Bowl Games 2017-18: Full Schedule and Predictions for College Football Playoff
Scattered for the holidays. That's the case for many college football teams during the 2017-18 bowl games.
Dozens of eligible teams head to far-flung locales to play one last game this season, with the vast majority of them glorified exhibition contests save for those lucky four that made it into the College Football Playoff.
While the advent of the playoff has vacuumed some of the hype that used to surround the rest of the bowl games—especially the ones taking place on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day—bowl season can still be a fun time for many. There are shootouts, grudge matches and chances to play in places like the Bahamas, not usually the scene of a big college football game.
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Several bowl games have already been played, but there are plenty more to come before the calendar flips to 2018. Here's the remaining schedule, followed by some quick predictions for the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Friday, Dec. 22
Bahamas Bowl (12:30 p.m., ESPN): UAB vs. Ohio
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN): Central Michigan vs. Wyoming
Saturday, Dec. 23
Birmingham Bowl (12 p.m., ESPN): USF vs. Texas Tech
Armed Forces Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN): San Diego State vs. Army
Dollar General Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN): Appalachian State vs. Toledo
Sunday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl (8:30 p.m., ESPN): Fresno State vs. Houston
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Heart of Dallas Bowl (1:30 p.m., ESPN): Utah vs. West Virginia
Quick Lane Bowl (5:15 p.m., ESPN): Duke vs. NIU
Cactus Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN): Kansas State vs. UCLA
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Independence Bowl (1:30 p.m., ESPN): Florida State vs. Southern Miss
New Era Pinstripe Bowl (5:15 p.m., ESPN): Boston College vs. Iowa
Foster Farms Bowl (8:30 p.m., Fox): Arizona vs. Purdue
Texas Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN): Texas vs. Missouri
Thursday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl (1:30 p.m., ESPN): Virginia vs. Navy
Camping World Bowl (5:15 p.m., ESPN): Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech
Alamo Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN): Stanford vs. TCU
Holiday Bowl (9 p.m., FS1): Michigan State vs. Washington State
Friday, Dec. 29
Belk Bowl (1 p.m., ESPN): Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest
Sun Bowl (3 p.m., CBS): Arizona State vs. NC State
Music City Bowl (4:30 p.m., ESPN): Kentucky vs. Northwestern
Arizona Bowl (5:30 p.m., CBSSN): New Mexico State vs. Utah State
Cotton Bowl Classic (8:30 p.m., ESPN): Ohio State vs. USC
Saturday, Dec. 30
TaxSlayer Bowl (12 p.m., ESPN): Mississippi State vs. Louisville
Liberty Bowl (12:30 p.m., ABC): Iowa State vs. Memphis
Fiesta Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN): Penn State vs. Washington
Orange Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN): Wisconsin vs. Miami
Monday, Jan. 1
Outback Bowl (12 p.m., ESPN2): Michigan vs. South Carolina
Peach Bowl (12:30 p.m., ESPN): Auburn vs. UCF
Citrus Bowl (1 p.m., ABC): Notre Dame vs. LSU
Rose Bowl (5 p.m., ESPN): No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia
Sugar Bowl (8:45 p.m., ESPN): No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama
Monday, Jan. 8
College Football Playoff National Championship (8 p.m., ESPN)
Rose Bowl Prediction
Oklahoma's high-flying attack will meet Georgia's tough running game and stout defense in the 2018 Rose Bowl. The meeting between the Big-12 champions and the SEC winners should prove to be entertaining and has the potential to be a back-and-forth game that goes down to the wire.
Per OddsShark (as of Thursday), Georgia is the 1.5-point favorite over Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs attack is predicated on rushing, rushing and timely passing. Running backs Nick Chubb (1,175 rushing yards, 13 TDs) and Sony Michel (948 rushing yards 13 TDs) form a potent one-two punch out of the backfield, with freshman D'Andre Swift serving as a nice change of pace with 597 rushing yards this year and 147 yards receiving.
All three average over six yards per carry and boast the ability to wear down even the staunchest of defenses.
Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops has said corralling this group will be an incredible challenge, per 247Sports' Joey Helmer:
The Sooners defense ranked 41st in the nation against the run, allowing 144.2 yards per game at just over four yards per carry, per NCAA.com. They might fare better stopping the pass, as Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm (21 touchdowns and five interceptions) is plenty capable but hardly prolific. Oklahoma will be hard-pressed to come up with stops in this game, but fortunately the defense has an offense more than capable of backing them up.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield shredded defenses this year, throwing for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns against just five interceptions. While Georgia will go at teams with their ground game, the Sooners can go over the top and score points in rapid fashion.
Mayfield has an array of targets (five players caught at least 23 passes), with his favorite among them being Mark Andrews (906 receiving yards and eight touchdowns).
Oklahoma also does well running the ball, with Rodney Anderson and Trey Sermon proving to be capable ball-carriers. Mayfield is also a threat to run, boasting five rushing touchdowns on the season.
Georgia's defense could be up to the task, however. The team tied for third in the nation, with just 13.2 points allowed per game. The Bulldogs don't do a particularly great job of forcing teams to cough up the ball, with just 18 turnovers gained on the year (Oklahoma has 17).
With both teams capable of scoring on the ground and in the air, the Sooners defense might be the weakest link here. But look for Mayfield to turn in a spectacular performance and lead his team on some quick scoring drives that put Oklahoma over the top.
Oklahoma 31, Georgia 27
Sugar Bowl Prediction
The Sugar Bowl between No. 1 Clemson and No. 4 Alabama presents fans with an enticing grudge match, even though the stakes are one notch lower than they were the past two times these teams met. Clemson defeated Alabama 35-31 in last year's national championship game, while Alabama came out victorious in the national title game in 2016.
These two teams are going to settle the score yet again, only this time in a semifinal, as Alabama was afforded a place despite not winning a conference championship. According to OddsShark (as of Thursday), the Crimson Tide are 2.5-point favorites over the Tigers.
Alabama's bruising defense topped the nation by allowing just 11.5 points per game this season, while Clemson's defense came in at No. 2, conceding a mere 12.8 points per contest. Though they put up big scoring totals in the past two CFP Championship Games, expect this one to be a bit lower scoring.
Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant (13 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing TDs) put together a fine season, but he is no Deshaun Watson under center. This will also be his first go-around in the CFP. His similarly skilled counterpart, Jalen Hurts (15 passing TDs and 8 rushing TDs), has last year's experience to bank on.
The Tigers do return wideout Hunter Renfrow (55 catches and 571 yards), who came up big in last year's title game, as well as a solid wideout in Deon Cain (52 receptions and 6 TDs), but Alabama's tough secondary will give them problems.
Clemson can also pound the ball with a combination of running backs Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster, as well as Bryant's scampers from under center. They will need the balance in order to put up points. Alabama, however, has its own fleet of rushers in Hurts, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, who combined for 27 rushing touchdowns this year.
While these two teams are similarly skilled yet again, look for Alabama to convert when it counts and come away with a slim victory.
Alabama 21, Clemson 20
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