Bowl Game Schedule 2015-16: Best Matchups Before the New Year
Most college football fans are waiting for the national semifinals or the major bowls on New Year's Day, but the early part of the bowl season features a bunch of intriguing matchups.
The introduction of the College Football Playoff has arguably taken some of the attention away from the lesser bowls. With 40 different games on the schedule, it's easy for many of them to get overlooked and lost in the shuffle.
Despite this, there are still games worth watching with top teams and players looking to prove themselves on the national stage. To help keep you in the loop, here is a look at the full remaining schedule for the bowl season and a breakdown of the early games worth watching.
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| Dec. 26 | St. Petersburg | Marshall vs. Connecticut | 11 a.m. |
| Dec. 26 | Hyundai Sun | Washington State vs. Miami (Fl.) | 2 p.m. |
| Dec. 26 | Zaxby's Heart of Dallas | Washington vs. Southern Miss | 2:20 p.m. |
| Dec. 26 | New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Duke vs. Indiana | 3:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 26 | Camping World Independence | Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa | 5:45 p.m. |
| Dec. 26 | Foster Farms | UCLA vs. Nebraska | 9:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 28 | Military | Navy vs. Pittsburgh | 2:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 28 | Quick Lane | Minnesota vs. Central Michigan | 5 p.m. |
| Dec. 29 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces | California vs. Air Force | 2 p.m. |
| Dec. 29 | Russell Athletic | North Carolina vs. Baylor | 5:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 29 | NOVA Home Loans Arizona | Nevada vs. Colorado State | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 29 | AdvoCare V100 | LSU vs. Texas Tech | 9 p.m. |
| Dec. 30 | Birmingham | Memphis vs. Auburn | 12 p.m. |
| Dec. 30 | Belk | Mississippi State vs. North Carolina State | 3:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 30 | Franklin American Mortgage Music City | Texas A&M vs. Louisville | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 30 | Holiday | USC vs. Wisconsin | 10:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-A Peach | Florida State vs. Houston | 12 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | Capital One Orange | Oklahoma vs. Clemson | 4 p.m. |
| Dec. 31 | Goodyear Cotton | Alabama vs. Michigan State | 8 p.m. |
| Jan. 1 | Outback | Northwestern vs. Tennessee | 12 p.m. |
| Jan. 1 | Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus | Michigan vs. Florida | 1 p.m. |
| Jan. 1 | BattleFrog Fiesta | Ohio State vs. Notre Dame | 1 p.m. |
| Jan. 1 | Rose | Stanford vs. Iowa | 5 p.m. |
| Jan. 1 | Allstate Sugar | Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State | 8:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 2 | TaxSlayer | Georgia vs. Penn State | 12 p.m. |
| Jan. 2 | AutoZone Liberty | Arkansas vs. Kansas State | 3:20 p.m. |
| Jan. 2 | Valero Alamo | TCU vs. Oregon | 6:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 2 | Motel 6 Cactus | Arizona State vs. West Virginia | 10:15 p.m. |
| Jan. 11 | CFP National Championship | TBD vs. TBD | 8:30 p.m. |
Top Early Matchups to Watch
Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Wisconsin
The biggest story with USC this season has been the fluid situation at head coach. Clay Helton took over for Steve Sarkisian in the middle of the year, but now he is here to stay after an impressive second half.
Helton went 5-3 as the team's head coach, including dominant wins over then-No. 3 Utah and then-No. 22 UCLA. Quarterback Cody Kessler had great things to say about the interim coach last month, per Nick Hamilton of AXS.com:
This is evident by the toughness the senior is showing before his final collegiate game, per Ryan Abraham of USCFootball.com:
That will help out the Trojans considering how well Kessler has played as of late. After dealing with interception problems earlier in the year, he has 11 touchdowns with just one pick over his last seven games. With JuJu Smith-Schuster making plays down the field to go with a deep rushing attack, this is an offense that can really score.
Of course, it will not be easy going against the No. 1 scoring defense in college football. Wisconsin has allowed just 13.1 points per game this year, with even Rose Bowl participant Iowa being held to just 10 points. This is a disciplined squad that doesn't make many mistakes, which will make it difficult to move the football.
Quarterback Joel Stave has had his problems, but if the senior avoids mistakes, he can help his team compete in an exciting bowl game.
Military Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Navy
These aren't usually teams that generate much excitement for fans, but this will be the last chance to watch one of the best players in college football history, Keenan Reynolds.
While listed as a quarterback, Reynolds is known as a dominant runner who runs the triple-option as well as anyone in the nation. This season, he has 1,229 rushing yards with 21 touchdowns, giving him 85 scores for his career. This was good enough for the FBS record, although it was taken away from him recently, per Yahoo Sports:
He will now get a chance to regain the lead and put himself in the record books with three more scores against Pittsburgh. Considering he has had at least three touchdowns in 15 different games in his career, it certainly is well within the possibility.
Navy typically takes the quarterback's lead and runs the ball, controlling the pace of its games. This has led to a 10-2 record this season and making the Midshipmen a tough team to beat even with an unusual playing style.
Pittsburgh has also been successful running the ball this season even without having elite running back James Conner for much of the season. Freshman Qadree Ollison has played well in his place with over 1,000 rushing yards on the year, utilizing his combination of strength and size to pick up difficult yards.
This game might not feature a whole lot of passing, but it will be an interesting battle to watch.
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina vs. Baylor
This bowl game is a relative disappointment for both teams, who weren't all that far off from contending for a national championship, but their exclusion from the College Football Playoff creates an exciting early bowl game.
Baylor entered the year No. 4 in both major preseason polls and played to this level with an 8-0 start. Unfortunately, injuries came at the wrong time and the Bears were unable to keep up with the other top teams in the Big 12, losing three of their last four.
Those injuries haven't stopped in the postseason. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports noted the squad will be without more major players in this bowl game:
Although head coach Art Briles has developed a great offensive system at Baylor, it is difficult to overcome the loss of a quality quarterback in Jarrett Stidham, an elite running back in Shock Linwood and one of the top receivers in the country in Corey Coleman.
This is all good news for North Carolina, which won every game this year besides its first and last. The Tar Heels were overlooked by many across the country due to a relatively weak schedule, but they played well against No. 1 Clemson in the ACC Championship, scoring 37 points against a very good defense in an eight-point loss.
A win could have potentially put UNC into the national semifinals, although we will never know what the committee would have decided.
Hypotheticals aside, North Carolina has another chance to prove itself on the national stage and will do its best to take advantage of this opportunity.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for more year-round sports analysis.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
