Bowl Games 2018-19: College Football Schedule, Predictions and Games to Watch
After two weeks spent dissecting the FBS bowl schedule, we finally get a chance to see some of the games played out starting on Saturday.
While there will be some intriguing matchups during the first week of bowl season, some of the best take place at the back end of the 39-game schedule.
A few games have been affected by players opting out to focus on the NFL draft, but there are still plenty of NFL prospects to keep an eye on.
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The presence of highly-coveted NFL prospects and programs looking to finish off unlikely success stories make the back end of bowl season much more intriguing than the opening slate chock full of Group of Five programs.
2018-19 Bowl Schedule
All Times ET. Picks against the spread in bold.
Saturday, December 15
Cure Bowl: Tulane (-3.5) vs. Louisiana (1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
New Mexico Bowl: North Texas vs. Utah State (-7.5) (2 p.m., ESPN)
Las Vegas Bowl: No. 21 Fresno State (-5) vs. Arizona State (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Camellia Bowl: Georgia Southern (-3) vs. Eastern Michigan (5:30 p.m., ESPN)
New Orleans Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Appalachian State (-7) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Tuesday, December 18
Boca Raton Bowl: UAB (-2.5) vs. Northern Illinois (7 p.m., ESPN)
Wednesday, December 19
Frisco Bowl: San Diego State vs. Ohio (-3) (8 p.m., ESPN)
Thursday, December 20
Gasparilla Bowl: Marshall (-2.5) vs. South Florida (8 p.m., ESPN)
Friday, December 21
Bahamas Bowl: Florida International vs. Toledo (-5.5) (12:30 p.m., ESPN)
Idaho Potato Bowl: Western Michigan vs. BYU (-12.5) (4 p.m., ESPN)
Saturday, December 22
Birmingham Bowl: Memphis (-3.5) vs. Wake Forest (noon, ESPN)
Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Army (-3.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Dollar General Bowl: Buffalo (-2) vs. Troy (7 p.m., ESPN)
Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii (-1) vs. Louisiana Tech (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Wednesday, December 26
First Responder Bowl: Boston College vs. No. 25 Boise State (-3) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech (-6) (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Cheez-It Bowl: California vs. TCU (Even) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Thursday, December 27
Independence Bowl: Duke vs. Temple (-3.5) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Pinstripe Bowl: Miami (-4) vs. Wisconsin (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt (-4) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Friday, December 28
Music City Bowl: Purdue vs. Auburn (-3.5) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Camping World Bowl: No. 16 West Virginia (-1.5) vs. No. 20 Syracuse (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Alamo Bowl: No. 24 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Washington State (-3.5) (9 p.m., ESPN)
Saturday, December 29
Peach Bowl: No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Michigan (-7.5) (noon, ESPN)
Belk Bowl: South Carolina (-4) vs. Virginia (noon, ABC)
Arizona Bowl: Arkansas State (-1.5) vs. Nevada (1:15 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Cotton Bowl (Playoff Semifinal): No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Clemson (-11.5) (4 p.m., ESPN)
Orange Bowl (Playoff Semifinal): No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Alabama (-14) (8 p.m., ESPN)
Monday, December 31
Military Bowl: Cincinnati (-5) vs. Virginia Tech (noon, ESPN)
Sun Bowl: Stanford (-6.5) vs. Pittsburgh (2 p.m., CBS)
Redbox Bowl: Michigan State vs. Oregon (-3) (3 p.m., Fox)
Liberty Bowl: No. 23 Missouri (-8) vs. Oklahoma State (3:45 p.m., ESPN)
Holiday Bowl: No. 22 Northwestern vs. No. 17 Utah (-7) (7 p.m., FS1)
Gator Bowl: NC State vs. No. 19 Texas A&M (-6) (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Tuesday, January 1
Outback Bowl: No. 18 Mississippi State (-7) vs. Iowa (noon, ESPN2)
Fiesta Bowl: No. 11 LSU (-7.5) vs. No. 8 UCF (1 p.m., ESPN)
Citrus Bowl: No. 14 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Penn State (-6.5) (1 p.m., ABC)
Rose Bowl: No. 9 Washington vs. No. 6 Ohio State (-6.5) (5 p.m., ESPN)
Sugar Bowl: No. 15 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia (-11.5) (8:45 p.m., ESPN)
Games To Watch
Citrus Bowl: Kentucky vs. Penn State
The final bowl game outside of the New Year's Six will be worth waiting for.
Kentucky is still a basketball school, but its football program's gained a ton of momentum during Mike Stoops' tenure, especially during the 2018 season.
For a stretch, the Wildcats were considered a contender in the SEC East, but that dream was washed away by a loss to Georgia.
The Wildcats ended the regular season with back-to-back wins over Middle Tennessee State and Louisville to become one of four SEC teams with nine or more wins.
Running back Benny Snell received the majority of the spotlight on offense, as he ran for 1,308 yards, and as Pro Football Focus College Football noted, he gained 63.3 percent of those yards after contact.
But Snell isn't the only playmaker on the Kentucky offense, as quarterback Terry Wilson and wide receiver Lynn Bowden should challenge Penn State's defense.
An argument can be made that the Wildcats enter the Citrus Bowl with much more motivation to win than Penn State since Kentucky rarely gets an opportunity to win 10 games in a football season, while the Nittany Lions fell short of their season goals.
Instead of participating in the College Football Playoff, or one of the New Year's Six games, James Franklin's team ended the regular season as the third-best team in the Big Ten East.
Penn State rebounded in November with wins over Wisconsin, Rutgers and Maryland, but its defeats to Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State still stand out.
Quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Miles Sanders form a solid duo in the backfield, but they'll be met on a few occasions by Kentucky linebacker Josh Allen, who is one of the top defensive prospects on NFL draft boards.
McSorley and Sanders combined to run for 1,946 yards and 20 touchdowns, and Penn State should put more of an emphasis on the running game because of that.
McSorley is capable of airing it out when he's asked, as he possesses a nice set of targets led by K.J. Hamler and Juwan Johnson, but most of Penn State's big-play potential lies in the ground game.
Penn State is the favorite, and it is more than capable of beating Kentucky by two scores, but the Citrus Bowl will be closer than some expect, and it'll serve as a nice appetizer to the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.
Liberty Bowl: Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
The Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve is a must-see game for NFL fans, especially those who root for teams in need of a quarterback.
Missouri's Drew Lock is one of the best prospects at his position, and he'll have one more chance to impress scouts on the gridiron against Oklahoma State.
Lock and the Tigers should have plenty of scoring opportunities against an Oklahoma State defense that gave up at least 20 points in all but two of its games.
Lock's eclipsed the 3,000-yard barrier through the air in three of his four collegiate seasons, and he's been consistent in the pocket by throwing two interceptions in his last six games.
Since they are a Big 12 team, the Cowboys boast an impressive offensive attack as well, which will make the Liberty Bowl one of the more entertaining bowl games.
Quarterback Taylor Corneilus threw for 3,642 yards, running back Justice Hill is 70 yards shy of 1,000 yards and wide receiver Tylan Wallace caught 79 passes for 1,408 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Given the high-powered offenses of both teams. the Liberty Bowl should be the better watch in the afternoon on New Year's Eve than the stalemate between Michigan State and Oregon, who is led by the other top quarterback prospect Justin Herbert.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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