Bowl Games 2017-18: College Football Schedule, Predictions and Games to Watch

Christmas and new year are great and all, but this time of year is really about college football. 

With a litany of college bowl games lined up over the next couple of weeks, there is a lot for college football fans to choose from. Naturally, all eyes will move toward the New Year's Day bowls and the College Football Playoff matchups, but they will get their chance in the spotlight soon enough. 

Here we will take a look at the three best non-playoff bowl games and why they are worth watching.

2017-18 Bowl Schedule and Predictions

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	Boise State
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	Central Michigan
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	Utah
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	Iowa
Foster Farms	Dec. 27	8:30 p.m.	Purdue vs. Arizona	Fox	Arizona
Texas	Dec. 27	9 p.m.	Texas vs. Missouri	ESPN	Missouri
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	TCU
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	Northwestern
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	Ohio State
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	Washington
Orange	Dec. 30	8 p.m.	Miami (Florida) vs. Wisconsin	ESPN	Miami (Florida)
Outback	Jan. 1	noon	Michigan vs. South Carolina	ESPN2	South Carolina
Peach	Jan. 1	12:30 p.m.	Auburn vs. UCF	ESPN	UCF
Citrus	Jan. 1	1 p.m.	Notre Dame vs. LSU	ABC	LSU
Rose	Jan. 1	5 p.m.	No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia	ESPN	Oklahoma
Sugar	Jan. 1	8:45 p.m.	No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama	ESPN	Alabama

Games to Watch

Peach Bowl: Auburn vs. UCF

Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Both Auburn and UCF are playing with something to prove—for completely different reasons.

After an embarrassing 28-7 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game, pride is on the line for the Tigers, who will want to make amends and show why they are one of the top teams in college football.

While the CFP is already out of reach for Auburn, a win in the Peach Bowl over the last undefeated team in the country would go a long way to healing this year's wounds and building toward next season.

As for the undefeated UCF Knights, this game is about making a statement. 

All season long, UCF was disrespected by the CFP committee and the rest of the country. Armed with the most lethal offense in college football, the Knights are primed to score against any defense regardless of what conference they belong to.

Sure, head coach Scott Frost left UCF for greener pastures at Nebraska, but the players do the playing on the field. With the likes of sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton, who finished in the top 10 in Heisman voting this season, anything is possible for the unlikeliest New Year's Day bowl team in the country. 

Auburn and UCF are both entertaining teams that will be in a dog fight on January 1. It's just a shame one team has to lose.

Prediction: UCF wins a shootout 42-37.

Cotton Bowl: Ohio State vs. USC

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

It shouldn't take much to convince someone to watch this year's edition of the Cotton Bowl.

After being left out of the CFP despite beating the previously undefeated Wisconsin team in the Big 10 title game, Ohio State is set to take on the red-hot USC Trojans, who are coming off a 31-28 victory over Stanford in the Pac-12 title game.

While this game doesn't have any national championship aspirations, it is one of the more competitive bowl games on the schedule.

The Buckeyes are in their 48th bowl game in program history and will be playing the Trojans in a bowl game for the seventh time, with USC winning four of the previous meetings.

Ohio State is the only team nationally to rank in the top 10 in both total offense (523.6 yards per game) and total defense (292.3 yards per game) and are the only team to average at least 250 yards passing and rushing per game. While the Trojans should provide a stiff challenge, Ohio State is too much for the Pac-12 champs to deal with.

Look for USC to strike early and jump out to a two possession lead before Ohio State roars back to jump ahead and silence the Trojans offense by moving the ball downfield on extended drives to pull out the closely fought win.

Prediction: Ohio State 28-24 USC.

Alamo Bowl: TCU vs. Stanford

Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

OddShark shows bookmakers have TCU as -2.5 favorites going into its Alamo Bowl matchup against Stanford, and for good reason.

For as good as Stanford's running game has been this season—led by Heisman finalist Bryce Love—the Horned Frogs are a stout defensive team. TCU's defense allowed just 2.9 rushing yards per attempt this season.

Had it not been for two losses against the Oklahoma Sooners, including a 41-17 blowout loss, the argument could've been made that TCU was a CFP-worthy team.

Alas, here they are, stuck playing Stanford. 

The Cardinal, however, are no joke and will provide a tough battle in all facets of the game against TCU.

But with a defense as strong as TCU's with an offense that can move the ball downfield at will, it could be a long day for the Pac-12 runners-up on December 28.

All stats are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.