Bowl Game Schedule 2014-15: Best Matchups Before the New Year

Everyone is waiting on the College Football Playoffs to begin, but fans shouldn't sleep on the rest of the bowl season. There are a good number of games still to be played. A few of them could be epic and feature big-time NFL prospects.

Here's a look at the remainder of the bowl schedule and just below the table is a closer look at three games you shouldn't miss.

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 No. 15 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. No. 24 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. No. 17 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. No. 23 LSU	Nashville, Tenn. LP Field	Dec. 30 3 p.m.	ESPN
Belk Bowl No. 13 Georgia vs. No. 21 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 No. 19 Auburn vs. No. 18 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 No. 16 Missouri vs. No. 25 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 No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 14 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

Holiday Bowl: Nebraska vs. USC

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

If watching the Nebraska Cornhuskers' Ameer Abdullah and the USC Trojans' Leonard Williams in what could be their last college game isn't enough, seeing an old school Big Ten vs. Pac-12 battle in a bowl game should get college football fans excited.

There was a time during the mid-to-late portion of the season that both the Cornhuskers and Trojans had thoughts of winning their respective conferences, but things didn't exactly work out.

As it stands, this matchup features one of the most explosive running backs in the country in Abdullah. He's a threat to take the ball to the end zone whenever he touches it. Per Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline.com, Abdullah is headed to the Senior Bowl.

He's clearly flipping the switch to become a pro. Seeing how much success he can have against the Williams-led Trojan front will be interesting.

By the time the NFL combine has concluded in 2015, both men could be set to hear their names called in the first round of the NFL draft. Catch them on the college gridiron while you still can.

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs. TCU

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It turned out to be a disappointing season for the Ole Miss Rebels. After flirting with obtaining a spot in the College Football Playoff, the team came crashing back down to Earth by losing three of its last five games.

Now the Bo-Wallace-led Rebels will battle a TCU Horned Frogs team that is eager to prove it should have been included in the CFP.

A one-loss season and strong finish wasn't enough to convince the committee to tab TCU in college football's final four. Expect quarterback Trevone Boykin and Co. to play with a chip on their shoulders.

Per Hugh Kellenberger of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Boykin could be a problem for the Ole Miss defense.

Can he light a fire under his 2015 Heisman hype or even spark talk that he'll skip his senior season? 

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Notre Dame vs. LSU

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The last time the Notre Dame Fighting Irish played an SEC school things didn't turn out well for the Golden Domers. The Alabama Crimson Tide crushed the Irish in the national championship in 2013, and the LSU Tigers are hoping to deliver a similar beatdown at the Music City Bowl.

Senior quarterback Everett Golson has had a decent season for Notre Dame, despite the fact that the team has lost four in a row, and five of its last six. 

Golson will likely be facing the best defense he's seen since he was befuddled by that 'Bama defense almost two years ago. Can Notre Dame finish strong and create some momentum heading into the final recruiting stretch, or will LSU continue the SEC's dominance over the country's most-famed independent school?

You'll have to watch to find out.