Bowl Game Schedule 2016-17: Best Matchups Before the New Year

So much of the focus during bowl season is directed toward the College Football Playoff semifinals and championship game, but plenty of other stellar showdowns deserve attention before the calendar flips over to 2017.  

And it doesn't take much more than a quick scan of this year's slate to realize plenty of compelling games are fast approaching. 

Whether that means meetings between Top 10 teams or serious stylistic clashes featuring Power Five competitors, there should be no shortage of drama as the year's biggest bowl games unfold. 

And with so little time remaining in 2016, here's an overview of when and where you can catch some of the best remaining bowl games on the slate.

Date	Bowl Game	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Dec. 29	Alamo Bowl	Oklahoma State vs. Colorado	9 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 30	Orange Bowl	Florida State vs. Michigan	8 p.m.	ESPN
Dec. 31	Citrus Bowl	LSU vs. Louisville	11 a.m.	ABC

Alamo Bowl: No. 13 Oklahoma State vs. No. 11 Colorado

The Alamo Bowl will pit Pac-12 runner-up Colorado against Big 12 runner-up Oklahoma State, but ending up in second place is just about all the Buffaloes and Cowboys have in common. 

While Oklahoma State relied on its high-flying offense (36.6 points per game) to do damage throughout the regular season, Colorado leaned on a defense that ranked 18th nationally in scoring, allowing 21.6 points per game. 

And while the Cowboys play a more uptempo brand of offense that can scorch defenses in a matter of moments thanks to quarterback Mason Rudolph's savvy in the pocket, the Buffaloes play a physically imposing style that bruised opponents between the tackles all season long to the tune of 186.1 rushing yards per game. 

Here's what Campus Insiders' Rich Cirminiello wrote about the matchup:

"

The Buffaloes are the more complete team, with the defense to frustrate Rudolph and the Cowboy attack. Plus, they’ll play with the intensity and the want-to of a program that hasn’t appeared in a postseason game in almost a decade. Colorado will slow down the pace and turn the Alamo Bowl into a somewhat methodical, physical battle.

"

The Cowboys will be in command if they can score early and often and force Colorado to try to mount a comeback through the air, but the Buffaloes defense largely dictated outcomes throughout the regular season. 

Look for more of the same when the Alamo Bowl gets underway. 

Orange Bowl: No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 6 Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines missed out on the College Football Playoff following a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Nov. 26, but they'll cap off their season in style when they square off against the Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl.  

"We're going to play because we love [to play,]" Michigan head coach John Harbaugh said, per the Orlando Sentinel's Safid Deen. "We have great respect for the game of football, and what a tremendous opportunity this is to play against a great football team. I’m excited about it. I don’t have any statement to make on anything other than that."

But in order to capture back-to-back bowl wins under Harbaugh, Michigan will need to execute in two areas. 

First, the Wolverines will need to find a way to slow down Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook. 

The electric junior is a one-man game-changer, having rushed for 1,620 yards and 18 touchdowns during the season. As if that wasn't scary enough, Cook also sprinkled in 30 receptions at a 14.2 yards-per-catch clip. 

Neutralizing Cook will require the attention of all 11 players on defense, but the Wolverines did hold opponents to an average of 116.8 rushing yards per game—a mark that ranked 11th among all FBS teams. 

Michigan will also have to find a way to protect quarterback Wilton Speight against a Seminoles defense that finished the regular season first in the nation with an average of 3.9 sacks per game. 

Those are two tall tasks, but if the Wolverines can embrace the physical, mauling style that earned them rave reviews throughout the regular season, a win could be in order.  

Citrus Bowl: No. 19 LSU vs. No. 15 Louisville

It's time for some unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object talk.

In this case, the unstoppable force is Louisville Cardinals quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, while the immovable object is the LSU Tigers defense.

Jackson's credentials have been pored over throughout the season, so rehashing all of the key numbers aren't of particular importance. The upshot is he's the most electric quarterback in the country, and history tells us as much based on the way he sliced and diced opponents with his arm and legs:

"You got to keep him in front of you," former Louisville and current New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said, per NOLA.com's Christopher Dabe. "You got to be sound in your rush lanes. If you give him a crease, he's going to take it. Once he decides he's going to run, as you've seen in other games, he's explosive enough to take it the distance from anywhere on the field."

However, if any defense can stay home and make Jackson squirm a little, it might be LSU's. 

The Tigers held opponents to a fifth-ranked 16.7 points per game this season, and they did a particularly admirable job on the back end considering opponents generated fewer than 200 yards per game on average through the air. 

But even if LSU contains Jackson to a degree, the Tigers will need to find a way to make Louisville's defense pay. 

And while handing the rock to Derrius Guice in Leonard Fournette's absence would seem like a simple solution, the Cardinals finished the year ranked eighth nationally with 110 rushing yards allowed per game. 

Since Louisville resembles the more complete team entering this ACC-SEC battle, the Tigers will have to get creative if they hope to slow down a Cardinals team that will be looking to get back on track following consecutive losses to close the regular season. 

Stats courtesy of TeamRankings.com.