:

Arizona's defense has been the difference this season for the Wildcats, dominating in its best stretches and unable to force stops at its worst. Preventing the run has proven especially tough, and the Arizona defense has allowed an average of more than 200 yards a game on the ground in its last two outings.

Things don't figure to get any easier with Jay Ajayi up next, Boise State's bruising running back with the wheels and athleticism to make opponents pay at the second level.

Quarterback Grant Hedrick won't play like Marcus Mariota, but he'll be able to make the Wildcats pay in a similar fashion with play-action looks set up by Ajayi's running. A hard-hitting Broncos defense will keep them ahead, pressuring whoever Arizona decides to go with at quarterback.

Expect late theatrics but a Boise State win.

Prediction: Boise State 34, Arizona 31

Outback Bowl: No. 18 Wisconsin vs. No. 19 Auburn

The Outback Bowl won't be one of the must-watch games on New Year's Day, but it will peg two teams well known for their national prestige and expected to stay around the championship conversation in the future.

The immediate outlook for both No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 19 Auburn, however, hinges on how each squad shows up.

Jarred by the abrupt leaving of head coach Gary Andersen, the Badgers will be led again by former coach and long-time athletic director Barry Alvarez in an interim role. How his team responds to the adversity will be telling in how much of an impact Wisconsin will have.

It will be Alvarez's first win in a long time if Wisconsin can pull it off, as 247Sports' Evan Flood noted:

Of course, it's only fair to wonder how ready the Tigers will be as well. They have a new defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp, and Auburn undoubtedly expected to be in a CFP semifinal at this point in the year.

Wisconsin won't be short on energy despite the unfavorable circumstances, but containing Nick Marshall and the Auburn offense will be a different story. The Badgers are at an all-time low in defensive confidence after Ohio State hung 59 on them, and the Tigers boast many similar threats at the skill positions.

Melvin Gordon will make a few big plays, but Auburn will keep the Wisconsin offense contained enough to let Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne do their thing.

Prediction: Auburn 44, Wisconsin 20