Bowl Games 2015-16: TV Schedule, Live Stream Info, Predictions for Top Matchups

The 2015-16 bowl schedule was announced Sunday, with the College Football Playoff committee filling out its field and the rest of the games making their announcements in the subsequent hours.

Not much came as a surprise. Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma were locks to make the final four. The only question was whether Oklahoma or Michigan State would land the No. 3 seed, and ultimately the Spartans' Big Ten Championship Game win gave them the edge.

Elsewhere, the Rose Bowl got a traditional matchup in No. 5 Iowa and No. 6 Stanford, the Fiesta Bowl got a ratings bonanza in Notre Dame-Ohio State, Oklahoma State-Ole Miss took over the Sugar Bowl and Houston will get a chance to take down Florida State in the Peach Bowl.

Overall, there are 40 bowl games on the slate this year, each carrying varying degrees of intrigue. Here's a look at the schedule for all 40 games and a preview of the playoff.  

ate	Time (ET)	Bowl Game	Matchup	Location	TV	Stream
Dec. 19	Noon	Cure Bowl	San Jose State vs. Georgia State	Orlando	CBSSN
Dec. 19	2 p.m.	Gildan New Mexico Bowl	Arizona vs. New Mexico	Albuquerque	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 19	3:30 p.m.	Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl	BYU vs. Utah	Las Vegas	ABC	WatchABC
Dec. 19	5:30 p.m.	Raycom Media Camellia Bowl	Ohio vs. Appalachian State	Montgomery	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 19	9 p.m.	R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech	New Orleans	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 21	2:30 p.m.	Miami Beach Bowl	USF vs. Western Kentucky	Miami	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 22	3:30 p.m.	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Akron vs. Utah State	Boise	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 22	7 p.m.	Marmot Boca Raton Bowl	Temple vs. Toledo	Boca Raton	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 23	4:30 p.m.	San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl	Boise State vs. Northern Illinois	San Diego	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 23	8 p.m.	GoDaddyBowl	Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern	Mobile	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 24	Noon	Popeyes Bahamas Bowl	Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan	Nassau	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 24	8 p.m.	Hawai'i Bowl	Cincinnati vs. San Diego State	Honolulu	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 26	11 a.m.	St. Petersburg Bowl	UConn vs. Marshall	St. Petersburg	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 26	2 p.m.	Hyundai Sun Bowl	Miami vs. Washington State	El Paso	CBS
Dec. 26	2:20 p.m.	Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl	Washington vs. Southern Miss	Dallas	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 26	3:30 p.m.	New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Duke vs. Indiana	Bronx	ABC	WatchABC
Dec. 26	5:45 p.m.	Camping World Independence Bowl	Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa	Shreveport	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 26	9:15 p.m.	Foster Farms Bowl	Nebraska vs. UCLA	Santa Clara	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 28	2:30 p.m.	Military Bowl	Pitt vs. Navy	Annapolis	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 28	5 p.m.	Quick Lane Bowl	Central Michigan vs. Navy	Detroit	ESPN 2	WatchESPN
Dec. 29	2 p.m.	Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl	Washington vs. Air Force	Fort Worth	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 29	5:30 p.m.	Russell Athletic Bowl	North Carolina vs. Baylor	Orlando	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 29	7:30 p.m.	NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl	Nevada vs. Colorado State	Tucson	TBD
Dec. 29	9 p.m.	AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl	Texas Tech vs. LSU	Houston	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 30	Noon	Birmingham Bowl	Memphis vs. Auburn	Birmingham	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 30	3:30 p.m.	Belk Bowl	NC State vs. Mississippi State	Charlotte	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 30	7 p.m.	Music City Bowl	Louisville vs. Texas A&M	Nashville	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 30	10:30 p.m.	Holiday Bowl	Wisconsin vs. USC	San Diego	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 31	Noon	Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl	Houston vs. Florida State	Atlanta	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 31	TBD	Cotton Bowl	Michigan State vs. Alabama	Arlington	ESPN	WatchESPN
Dec. 31	TBD	Orange Bowl	Oklahoma vs. Clemson	Miami	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 1	Noon	Outback Bowl	Northwestern vs. Tennessee	Tampa Bay	ESPN 2	WatchESPN
Jan. 1	1 p.m.	Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl	Michigan vs. Florida	Orlando	ABC	WatchABC
Jan. 1	1 p.m.	Fiesta Bowl	Notre Dame vs. Ohio State	Glendale	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 1	5 p.m.	Rose Bowl	Stanford vs. Iowa	Pasadena	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 1	8:30 p.m.	Allstate Sugar Bowl	Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss	New Orleans	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 2	Noon	TaxSlayer Bowl	Penn State vs. Georgia	Jacksonville	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 2	3:20 p.m.	AutoZone Liberty Bowl	Kansas State vs. Arkansas	Memphis	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 2	6:45 p.m.	Valero Alamo Bowl	TCU vs. Oregon	San Antonio	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 2	10:15 p.m.	Cactus Bowl	West Virginia vs. Arizona State	Phoenix	ESPN	WatchESPN
Jan. 11	8:30 p.m.	College Football Playoff National Championship		Glendale	ESPN	WatchESPN

College Football Playoff Preview

No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Clemson  

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Of the two matchups, this will be the more traditionally exciting. Neither Clemson nor Oklahoma come in boasting robust, all-time defenses. The Sooners have allowed 20-plus points in eight games so far this season, while Tigers opponents have hit that mark six times. 

Both teams have been even worse as the season drew to a close. North Carolina and South Carolina combined for 69 points in close losses to Clemson, and Oklahoma's last three opponents have averaged 28.7 points. 

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said, per Dan Shirley of TigerNet:

"

Jekyll and Hyde, I'm not sure who I'm pulling for, but I know I'm pulling for one of them and not the other. We do some of the most bonehead things, but that's a reflection of coaching, and we've got to do a better job. Right there at the end, most of the guys are playing to win and a couple of the guys are playing not to lose, and it shows. We've got to be better than that. That's the most discouraging part, that we make it so hard on ourselves at the most inopportune times.

"

Luckily for both sides, they have offenses that more than make up for their defensive shortcomings.

Clemson is led by Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson, who has spent the second half of 2015 boosting his resume in a big way. He combined for nine total touchdowns in Clemson's close calls against the Gamecocks and Tar Heels, combining for over 800 yards of total offense. The dual-threat quarterback had 100-plus rushing yards in four of the season's final five games after not topping the mark in the Tigers' first eight contests, continuing to live up to his formidable hype.

“He’s the best player in the country,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said, per Viv Bernstein of the New York Times. “And there’s no doubt about it. This guy beats you not just with his legs; he beats you with his arm, his mind, his heart, his guts, his toughness. This is a great, great champion of a player."

Watson will make the trip to New York along with running backs Derrick Henry (Alabama) and Christian McCaffrey (Stanford). The most surprising player who didn't make the cut was Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, who could use his snub as motivation. Mayfield threw for 3,389 yards and 35 touchdowns during the regular season, adding 420 yards and seven scores on the ground. After beginning his career as a walk-on at Texas Tech, Mayfield has emerged as one of college football's most prolific passers.

In a battle between Watson and Mayfield, it's hard to tell who would come out on top. That's why Oklahoma's slight advantage at running back may put the Sooners over the edge. Whereas the Tigers have a very solid option in Wayne Gallman, Oklahoma has two studs in Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. The pair have combined for more than 2,000 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, each averaging over six yards per carry.

The separation won't be much, but look for Oklahoma to win in a high-scoring thriller.

No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Alabama

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The other game on New Year's Eve should be on the opposite side of the spectrum. While Oklahoma-Clemson is probably a "first to 40" contest, Alabama and Michigan State may not even combine for 40 points.

The Crimson Tide haven't allowed an opponent to score more than 16 points in nearly two months, and their opponents have hit the 20-point mark only twice. Opponents are averaging a paltry 2.4 yards per carry and have scored only six rushing touchdowns all season. Alabama's secondary has forced quarterbacks to complete less than 50 percent of their passes and has a nation-high 46 sacks.

“I don’t think anybody really thought after that Ole Miss game this team would wind up here,” Nick Saban said, per Tim Tucker of SECCountry.com. “And to be honest with you, I had some questions in my mind about whether we would wind up here. There was a real togetherness with this group. We haven’t had issues. We haven’t had lots of problems. I don’t have to call guys in at all. Everybody sort of bought in. Really a fun team to coach.”

A lot of that has come thanks to a return to a comfortable style. Not only is Alabama's defense the best in the country, its offense is back to its patented grind-it-out outlook. Henry is the Heisman favorite after rushing for 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns, and he put the Tide on his back in the most important games of the year. The Yulee (Florida) product combined for 460 yards on 90 carries in wins over Auburn and Florida.

“I think it’s always a big part of the game plan to give Derrick the ball,” Alabama quarterback Jake Coker said, per Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s special and he needs to get the ball into his hands for us to play well.”

Alabama plays a Michigan State team well-versed in the smashmouth style. The Spartans took more than nine minutes off the clock on a 22-play, 82-yard drive to give themselves a 16-13 win over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game. Seventeen of those plays were runs, including LJ Scott's one-yard scamper to score the game-winning touchdown.

This is a battle of two of the 13 best defensive teams in the country, according to Football Outsiders. Alabama's the clear favorite here from a talent and numbers standpoint, but these types of close contests can shift on just one big play. Michigan State has a real chance to pull the upset here.