Bowl Game Schedule 2018-19: Best Matchups Before the New Year
Twenty-four college football bowl games take place over the final nine days of 2018.
After the first week of bowl season was dominated by Group of Five teams, the programs we're more familiar with take center stage as the higher-profile postseason contests start to come into play.
Most of our focus in the coming days will settle on the College Football Playoff showdowns at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, but there are a few other games worth keeping an eye on.
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Some of the best matchups before the calendar flips to 2019 feature a pair of ranked teams, some surprising programs looking to finish off great years and terrific individual showdowns.
2018-19 Bowl Schedule
All Times ET. Odds via OddsShark.
Saturday, December 22
Birmingham Bowl: Memphis (-3.5) vs. Wake Forest (noon, ESPN)
Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Army (-6.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Dollar General Bowl: Buffalo (-1) 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 (-2) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech (-5.5) (5:15 p.m., ESPN)
Cheez-It Bowl: California (-1) vs. TCU (9 p.m., ESPN)
Thursday, December 27
Independence Bowl: Duke vs. Temple (-3.5) (1:30 p.m., ESPN)
Pinstripe Bowl: Miami (-3) 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) 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) (noon, ESPN)
Belk Bowl: South Carolina (-5.5) 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 (-13) (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 (-5.5) vs. Virginia Tech (noon, ESPN)
Sun Bowl: Stanford (-6) vs. Pittsburgh (2 p.m., CBS)
Redbox Bowl: Michigan State vs. Oregon (-3) (3 p.m., Fox)
Liberty Bowl: No. 23 Missouri (-8.5) 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 (-7) (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) vs. No. 8 UCF (1 p.m., ESPN)
Citrus Bowl: No. 14 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Penn State (-6) (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 (-13) (8:45 p.m., ESPN)
Best Matchups Before New Year
Holiday Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah
Both Northwestern and Utah missed out on their ultimate goal of qualifying for the Rose Bowl, but they'll still be motivated to finish off their seasons with a victory in the Holiday Bowl.
The Wildcats and Utes battled through divisional minefields just to reach their respective conference championships, a place most thought neither would reach.
Although Utah is favored by a touchdown, expect the Pac-12 versus Big Ten clash to be a close affair for all four quarters.
Northwestern played in seven one-score games, while the Utes were involved in three one-possession contests in November and December.
The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Clayton Thorson, who is 58 yards away from the second 3,000-yard season of his career.
Thorson led the Wildcats to seven wins in eight games during the thick of conference play after an unexpected 1-3 start that featured losses to Duke, Akron and Michigan.
When you look at Utah's healthy skill-position players, you're astonished it even advanced to the Pac-12 Championship.
The Utes played without starting quarterback Tyler Huntley and starting running back Zack Moss for their last four games, but they still managed to win three straight contests to earn a matchup with Washington, which they lost 10-3.
No matter the adversity either team faced during the regular season, head coaches Pat Fitzgerald and Kyle Whittingham found a way to get their programs to respond, and with so much desire to win on both sides, we expect the Holiday Bowl to be one of the most competitive postseason contests.
Independence Bowl: Duke vs. Temple
On paper, a meeting between Duke and Temple in Shreveport, Louisiana in the middle of a Thursday afternoon doesn't sound appealing, but there are plenty of reasons to tune into the Independence Bowl.
The intrigue begins with Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, who is looking to boost his NFL draft stock in a class that doesn't have the depth of signal-callers it did a year ago.
The NFL franchises that missed out on last year's talented crop will reach for prospects early in April's selection process, and Jones could be one of the players who benefit from that.
Jones needs to shine against Temple after a pair of disappointing performances to end the regular season in losses to Clemson and Wake Forest in which he threw for 303 yards and the Blue Devils put up 13 points.
However, life won't be easy in the pocket for Jones against a Temple passing defense that ranks eighth in the FBS and gave up 18 touchdowns through the air.
The Owls are also no stranger to causing turnovers, as they picked off 15 passes during the regular season.
While the Temple defense looks to shut down Jones, its offense will try to exploit a matchup on the ground through running back Ryquell Armstead.
Armstead, who ran for 1,098 yards and 13 touchdowns, is going up against a Duke rushing defense that ranks 115th in the FBS.
If Temple takes advantage of the two matchups in its favor, it could run away with the Independence Bowl, but don't count out the extra motivation Jones carries with the draft process right around the corner.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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