Bowl Games 2016-17: TV Schedule and Predictions for Most Anticipated Matchups

College football's bowl season kicks off Dec. 17 with a six-game slate. In all, a total of 41 contests are set to be played leading up to the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 9, which will conclude the 2016-17 campaign.

Although most of the focus is on the CFP matchups and the other marquee games selected by the committee, this year's schedule has a lot of evenly matched battles. It should lead to plenty of drama even before the semifinalists take center stage on New Year's Eve.

So let's check out the entire list of games along with viewing information for each. That's followed by predictions for some of the most anticipated encounters.

Bowl Season TV Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Bowl	TV	Matchup
Dec. 17	Noon	Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl	ABC	NC Central vs. Grambling State
Dec. 17	2 p.m.	New Mexico Bowl	ESPN	New Mexico vs. UTSA
Dec. 17	3:30 p.m.	Las Vegas Bowl	ABC	San Diego State vs. Houston
Dec. 17	5:30 p.m.	Camellia Bowl	ESPN	Appalachian State vs. Toledo
Dec. 17	5:30 p.m.	Cure Bowl	CBSSN	UCF vs. Arkansas State
Dec. 17	9 p.m.	New Orleans Bowl	ESPN	Southern Miss vs. UL-Lafayette
Dec. 19	2:30 p.m.	Miami Beach Bowl	ESPN	Central Michigan vs. Tulsa
Dec. 20	7 p.m.	Boca Raton Bowl	ESPN	Memphis vs. Western Kentucky
Dec. 21	9 p.m.	Poinsettia Bowl	ESPN	BYU vs. Wyoming
Dec. 22	7 p.m.	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	ESPN	Idaho vs. Colorado State
Dec. 23	1 p.m.	Bahamas Bowl	ESPN	Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan
Dec. 23	4:30 p.m.	Armed Forces Bowl	ESPN	Louisiana Tech vs. Navy
Dec. 23	8 p.m.	Dollar General Bowl	ESPN	Ohio vs. Troy
Dec. 24	8 p.m.	Hawai'i Bowl	ESPN	Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee
Dec. 26	11 a.m.	St. Petersburg Bowl	ESPN	Mississippi State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Dec. 26	2:30 p.m.	Quick Lane Bowl	ESPN	Boston College vs. Maryland
Dec. 26	5 p.m.	Independence Bowl	ESPN2	NC State vs. Vanderbilt
Dec. 27	Noon	Heart of Dallas Bowl	ESPN	Army vs. North Texas
Dec. 27	3:30 p.m.	Military Bowl	ESPN	Wake Forest vs. Temple
Dec. 27	7 p.m.	Holiday Bowl	ESPN	Minnesota vs. Washington State
Dec. 27	10:15 p.m.	Cactus Bowl	ESPN	Baylor vs. Boise State
Dec. 28	2 p.m.	Pinstripe Bowl	ESPN	Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh
Dec. 28	5:30 p.m.	Russell Athletic Bowl	ESPN	Miami (Fla.) vs. West Virginia
Dec. 28	8:30 p.m.	Foster Farms Bowl	FOX	Indiana vs. Utah
Dec. 28	9 p.m.	Texas Bowl	ESPN	Kansas State vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 29	2 p.m.	Birmingham Bowl	ESPN	USF vs. South Carolina
Dec. 29	5:30 p.m.	Belk Bowl	ESPN	Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas
Dec. 29	9 p.m.	Alamo Bowl	ESPN	Oklahoma State vs. Colorado
Dec. 30	Noon	Liberty Bowl	ESPN	TCU vs. Georgia
Dec. 30	2 p.m.	Sun Bowl	CBS	North Carolina vs. Stanford
Dec. 30	3:30 p.m.	Music City Bowl	ESPN	Nebraska vs. Tennessee
Dec. 30	5:30 p.m.	Arizona Bowl	Campus Insiders	South Alabama vs. Air Force
Dec. 30	8 p.m.	Orange Bowl	ESPN	Michigan vs. Florida State
Dec. 31	3 p.m.	Playoff Semifinal at the Peach Bowl	ESPN	Alabama vs. Washington
Dec. 31	7 p.m.	Playoff Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl	ESPN	Ohio State vs. Clemson
Dec. 31	11 a.m.	Citrus Bowl	ABC	Louisville vs. LSU
Dec. 31	11 a.m.	TaxSlayer Bowl	ESPN	Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky
Jan. 2	1 p.m	Outback Bowl	ABC	Florida vs. Iowa
Jan. 2	1 p.m.	Cotton Bowl	ESPN	Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 2	5 p.m.	Rose Bowl	ESPN	Penn State vs. USC
Jan. 2	8:30 p.m.	Sugar Bowl	ESPN	Auburn vs. Oklahoma
Jan. 9	8 p.m.	College Football Playoff National Championship	ESPN	TBD

Predictions for Top Games

Peach Bowl: Washington vs. Alabama

This season provided the best case yet for expanding the CFP to eight teams. There were several contenders left out despite strong cases, led by Penn State, Oklahoma and Michigan. Maybe you throw in unbeaten Western Michigan for the Cinderella factor, and it's a solid eight-team tournament.

In the end, the main debate came down to Washington or Penn State. Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News thought the committee made the right decision to include the Huskies:

Although Alabama enters the playoff as the favorite, Washington enters the postseason playing its best football of the campaign. It's coming off back-to-back victories over No. 23 Washington State and No. 8 Colorado by a combined score of 86-27.

Rainer Sabin of AL.com passed along initial comments Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban made about the No. 4 seed on ESPN:

"

I have seen them a few times -- a little bit of the Southern Cal game, a little bit in the championship game against Colorado. They have some outstanding players on offense and great skill players, good quarterback, a very good offensive line. It looks like they play tremendous defense. I don't think there is anybody that you could play at this point in the season, in the playoffs that wouldn't be an outstanding football team.

"

Alabama is the most complete team in the country. That's why it went 13-0, with eight of those victories coming over ranked opponents. What's it going to take to overcome the Tide's smashmouth style that's been so successful over the last two years?

Jake Browning might be the answer. The SEC features a lot of star power, but it doesn't have many quarterbacks who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver strikes consistently. The Washington QB has put up 42 passing touchdowns with just seven interceptions so far this season.

Ultimately, the Huskies' explosive offense should be able to find enough holes in the 'Bama secondary to keep the game close deep into the second half. The well-rounded reigning champions should have enough firepower across the board to pull away late, though.

Pick: 35-24 Alabama

Fiesta Bowl: Clemson vs. Ohio State

Ohio State played with fire for most of the regular season. The Buckeyes scored narrow victories over Northwestern and Michigan State in addition to needing overtime for more high-profile triumphs over Wisconsin and Michigan, the latter win playing the biggest role in their playoff berth.

Aside from a September romp over Oklahoma, there's been little to suggest the Buckeyes are dominant, but they've found ways to win games late. And all signs point to a battle with Clemson that will likely come right down to the wire.

OSU head coach Urban Meyer is worried about the amount of future pro talent the Tigers feature on the offensive side, per Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors:

"

The skill set on offense is over the top. They're all NFL players. They have one of the top, maybe the top or top two or three players in America in Deshaun Watson. They go fast. They're creative on offense.

"

Chase Goodbread of NFL.com noted it sets the stage for a classic offense vs. defense clash:

The X-factor will be Ohio State's ground game. The Buckeyes' top four rushers—Mike Weber, Curtis Samuel, Demario McCall and quarterback J.T. Barrett—all have one run of at least 39 yards. Those big plays out of the backfield are game-changers.

All told, Ohio State would rather see a defensive battle than a shootout, but it will probably end up somewhere in between with Barrett and Watson tough to slow down. The Buckeyes' experience in close games should prove vital late.

Pick: 34-31 Ohio State

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Penn State

The Rose Bowl presents the most intriguing matchup outside of the College Football Playoff. Two storied, revitalized programs are each looking for a massive victory to close out the year on a high note before trying to win some key recruiting battles in the coming months.

ESPN Stats & Info pointed out the last time Southern California and Penn State played on this stage:

While the Nittany Lions have remained in the spotlight as they fought for the Big Ten title, the Trojans' resurgence flew below the radar because of their early struggles. They lost three of their first four before winning eight straight, highlighted by victories over Colorado and Washington.

Defense was the crucial factor in the turnaround. USC allowed an average of 36.7 points in those early losses to Alabama, Stanford and Utah. It gave up just 30 points combined to the Buffaloes and Huskies.

On the flip side, it will be interesting to see how Penn State performs after getting passed over in the CFP conversation. The emotional hurdle is usually tougher to jump than the physical one, especially since it was playing so well at the end of the campaign.

Josh Moyer of ESPN.com provided head coach James Franklin's thoughts on the situation.

"There was a handful of guys that showed a little bit of frustration and body language and things like that," Franklin said, "but 99 percent of the guys in there are just excited about staying together as a family and being able to play in such a historic bowl game."

All told, this feels like a toss-up game. Both sides are playing well and capable of putting up a lot of points in a hurry. But the Trojans' improvement defensively as the season went on changed the course of a year that almost got away from them, and it could be the difference in the Rose Bowl.

Pick: 27-23 USC