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Bowl Games 2019-20: Schedule and Winning Predictions for College Football Slate
December 15, 2019
Bowl season isn't reserved for just a select few top teams. In fact, 78 teams have a chance to end their seasons with victories.
For four of those teams, the opportunity to play for the national championship is on the line. LSU, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma will be playing in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Dec. 28, with the winners of those games advancing to the national title game on Jan. 13.
Some bowl games are more thrilling than others. Here's a look at the full slate, followed by three of the better contests set to take place early in bowl season.
2019-20 Bowl Schedule
Friday, Dec. 20
Bahamas Bowl (2 p.m., ESPN): Buffalo vs. Charlotte
Frisco Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN2): Utah State vs. Kent State
Saturday, Dec. 21
Celebration Bowl (noon, ABC): North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State
New Mexico Bowl (2 p.m., ESPN): Central Michigan vs. San Diego State
FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl (2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Liberty vs. Georgia Southern
Boca Raton Bowl (3:30 p.m., ABC): SMU vs. Florida Atlantic
Camellia Bowl (5:30 p.m., ESPN): Florida International vs. Arkansas State
Las Vegas Bowl (7:30 p.m., ABC): No. 19 Boise State vs. Washington
New Orleans Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN): No. 20 Appalachian State vs. UAB
Monday, Dec. 23
Gasparilla Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN): UCF vs. Marshall
Tuesday, Dec. 24
Hawaii Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN): Hawaii vs. BYU
Thursday, Dec. 26
Independence Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN): Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Fla.)
Quick Lane Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN): Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan
Friday, Dec. 27
Military Bowl (noon, ESPN): North Carolina vs. Temple
Pinstripe Bowl (3:20 p.m., ESPN): Michigan State vs. Wake Forest
Texas Bowl (6:45 p.m., ESPN): No. 25 Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Holiday Bowl (8 p.m., Fox Sports 1): No. 22 USC vs. No. 16 Iowa
Cheez-It Bowl (10:15 p.m., ESPN): Air Force vs. Washington State
Saturday, Dec. 28
Camping World Bowl (noon, ABC): No. 15 Notre Dame vs. Iowa State
Cotton Bowl (noon, ESPN): No. 17 Memphis vs. No. 10 Penn State
College Football Playoff semifinal: Peach Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN): No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 LSU
College Football Playoff semifinal: Fiesta Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN): No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 2 Ohio State
Monday, Dec. 30
First Responder Bowl (12:30 p.m., ESPN): Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan
Music City Bowl (4 p.m., ESPN): Mississippi State vs. Louisville
Redbox Bowl (4 p.m., Fox): California vs. Illinois
Orange Bowl (8 p.m., ESPN): No. 9 Florida vs. No. 24 Virginia
Tuesday, Dec. 31
Belk Bowl (noon, ESPN): Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky
Sun Bowl (2 p.m., CBS): Florida State vs. Arizona State
Liberty Bowl (3:45 p.m., ESPN): No. 23 Navy vs. Kansas State
Arizona Bowl (4:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Wyoming vs. Georgia State
Alamo Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN): No. 11 Utah vs. Texas
Wednesday, Jan. 1
Citrus Bowl (1 p.m., ABC): No. 14 Michigan vs. No. 13 Alabama
Outback Bowl (1 p.m., ESPN): No. 18 Minnesota vs. No. 12 Auburn
Rose Bowl (5 p.m., ESPN): No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 8 Wisconsin
Sugar Bowl (8:45 p.m., ESPN): No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 7 Baylor
Thursday, Jan. 2
Birmingham Bowl (3 p.m., ESPN): No. 21 Cincinnati vs. Boston College
Gator Bowl (7 p.m., ESPN): Indiana vs. Tennessee
Friday, Jan. 3
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN): Ohio vs. Nevada
Saturday, Jan. 4
Armed Forces Bowl (11:30 a.m., ESPN): Southern Mississippi vs. Tulane
Monday, Jan. 6
LendingTree Bowl (7:30 p.m., ESPN): UL Lafayette vs. Miami (Ohio)
Monday, Jan. 13
College Football Playoff National Championship (8 p.m., ESPN): Winner of No. 1 LSU-No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Winner of No. 2 Ohio State-No. 3 Clemson
All Times ET. Predictions in bold.
3 Early Bowl Matchups to Watch
Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington
For one last time, Chris Petersen will be on the sideline as Washington's head coach. And it will be against the school with whom he rose to prominence.
Petersen, who coached Boise State from 2006 until 2013, recently announced that he's stepping down as the Huskies' head coach at the end of the season and will move into a leadership advisory role with the athletics program. After winning the Pac-12 title in two of the previous three seasons, Washington took a step back this year, going 7-5 and 4-5 in conference play.
However, the Huskies can end their campaign—and Petersen's tenure—by earning one of their best wins of the year. If they do, it could be because of quarterback Jacob Eason, who had a solid season, passing for 2,922 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Boise State has lost only one game this season—a 28-25 defeat at BYU on Oct. 19. The Broncos enter this matchup at 12-1 after beating Hawaii in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game.
Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Iowa
Both of these teams have had solid years despite having some challenging matchups during the regular season.
Iowa is 9-3, with its three losses coming against Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan, a trio of teams that finished in the top 14 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. But the Hawkeyes ended the regular season by winning three straight games and five out of six, a stretch that included a big win over Minnesota.
USC may have gone 8-4, but it notched a big win over Utah, one of the top teams in the country, on Sept. 20. After opening the year 3-3, the Trojans then won five of their last six games to build some momentum entering bowl season.
This should be an exciting game between two solid teams and will likely be one of the more competitive matchups early on in bowl season.
Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M
Texas A&M may be a five-loss team, but it also had one of the more difficult schedules in the country.
The five teams that beat the Aggies this season? No. 1 LSU, No. 3 Clemson, No. 5 Georgia, No. 12 Auburn and No. 13 Alabama. So while Texas A&M never notched a signature win, it never got upset, as it won the rest of the games on its schedule.
Oklahoma State had a slow start to the season, losing three of four games at one point to fall to 4-3. But the Cowboys won four straight prior to their loss to Oklahoma in their regular-season finale. And like Texas A&M, their losses came mostly against strong teams.
When these teams face off, it should be a competitive matchup that allows one of them to notch a well-deserved quality win to end the season.