Bowl Games Schedule 2016-17: Full College Football Postseason Slate and Picks
College football bowl season is not only a showcase of the best teams in the country—it's also an opportunity for the "Group of Five" programs to make a statement on a national stage.
Group of Five conferences have grown savvier about finding ways to draw attention, whether it's scheduling games during the middle of the week, carving out a social media foothold or another innovative approach.
Still, casual fans may not be all that excited about watching Western Michigan play Kent State on a Tuesday night.
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A bowl game isn't necessarily a magic wand a Group of Five team can wave to remedy the problem, but it can provide a school with a nice boost in prestige and recognition.
Below is a look at this year's full bowl schedule, followed by four teams that demand fans' attention over the next few weeks.
Bowl Schedule
| Dec. 17 | Gildan New Mexico Bowl | New Mexico vs. UTSA | 2 p.m. | ESPN | New Mexico (-7) | New Mexico |
| Dec. 17 | Las Vegas Bowl | Houston vs. San Diego State | 3:30 p.m. | ABC | Houston (-3.5) | San Diego State |
| Dec. 17 | Raycom Media Camellia Bowl | Appalachian State vs. Toledo | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Toledo (-1) | Appalachian State |
| Dec. 17 | AutoNation Cure Bowl | UCF vs. Arkansas State | 5:30 p.m. | CBSSN | UCF (-6) | Arkansas State |
| Dec. 17 | R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl | Southern Miss. vs. Louisiana-Lafayette | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Southern Miss. (-4.5) | Southern Miss. |
| Dec. 19 | Miami Beach Bowl | Central Michigan vs. Tulsa | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Tulsa (-11.5) | Tulsa |
| Dec. 20 | Boca Raton Bowl | Memphis vs. Western Kentucky | 7 p.m. | ESPN | Western Kentucky (-5) | Western Kentucky |
| Dec. 21 | San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl | BYU vs. Wyoming | 7 p.m. | ESPN | BYU (-8.5) | BYU |
| Dec. 22 | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl | Idaho vs. Colorado State | 7 p.m. | ESPN | Colorado State (-13.5) | Colorado State |
| Dec. 23 | Popeyes Bahamas Bowl | Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion | 1 p.m. | ESPN | Old Dominion (-4) | Eastern Michigan |
| Dec. 23 | Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Louisiana Tech vs. Navy | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN | Navy (-1) | Navy |
| Dec. 23 | Dollar General Bowl | Ohio vs. Troy | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Troy (-3.5) | Ohio |
| Dec. 24 | Hawaii Bowl | Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee State | 8 p.m. | ESPN | N/A | N/A |
| Dec. 26 | St. Petersburg Bowl | Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi State | 11 a.m. | ESPN | Mississippi State (-13) | Mississippi State |
| Dec. 26 | Quick Lane Bowl | Maryland vs. Boston College | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Maryland (-1) | Maryland |
| Dec. 26 | Camping World Independence Bowl | North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 | N.C. State (-4.5) | N.C. State |
| Dec. 27 | Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl | Army vs. North Texas | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Army (-9.5) | North Texas |
| Dec. 27 | Military Bowl | Temple vs. Wake Forest | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Temple (-13) | Temple |
| Dec. 27 | National Funding Holiday Bowl | Minnesota vs. Washington State | 7 p.m. | ESPN | Washington State (-7) | Minnesota |
| Dec. 27 | Motel 6 Cactus Bowl | Boise State vs. Baylor | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN | Boise State (-7.5) | Boise State |
| Dec. 28 | New Era Pinstripe Bowl | Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern | 2 p.m. | ESPN | Pittsburgh (-5.5) | Pittsburgh |
| Dec. 28 | Russell Athletic Bowl | West Virginia vs. Miami | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Miami (-3) | West Virginia |
| Dec. 28 | Foster Farms Bowl | Indiana vs. Utah | 8:30 p.m. | Fox | Utah (-7.5) | Utah |
| Dec. 28 | AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl | Texas A&M vs. Kansas State | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Texas A&M (-2.5) | Texas A&M |
| Dec. 29 | Birmingham Bowl | South Florida vs. South Carolina | 2 p.m. | ESPN | USF (-10.5) | USF |
| Dec. 29 | Belk Bowl | Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Virginia Tech (-7) | Arkansas |
| Dec. 29 | Valero Alamo Bowl | Oklahoma State vs. Colorado | 9 p.m. | ESPN | Colorado (-3) | Oklahoma State |
| Dec. 30 | AutoZone Liberty Bowl | Georgia vs. TCU | 12 p.m. | ESPN | Georgia (-1) | TCU |
| Dec. 30 | Hyundai Sun Bowl | Stanford vs. North Carolina | 2 p.m. | CBS | Stanford (-3.5) | North Carolina |
| Dec. 30 | Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl | Nebraska vs. Tennessee | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Tennessee (-3) | Tennessee |
| Dec. 30 | Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl | South Alabama vs. Air Force | 5:30 p.m. | Campus Insiders | Air Force (-13.5) | South Alabama |
| Dec. 30 | Capital One Orange Bowl | Michigan vs. Florida State | 8 p.m. | ESPN | Michigan (-7) | Michigan |
| Dec. 31 | Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl | LSU vs. Louisville | 11 a.m. | ABC | Even | Louisville |
| Dec. 31 | TaxSlayer Bowl | Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky | 11 a.m. | ESPN | Georgia Tech (-3.5) | Kentucky |
| Dec. 31 | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Washington vs. Alabama | 3 p.m. | ESPN | Alabama (-17) | Washington |
| Dec. 31 | PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | Ohio State vs. Clemson | 7 p.m. | ESPN | Ohio State (-3) | Clemson |
| Jan. 2 | Outback Bowl | Florida vs. Iowa | 1 p.m. | ABC | Florida (-2.5) | Iowa |
| Jan. 2 | Goodyear Cotton Bowl | Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin | 1 p.m. | ESPN | Wisconsin (-7.5) | Wisconsin |
| Jan. 2 | Rose Bowl Game | USC vs. Penn State | 5 p.m. | ESPN | USC (-7) | Penn State |
| Jan. 2 | Allstate Sugar Bowl | Auburn vs. Oklahoma | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Oklahoma (-4) | Oklahoma |
| Jan. 9 | College Football Playoff National Championship | TBD vs. TBD | 8 p.m. | ESPN | N/A | N/A |
Group of Five Teams to Watch
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
After being fired from South Florida, Skip Holtz has rebuilt his reputation at Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs are playing in their third straight bowl after receiving six bowl invites in the nearly four decades before Holtz arrived.
Under Holtz, Louisiana Tech isn't afraid to air it out. Ryan Higgins is third in the country in passing yards (4,208) and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (37).
In wideout Trent Taylor, the Bulldogs boast a pass-catcher who could make an impact at the next level. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller ranked the senior 20th at his position in this year's draft class. Taylor's 124 receptions are tied for 16th-most ever in a single season, per Sports-Reference.com.
Fans seeking out a bowl with a lot of offense should look no further than the Armed Forces Bowl, which includes not only Louisiana Tech but also Navy, which is averaging 327.5 yards on the ground and 39.1 points per game.
Toledo Rockets
Western Michigan cast a big shadow in the Mid-American Conference, which meant fans may not have truly appreciated Toledo's work this year. The Rockets are eighth in total offense (529.7 yards per game) and 27th in scoring offense (38.8 points per game).
Redshirting Logan Woodside proved to be a shrewd decision by the Toledo coaching staff.
As a sophomore in 2014, he threw for 2,272 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. After sitting out 2015, Woodside registered 3,882 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His completion percentage also climbed from 62.6 percent to 69.1 percent—fourth-highest among qualified quarterbacks.
"Our football team has really fed off his consistency and his preparation," Rockets head coach Jason Candle said of Woodside, per Campus Insiders' Jeff Bartl. "The leadership role he's molded himself into, I can't say enough about him."
The Camellia Bowl will also be the final game in the college career of Rockets running back Kareem Hunt. Over his four years with the school, Hunt has rushed for 4,825 yards and 42 touchdowns. With 25 more yards against Appalachian State, he'll replace Chester Taylor as the school's all-time leading rusher, according to Toledo's media guide.
New Mexico Lobos
If Notre Dame ever needs to replace Brian Kelly, then the Fighting Irish should consider poaching New Mexico's head coach.
Slowly but surely, Bob Davie has turned the Lobos around. He inherited a team that went 1-11 for three straight years, and New Mexico is playing in its second straight bowl in his fifth year in charge.
Count Smart Football's Chris B. Brown as an admirer of Davie's work:
The Lobos have two 1,000-yard rushers in Teriyon Gipson and Tyrone Owens. They nearly averaged a first down every time they touched the ball. Gipson averaged 9.2 yards per carry, and Owens was right behind him at 8.1 yards per carry.
With the growth of spread offenses, it's fun to watch schools like New Mexico, Georgia Tech, Navy and Air Force that are reminder of a bygone era in college football when the running game ruled supreme.
The New Mexico Bowl could be a great chance for Owens in particular to shine. He made great strides in his sophomore year after carrying the ball 24 times for 118 yards as a freshman. With Gipson graduating, he'll be the biggest star in the Lobos backfield in 2017, and Owens could use the bowl game as a preview of what's to come.
South Florida Bulls
South Florida will be without its head coach after Willie Taggart left to take over Oregon. Co-offensive coordinator T.J. Weist will lead the Bulls in the Birmingham Bowl before Charlie Strong ultimately assumes full-time duties.
Like New Mexico, the running game was South Florida's bread and butter all season. The Bulls rushed for 291.8 yards a game, sixth in FBS. As a unit, Football Outsiders ranked USF third in S&P+ offensive rating.
It's not hard to see why Strong found South Florida so alluring.
Quinton Flowers was the team's leading passer (2,551 yards and 22 touchdowns) and leading rusher (1,425 yards and 15 touchdowns).
Pro Football Focus' Jeff Dooley ranked the junior as the ninth-best quarterback in the country:
"The closest challenger to [Lamar] Jackson for the title of best running quarterback in college football, Flowers forced 49 missed tackles and rushed for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. The majority of that came on designed runs, as his ability in the ground game was a major part of the Bulls' offense. But he still performed at an average level as a passer, making him one of the highest-graded QBs in the nation overall.
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As well as Flowers, the Bulls will return junior running back Marlon Mack, who ran for 1,137 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Taggart helped turn South Florida into one of the best Group of Five teams after Holtz's underwhelming tenure. Having helped Louisville return to national prominence in 2012 and 2013, Strong should be the perfect coach to continue building on Taggart's success.
While Strong won't have a hand in the Birmingham Bowl, the game should be a springboard for the his first season in Tampa, Florida.
Note: Stats are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted. Game spreads for each bowl are courtesy of OddsShark.
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