Orange Bowl 2015: Known Info Before Final Playoff Rankings Reveal

A New Year's Six game, the Orange Bowl is normally one of the largest bowl games of the season. But with the College Football Playoff now in its second year, the stakes are even higher for teams that will be taking part in this game. 

The winner of the Orange Bowl this season will punch its ticket to the national championship game in Glendale, Arizona, on Jan. 11. 

Here is everything you need to know about the Orange Bowl before the matchups are announced:

Date	Time (ET)	Venue	City, State	TV
Thursday, Dec. 31	4 or 8 p.m.	Sun Life Stadium	Miami, Fla.	ESPN

When it comes to finding out which teams are playing, the committee had to wait until all of the conference champions were decided and reconfigure its Top Four based on the results.

CollegeFootballPlayoff.com then explains how it decides which matchups will be played in which bowl game:

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A. The team ranked No. 1 by the selection committee will play team No. 4 in the semifinals. Team No. 2 will meet team No. 3.

B. When assigning teams to sites, the committee will place the top two seeds at the most advantageous sites, weighing criteria such as convenience of travel for its fans, home-crowd advantage or disadvantage and general familiarity with the host city and its stadium. Preference will go to the No. 1 seed.

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With the Cotton Bowl being the other semifinal this season, there will be a geographical advantage for any southern teams in contention for the national championship. 

Regardless of the teams, it will surely be an enthralling semifinal that will help decide the best of college football.