Bowl Games 2016-17: Postseason Schedule and Predictions for Biggest Matchups

Bowl season has been in high gear for more than a week. We know who is taking home all the potatoes in Idaho and who is smelling the poinsettias.

But it's about time that we got to the games that have more than six-and-a-half fans in the stands.

The College Football Playoff kicks off on New Year's Eve, and the preceding, secondary bowl games have recognizable names and faces. Ranked football teams get to play! These are games you're not going to need six or seven adult beverages to sit through!

It's time to get excited. Let's take a look at the upcoming bowl schedule and preview the College Football Playoff. 

Bowl Games

Bowl	Date	Time (ET)	Location	Matchup
St. Petersburg	Dec. 26	11 a.m.	St. Petersburg, Fla.	Mississippi State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Quick Lane	Dec. 26	2:30 p.m.	Detroit	Boston College vs. Maryland
Independence	Dec. 26	5 p.m.	Shreveport, Louisiana	NC State vs. Vanderbilt
Heart of Dallas	Dec. 27	Noon	Dallas	Army vs. North Texas
Military	Dec. 27	3:30 p.m.	Annapolis, Maryland	Wake Forest vs. Temple
Holiday	Dec. 27	7 p.m.	San Diego	Minnesota vs. Washington State
Cactus	Dec. 27	10:15 p.m.	Phoenix, Ariz.	Baylor vs. Boise State
Pinstripe	Dec. 28	2 p.m.	New York	Northwestern vs. Pitt
Russell Athletic	Dec. 28	5:30 p.m.	Orlando, Fla.	Miami (Fla.) vs. West Virginia
Foster Farms	Dec. 28	8:30 p.m.	Santa Clara, Calif.	Indiana vs. Utah
Texas	Dec. 28	9 p.m.	Houston	Kansas State vs. Texas A&M
Birmingham	Dec. 29	2 p.m.	Birmingham, Ala.	USF vs. South Carolina
Belk	Dec. 29	5:30 p.m.	Charlotte, N.C.	Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas
Alamo	Dec. 29	9 p.m.	San Antonio, Texas	Oklahoma State vs. Colorado
Arizona	Dec. 30	5:30 p.m.	Tucson, Ariz.	Air Force vs. South Alabama
Liberty	Dec. 30	Noon	Memphis, Tenn.	TCU vs. Georgia
Sun	Dec. 30	2 p.m.	El Paso, Texas	North Carolina vs. Stanford
Music City	Dec. 30	3:30 p.m.	Nashville, Tenn.	Nebraska vs. Tennessee
Orange	Dec. 30	8 p.m.	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Michigan vs. Florida State
Peach	Dec. 31	3 p.m.	Atlanta	Alabama vs. Washington
Fiesta	Dec. 31	7 p.m.	Glendale, Ariz.	Ohio State vs. Clemson
Taxslayer	Dec. 31	11 a.m.	Jacksonville, Fla.	Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky
Citrus	Dec. 31	11 a.m.	Orlando, Fla.	Louisville vs. LSU
Outback	Jan. 2	1 p.m.	Tampa, Fla.	Florida vs. Iowa
Cotton	Jan. 2	1 p.m.	Arlington, Texas	Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin
Rose	Jan. 2	5 p.m.	Pasadena, Calif.	Penn State vs. USC
Sugar	Jan. 2	8:30 p.m.	New Orleans	Auburn vs. Oklahoma
CFP National Championship	Jan. 9	8:30 p.m.	Tampa, Fla.	TBD

CFP Predictions

Peach Bowl: (1) Alabama vs. (4) Washington

Few souls outside the Pacific Northwest believe Washington stands much of a chance against Alabama. That's not a slight against the Huskies. They've had a wonderful, unexpected season and are a fine choice as the No. 4 seed—even if some with blue-and-white blood wish we were seeing a particular Big Ten champion in this space.

But still. Alabama is the only no-doubt team in college football this season. The Crimson Tide have won 12 of their 13 games this season by double figures and would have gone 13-of-13 if not for a late Ole Miss scoring run back in September. Football Outsiders' adjusted scoring metrics have Alabama outscoring its opponents by more than 30 points per game.

The defense ranks among Nick Saban's best since he arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007. The Tide held Leonard Fournette to 35 yards on 17 carries, thwarted Gus Malzahn's Auburn offense and held their last seven opponents to a maximum of 16 points.

But it's the offense that has continued to be surprisingly steady. Jalen Hurts became an outside Heisman contender during a brilliant freshman season, and the Tide replaced 2015 Heisman winner Derrick Henry with a masterclass of running back by committee and spread tendencies.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Robb Smith spoke to USA Today's Nicole Auerbach about the offense:

"

They’ve really spread the field with a lot of athletes. What Jalen Hurts has done—and he’s a tremendous athlete in his own right—is he makes really good decisions in that offense. He knows exactly where he wants to go in the pass game, and when it isn’t there, he’s able to scramble and pick up yards. ... They do a really nice job with designed quarterback runs when they spread them out. They have so many different weapons around him; you’re allocating resources to get personnel matchups on the perimeter, and it opens up opportunities for him on the inside.

"

Washington has a couple of future pros on its defense, but it hasn't seen anything close to the athletes Alabama can put on the field. The spread here—Alabama minus-14, per OddsShark—ranked among the highest for bowl games for a reason. The Tide might not win their second straight national championship, but it's going to take a major upset for them to miss out on getting a chance to play for it. 

Score prediction: Alabama 34, Washington 17

Fiesta Bowl: (2) Clemson vs. (3) Ohio State

Talented but deeply flawed—that's the only way to describe both Clemson and Ohio State.

The Tigers, one year after a dream season, have scraped and clawed their way into the playoffs. Six of their 12 wins came by one score, including strange no-shows against the likes of Troy and NC State. It took a miracle for the Tigers to overcome the Wolfpack at home, and the offense hasn't had the same level of unstoppable explosion.

Deshaun Watson has gone from a no-brainer No. 1 overall pick to potentially out of the first round. He has still been good as a passer, but he's been more prone to mistakes and less effective as a runner than during his 2015 campaign.

Not that it has affected Clemson's confidence in him one bit. Nor should it. Watson's 2015 season was historically great; his 2016 was just plain old great. 

"As soon as this season is over, the scouts, general managers, head coaches and offensive coordinators will start speaking with Deshaun, and he is going to go straight back to the top," co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott told reporters.

Meanwhile, four of Ohio State's last six wins came by one score. The Buckeyes offense has been hit-and-miss all season, almost wholly based on J.T. Barrett's proficiency (or lack thereof) in passing the ball. Barrett avoided major mistakes—he threw only five interceptions all season—but struggled with accuracy and single-handedly stalled the passing game at times.

Ohio State won its final two games despite Barrett throwing for just 210 total yards. He made that up with a pair of good rushing performances, and Ohio State may need to rely on its ground game here to have a chance. Clemson ranks third nationally in Football Outsiders' pass-defense metrics, which is not exactly a great sign for the nation's 54th-best passing attack.

Clemson has some deficiencies in run defense, but this feels like a game in which the Tigers aren't being favored enough. This is going to be a close one. Clemson is just the all-around favorite.

Score prediction: Clemson 31, Ohio State 27