Bowl Games 2017-18: Schedule, TV Info and Predictions for All Games

The 2017-18 bowl season begins in less than a week, when the first batch of 40 games get underway on Saturday, Dec. 16.

Before Christmas will mostly feature non-power conference teams getting their chance to play on a national stage, while the final week of 2017 will be when the bigger names will start to take the field.

It all culminates with the New Year's Six bowl games, which include the College Football Playoff semifinals on Jan. 1, followed by the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Atlanta.

There's a lot of great college football action coming down the pike, and we've got some detailed predictions for the biggest matchups. But first, let's break down the entire slate, complete with kickoff times, TV information and betting odds, as well as a pick to win for each game.

Bowl Game	Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	TV	Pick
Celebration	Dec 16	noon	Grambling State vs. North Carolina A&T	ABC	NC A&T
New Orleans	Dec 16	1 p.m.	North Texas vs. Troy	ESPN	North Texas
Cure	Dec 16	2:30 p.m.	Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State	CBSSN	Western Kentucky
Las Vegas	Dec 16	3:30 p.m.	Boise State vs. Oregon	ABC	Oregon
New Mexico	Dec 16	4:30 p.m.	Marshall vs. Colorado State	ESPN	Colorado State
Camellia	Dec 16	8 p.m.	Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State	ESPN	Arkansas State
Boca Raton	Dec 19	7 p.m.	Akron vs. Florida Atlantic	ESPN	Florida Atlantic
Frisco	Dec 20	8 p.m.	SMU vs. Louisiana Tech	ESPN	SMU
Gasparilla	Dec 21	8 p.m.	Temple vs. Florida International	ESPN	Florida International
Bahamas	Dec 22	12:30 p.m.	UAB vs. Ohio	ESPN	UAB
Potato	Dec 22	4 p.m.	Central Michigan vs. Wyoming	ESPN	Wyoming
Birmingham	Dec 23	noon	South Florida vs. Texas Tech	ESPN	South Florida
Armed Forces	Dec 23	3:30 p.m.	Army vs. San Diego State	ESPN	San Diego State
Dollar General	Dec 23	7 p.m.	Toledo vs. Appalachian State	ESPN	Toledo
Hawaii	Dec 24	8:30 p.m.	Houston vs. Fresno State	ESPN	Fresno State
Heart of Dallas	Dec 26	1:30 p.m.	Utah vs. West Virginia	ESPN	West Virginia
Quick Lane	Dec 26	5:15 p.m.	Northern Illinois vs. Duke	ESPN	Northern Illinois
Cactus	Dec 26	9 p.m.	Kansas State vs. UCLA	ESPN	UCLA
Independence	Dec 27	1:30 p.m.	Florida State vs. Southern Mississippi	ESPN	Florida State
Pinstripe	Dec 27	5:15 p.m.	Boston College vs. Iowa	ESPN	Boston College
Foster Farms	Dec 27	8:30 p.m.	Purdue vs. Arizona	Fox	Arizona
Texas	Dec 27	9 p.m.	Texas vs. Missouri	ESPN	Texas
Military	Dec 28	1:30 p.m.	Navy vs. Virginia	ESPN	Navy
Camping World	Dec 28	5:15 p.m.	Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State	ESPN	Oklahoma State
Holiday	Dec 28	9 p.m.	Michigan State vs. Washington State	FS1	Washington State
Alamo	Dec 28	9 p.m.	TCU vs. Stanford	ESPN	Stanford
Belk	Dec 29	1 p.m.	Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M	ESPN	Wake Forest
Sun	Dec 29	3 p.m.	North Carolina State vs. Arizona State	CBS	North Carolina State
Music City	Dec 29	4:30 p.m.	Northwestern vs. Kentucky	ESPN	Kentucky
Arizona	Dec 29	5:30 p.m.	Utah State vs. New Mexico State	ESPN	New Mexico State
Cotton	Dec 29	8:30 p.m.	Ohio State vs. USC	ESPN	USC
TaxSlayer	Dec 30	noon	Louisville vs. Mississippi State	ESPN	Louisville
Liberty	Dec 30	12:30 p.m.	Iowa State vs. Memphis	ABC	Memphis
Fiesta	Dec 30	4p.m.	Penn State vs. Washington	ESPN	Penn State
Orange	Dec 30	8 p.m.	Miami (Florida) vs. Wisconsin	ESPN	Miami (Florida)
Outback	Jan 01	noon	Michigan vs. South Carolina	ESPN2	South Carolina
Peach	Jan 01	12:30 p.m.	Auburn vs. UCF	ESPN	Auburn
Citrus	Jan 01	1 p.m.	Notre Dame vs. LSU	ABC	LSU
Rose	Jan 01	5 p.m.	No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia	ESPN	Oklahoma
Sugar	Jan 01	8:45 p.m.	No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama	ESPN	Clemson

Cotton Bowl: USC over Ohio State

As one of two "Rose Bowl" matchups among the New Year's Six games, this could be the best non-championship pairing in recent memory if both USC and Ohio State play to their full potential.

The Trojans (11-2) are coming off their first Pac-12 title since 2008, as redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold and junior running back Ronald Jones II have become a nearly unstoppable duo.

Ohio State (11-2) took out previously unbeaten Wisconsin for the Big Ten crown, as ageless quarterback J.T. Barrett shined despite having minor knee surgery only days before.

It's a shame neither of these teams managed to get into the playoffs, but expect them to treat this game like a consolation championship.

Ohio State hasn't faced an offense this good since Week 2 when it allowed a season-high 490 yards in a home loss to Oklahoma. As long as USC's turnover issues don't pop back up, it will come out on top.

Fiesta Bowl: Penn State over Washington

Meeting for the first time since the 1983 Aloha Bowl, Penn State and Washington both went 10-2 and finished second in their respective divisions of the Big Ten and Pac-12 after winning their leagues in 2016.

Each brings back most of the same offensive stars from a year ago, but it will be the defenses that take center stage.

Washington is ranked fifth nationally in total defense, allowing 277.4 yards per game, while Penn State (329.3) is 20th. The Huskies allow 14.5 points per game, while the Nittany Lions yield 15.5, with a combined nine of their opponents held to single digits this season.

It will be a major test for both teams' premier running backs, Penn State junior Saquon Barkley and Washington junior Myles Gaskin, but PSU has a major edge at quarterback in junior Trace McSorley. He has accounted for 37 touchdowns, including 11 on the ground, with six games tallying at least 300 yards of total offense this season.

Orange Bowl: Miami (Florida) over Wisconsin

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Had the playoffs been set after the final week of the regular season, Miami (10-2) and Wisconsin (12-1) would have been in. Instead each lost in their conference title games, though in much different ways.

Miami was crushed 38-3 by Clemson in the ACC championship, its second loss in a row, while Wisconsin fell 27-21 to Ohio State. Turnovers were key in both games, with the Hurricanes giving it away three times and only managing to bring out the "turnover chain" once, and Wisconsin had to deal with two more interceptions from sophomore quarterback Alex Hornibrook.

Hornibrook has been picked off 15 times on 284 pass attempts—music to Miami's ears. It has notched 17 interceptions among 30 takeaways.

This game is being played on Miami's home field, Hard Rock Stadium, where the 'Canes went 7-0 and won by an average of 18 points per game this season.

Peach Bowl: Auburn over UCF

Auburn (10-3) hoped to get to play a postseason game in Atlanta in January, but not on the first day of the new year. That dream went out the door when the Tigers were crushed by Georgia in the SEC title game, 28-7, knocking them out of the playoffs and a shot at the national championship game Jan. 8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Instead, that's where they'll be facing UCF (12-0) on Jan. 1 in a game that just won't have the same sizzle as the semifinals later that day.

Don't tell that to the Knights, who earned a bid into one of the big bowls as the highest-rated non-power conference champion. This comes two years after they were winless, a major turnaround under coach Scott Frost, who has since been hired to coach his alma mater (Nebraska) for 2018.

Frost is unsure if he'll be able to coach UCF against Auburn, per LandOf10's Stephen Pianovich.

With or without Frost, UCF will be facing an opponent far tougher than any it played this season. Auburn allows 17.3 points per game, while UCF has scored at least 31 in every game.

Rose Bowl: Oklahoma over Georgia

To make the College Football Playoff requires a team to be playing its best down the stretch, and that's been the case with Oklahoma (12-1) and Georgia (12-1). The Sooners have won eight straight since losing to Iowa State, while the Bulldogs have run off four in a row after their loss at Auburn, including a revenge win in the SEC championship game.

Fresh off his Heisman Trophy win, Oklahoma senior quarterback Baker Mayfield brings a streak of four games and 97 pass attempts without an interception. This comes after he began the season with five straight games without a pick, throwing for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2017.

Mayfield will face a Georgia defense that has held opponents to 55 percent shooting and only 13 TDs, with no foe throwing for more than 253 yards.

Georgia's ground game, which has run for 3,426 yards and 36 TDs behind the senior duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, could feast on a Sooners defense that has allowed 200-plus yards on the ground four times.

It's hard to go against the team with the Heisman winner, though.

Sugar Bowl: Clemson over Alabama

Who's ready for round three?

Clemson (12-1) and Alabama (11-1) meet in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, but unlike the previous two meetings this one is for the right to get to the national championship instead of for the title itself. Clemson is the defending champ, taking down the Crimson Tide 35-31 last January.

Points should be at a premium, with Alabama (11.5) and the Tigers (12.8) sporting the top two scoring defenses in the country. Both average more than 35 points themselves, though, so something's gotta give.

It will be a long layoff for each team, but for Alabama, the time between its last game—a 26-14 loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl—and this one will be 37 days.

That's an eternity for coach Nick Saban and his staff to whip up a game plan to deal with Clemson's front seven, which is responsible for the bulk of its FBS-leading 44 sacks. But Tigers coach Dabo Swinney will have ample opportunity to get junior quarterback Kelly Bryant prepared to deal with Alabama's pass rush.

This will be the second year in a row Clemson opens the playoffs against a team that got in despite not winning its own division. It beat Ohio State 31-0 last season, but don't expect the Tigers to be able to handle Alabama that easily.

Statistics are provided by CFBStats unless otherwise noted. Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.