Bowl Games 2015-16: TV Schedule and Predictions For Top Matchups
The 2015-16 college football bowl schedule is officially locked in following Sunday's reveal of the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Clemson remained atop the standings and will face Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, while SEC champion Alabama is slated to take on Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl. But there are plenty of other teams hitting the gridiron in the postseason worth watching.
Check out the full bowl schedule below, featuring TV listings and followed by predictions for the best non-CFP bowl matchups.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl | Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T | Dec. 19 | Noon | ABC |
| Cure Bowl | San Jose State vs. Georgia State | Dec. 19 | Noon | CBSSN |
| Gildan New Mexico Bowl | Arizona vs. New Mexico | Dec. 19 | 2 p.m. | ESPN |
| Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl | BYU vs. Utah | Dec. 19 | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Raycom Media Camellia Bowl | Ohio vs. Appalachian State | Dec. 19 | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech | Dec. 19 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| Miami Beach Bowl | South Florida vs. Western Kentucky | Dec. 21 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Akron vs. Utah State | Dec. 22 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Marmot Boca Raton Bowl | Temple vs. Toledo | Dec. 22 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl | Boise State vs. Northern Illinois | Dec. 23 | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| GoDaddy Bowl | Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern | Dec. 23 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Popeyes Bahamas Bowl | Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan | Dec. 24 | Noon | ESPN |
| Hawai'i Bowl | Cincinnati vs. San Diego State | Dec. 24 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| St. Petersburg Bowl | Marshall vs. Connecticut | Dec. 26 | 11 a.m. | ESPN |
| Hyundai Sun Bowl | Miami vs. Washington State | Dec. 26 | 2 p.m. | CBS |
| Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl | Washington vs. Southern Miss | Dec. 26 | 2:20 p.m. | ESPN |
| New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Duke vs. Indiana | Dec. 26 | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Camping World Independence Bowl | Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa | Dec. 26 | 5:45 p.m. | ESPN |
| Foster Farms Bowl | Nebraska vs. UCLA | Dec. 26 | 9:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman | Pittsburgh vs. Navy | Dec. 28 | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Quick Lane Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Minnesota | Dec. 28 | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Air Force vs. California | Dec. 29 | 2 p.m. | ESPN |
| Russell Athletic Bowl | North Carolina vs. Baylor | Dec. 29 | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl | Colorado State vs. Nevada | Dec. 29 | 7:30 p.m. | TBA |
| AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl | Texas Tech vs. LSU | Dec. 29 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| Birmingham Bowl | Memphis vs. Auburn | Dec. 30 | Noon | ESPN |
| Belk Bowl | North Carolina State vs. Mississippi State | Dec. 30 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | Louisville vs. Texas A&M | Dec. 30 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Holiday Bowl | Wisconsin vs. USC | Dec. 30 | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Houston vs. Florida State | Dec. 31 | Noon | ESPN |
| Capital One Orange Bowl | No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Oklahoma | Dec. 31 | 4 p.m. | ESPN |
| Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Michigan State | Dec. 31 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Outback Bowl | Northwestern vs. Tennessee | Jan. 1 | Noon | ESPN2 |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl | Michigan vs. Florida | Jan. 1 | 1 p.m. | ABC |
| Fiesta Bowl | Notre Dame vs. Ohio State | Jan. 1 | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual | Iowa vs. Stanford | Jan. 1 | 5 p.m. | ESPN |
| Allstate Sugar Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss | Jan. 1 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| TaxSlayer Bowl | Georgia vs. Penn State | Jan. 2 | Noon | ESPN |
| AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Kansas State vs. Arkansas | Jan. 2 | 3:20 p.m. | ESPN |
| Valero Alamo Bowl | TCU vs. Oregon | Jan. 2 | 6:45 p.m. | ESPN |
| Cactus Bowl | West Virginia vs. Arizona State | Jan. 2 | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN |
| College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T | Clemson/Oklahoma vs. Alabama/Michigan State | Jan. 11 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Score Projections for Top Non-CFB Bowls
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
These two teams met in the Fiesta Bowl back in 2006 with a coaching matchup that featured Jim Tressel for the Buckeyes and counterpart Charlie Weis.
This impending head-to-head battle of gridiron strategists promises to be a great one between OSU's Urban Meyer and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly.
To the Fighting Irish's credit, they've overcome key injuries and had two losses by a combined four points to the likes of Clemson and Stanford. A dynamic front seven led by linebacker Jaylon Smith will have its work cut out against Ohio State's rushing attack, though.
Ezekiel Elliott is arguably the best back in the country. The only time the Buckeyes failed to feed him often enough, it cost them a loss to Michigan State and a berth in the College Football Playoff. Elliott followed up with 214 yards rushing and two scores in a victory over archrival Michigan.
The Wolverines' stout defense couldn't manage to slow Elliott down. Although it's encouraging that Notre Dame was able to largely limit Stanford star running back Christian McCaffrey, it allowed Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan to light up the scoreboard in a 38-36 contest.
Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com hinted at another underlying factor sure to motivate OSU—being passed over by Iowa for a Rose Bowl bid:
Buckeyes QB J.T. Barrett has had a rather rough year and hasn't been near the player he was in 2014. Strong as OSU's 11-1 record is on the surface, it returned so many players from last year's national championship team that it was a disappointment not to be in the Top Four at the very least.
Look for Meyer's bunch to band together and take out all the frustration of falling short of the ultimate prize on the Irish.
Prediction: Ohio State 27, Notre Dame 20
Rose Bowl: Iowa vs. Stanford
Two old-school, fundamentally sound football programs who figure to play one of the better-quality bowl games on the schedule. Yours truly will sign up for that any day, especially at such a pristine venue.
McCaffrey is the catalyst for Stanford and did nothing less than set the NCAA record for all-purpose yardage in a single season in the Cardinal's 41-22 win over USC in the Pac-12 title game.
Stanford figures to have an edge in a virtual home game, but Hawkeyes fans will indubitably travel well. Iowa was less than a half-minute away from parlaying a perfect record into a CFP berth—it wasn't meant to be against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game.
A key area where the Cardinal are elite is third-down-conversion percentage, where they boast a 51.2 percent success rate. It's one of the reasons few would embrace the challenge of facing Stanford, as Andrew Brandt of ESPN hinted in his analysis:
Nevertheless, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is eager to take on the Cardinal, as he said once his team's next opponent was revealed, per the university's official Twitter feed:
One reason for Iowa fans to be optimistic is it has a plus-12 turnover margin (h/t NCAA.com), which has been a big factor in the Hawkeyes' on-field exploits.
Thanks to having a savvy signal-caller in Kevin Hogan and McCaffrey always putting the offense in manageable situations, though, Stanford can chew up clock and wear down even the most hard-nosed foe. Although the Hawkeyes seldom give the ball away, something has to give eventually.
What this showdown likely boils down to most is the ability to execute in the red zone. Stanford has the edge in that area in terms of touchdown percentage at 67.8 to 67.3.
The outcome of the Rose Bowl ought to reflect that slim margin of separation. McCaffrey and Hogan have intangibles and special ability that transcend simple numbers—and will help the Cardinal's cause to triumph in "The Granddaddy of Them All."
Prediction: Stanford 24, Iowa 23
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
