Bowl Game Schedule 2016-17: Updated Odds and Predictions for Playoffs

While several bowl games have already been played, the meat of the 2016-17 bowl schedule is quickly approaching, and it promises to create some of the most compelling games and moments of the entire college football season.

Chief among those contests are the College Football Playoff semifinals pitting No. 4 Washington against No. 1 Alabama in the Peach Bowl and No. 3 Ohio State against No. 2 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve.

Along with a rundown of the entire schedule for every remaining bowl game, here are predictions and a full breakdown for the upcoming CFP tilts.

Bowl Schedule

Bowl Game	Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Watch
Poinsettia	Dec. 21	9 p.m.	BYU vs. Wyoming	ESPN
Potato	Dec. 22	7 p.m.	Idaho vs. Colorado State	ESPN
Bahamas	Dec. 23	1 p.m.	Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan	ESPN
Armed Forces	Dec. 23	4:30 p.m.	Louisiana Tech vs. Navy	ESPN
Dollar General	Dec. 23	8 p.m.	Ohio vs. Troy	ESPN
Hawaii	Dec. 24	8 p.m.	Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee	ESPN
St. Petersburg	Dec. 26	11 a.m.	Mississippi State vs. Miami (Ohio)	ESPN
Quick Lane	Dec. 26	2:30 p.m.	Boston College vs. Maryland	ESPN
Independence	Dec. 26	5 p.m.	NC State vs. Vanderbilt	ESPN2
Heart of Dallas	Dec. 27	Noon	Army vs. North Texas	ESPN
Military	Dec. 27	3:30 p.m.	Wake Forest vs. Temple	ESPN
Holiday	Dec. 27	7 p.m.	Minnesota vs. Washington State	ESPN
Cactus	Dec. 27	10:15 p.m.	Baylor vs. Boise State	ESPN
Pinstripe	Dec. 28	2 p.m.	Northwestern vs. Pitt	ESPN
Russell Athletic	Dec. 28	5:30 p.m.	Miami (Fla.) vs. West Virginia	ESPN
Foster Farms	Dec. 28	8:30 p.m.	Indiana vs. Utah	Fox
Texas	Dec. 28	9 p.m.	Kansas State vs. Texas A&M	ESPN
Birmingham	Dec. 29	2 p.m.	USF vs. South Carolina	ESPN
Belk	Dec. 29	5:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas	ESPN
Alamo	Dec. 29	9 p.m.	Oklahoma State vs. Colorado	ESPN
Arizona	Dec. 30	5:30 p.m.	Air Force vs. South Alabama	Campus Insiders
Liberty	Dec. 30	Noon	TCU vs. Georgia	ESPN
Sun	Dec. 30	2 p.m.	North Carolina vs. Stanford	CBS
Music City	Dec. 30	3:30 p.m.	Nebraska vs. Tennessee	ESPN
Orange	Dec. 30	8 p.m.	Michigan vs. Florida State	ESPN
Peach	Dec. 31	3 p.m.	Alabama vs. Washington	ESPN
Fiesta	Dec. 31	7 p.m.	Ohio State vs. Clemson	ESPN
TaxSlayer	Dec. 31	11 a.m.	Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky	ESPN
Citrus	Dec. 31	11 a.m.	Louisville vs. LSU	ABC
Outback	Jan. 2	1 p.m.	Florida vs. Iowa	ABC
Cotton	Jan. 2	1 p.m.	Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin	ESPN
Rose	Jan. 2	5 p.m.	Penn State vs. USC	ESPN
Sugar	Jan. 2	8:30 p.m.	Auburn vs. Oklahoma	ESPN
CFP National Championship	Jan. 9	8:30 p.m.	TBD	ESPN

CFP Predictions

(4) Washington vs. (1) Alabama (-15)

Despite Washington's success over the course of the season, its Peach Bowl meeting with No. 1 Alabama may be the biggest mismatch on the entire bowl schedule.

The Crimson Tide are firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball, and although the same can be said for the Huskies since their loss to USC, they have a huge challenge ahead in terms of knocking off a perennial championship contender.

As pointed out by Chris Fetters of Scout.com, recent history gives the Tide a massive edge entering the Peach Bowl:

However, this year's Washington team is undoubtedly a huge leap forward from where the program has been for much of the past decade.

From an offensive perspective, the combination of quarterback Jake Browning, running back Myles Gaskin and wide receiver John Ross arguably gives the Huskies a skill position advantage over Alabama, although Bama boasts more depth.

Washington's defense has also hit its stride by allowing 18 or fewer points in each of the past three games, and NFL.com's Lance Zierlein believes that unit could cause fits for freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Alabama offense:

The fact that Alabama is so diverse offensively could level the playing field, though. Hurts' dual-threat nature will be difficult for Washington to handle, while bruising running back Bo Scarbrough could take on a greater role on the heels of back-to-back 90-yard rushing performances.

Alabama also has the ability to air it out if need be, and Hurts has no shortage of weapons in the form of Calvin Ridley, ArDarius Stewart and O.J. Howard.

Washington's best hope may be a spread attack similar to the one employed by Ole Miss against Alabama earlier in the season.

The Rebels lost that game by just five points, and quarterback Chad Kelly ended up with 421 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Browning will likely need to turn in a similar showing, but with the Tide having surrendered less than seven points per game over their past five outings, that isn't in the cards.

Prediction: Alabama 27, Washington 17

(3) Ohio State (-3.5) vs. (2) Clemson

A clash between Ohio State and Clemson would be huge regardless of the stakes, but with a CFP National Championship Game berth on the line, the upcoming Fiesta Bowl could be the most highly anticipated game in the bowl's history.

OSU won the first College Football Playoff two years ago, while Clemson entered as the No. 1 seed and fell to Alabama in a tightly contested title game last season. Both teams have experience on the big stage, which means neither is likely to fold in crucial moments.

Urban Meyer-coached teams tend to rise to the occasion in games with major implications, although Clemson has a recent history of success against Ohio State, according to Larry Williams of TigerIllustrated.com:

Clemson's offense is special due largely to the presence of Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson under center.

Watson has enjoyed another remarkable season with 3,914 passing yards and 43 total touchdowns. He has had plenty of support as well in the form of wide receivers Mike Williams, Deon Cain and Artavis Scott, tight end Jordan Leggett and running back Wayne Gallman.

Perhaps no team in the nation boasts more offensive weapons than the Tigers, which may be why Watson has fared so well against ranked teams, as pointed out by The Solid Verbal:

"

QB Rating vs Ranked (Playoff QBs)
(min 3 games)

6. Deshaun Watson
13. Jalen Hurts
14. J.T. Barrett
15. Jake Browning

— The Solid Verbal (@SolidVerbal) December 5, 2016"

Clemson's ability to score early, often and quickly will put a ton of pressure on the Ohio State offense and quarterback J.T. Barrett.

While Barrett has 33 total touchdowns to his credit, he struggled as a passer in the Buckeyes' final two games of the regular season. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw for under 125 yards in both contests.

Barrett's ability to get first downs with his legs is the biggest challenge for Clemson's defense, but if it can keep Barrett ground game in check, the Tigers will march into their second consecutive title game.

Prediction: Clemson 34, Ohio State 27

All odds courtesy of OddsShark. 

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