Bowl Games 2020-21 Printable Schedule, Latest Odds and Picks for Every Matchup

Most college football seasons, there's a short break between conference championship weekend and the beginning of bowl season. As we already know, though, 2020 isn't like other years.

Two days after the majority of conference championship games took place, the first bowl occurred on Monday, with Appalachian State defeating North Texas 56-28 in the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl.

And although some bowls have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, there's still plenty of exciting action to watch over the next two weeks.

Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame will be the four teams battling for the national championship in the College Football Playoff, and there are some other intriguing matchups taking place leading up to those New Year's Day CFP semifinal matchups.

A printable bowl schedule listing every upcoming game can be found at NCAA.com.

Here's a look at odds and predictions for every bowl, followed by a breakdown of this year's CFP field.

Bowl Schedule, Odds, Predictions

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Tulane (-2.5) vs. Nevada, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Boca Raton Bowl: UCF vs. BYU (-5.5), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Wednesday, Dec. 23

New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs. Georgia Southern (-6.5), 3 p.m. ET, ESPN

Montgomery Bowl: Memphis (-8.5) vs. Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Thursday, Dec. 24

New Mexico Bowl: Hawaii vs. Houston (-13.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Friday, Dec. 25

Camellia Bowl: Marshall vs. Buffalo (-3.5), 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 26

Gasparilla Bowl: South Carolina vs. UAB (-6.5), noon ET, ABC

First Responder Bowl: Louisiana (-13.5) vs. UTSA, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

LendingTree Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State (-4.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. Coastal Carolina (-6.5), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Cheez-It Bowl: Oklahoma State (-1.5) vs. Miami, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Alamo Bowl: Texas (-12.5) vs. Colorado, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Duke's Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin (-6.5), noon ET, ESPN

Music City Bowl: Iowa (-15.5) vs. Missouri, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Florida (-3.5), 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Thursday, Dec. 31

Armed Forces Bowl: Tulsa (-2.5) vs. Mississippi State, noon ET, ESPN

Arizona Bowl: Ball State vs. San Jose State (-7.5), 2 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

Liberty Bowl: West Virginia vs. Army (no line), 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

Texas Bowl: Arkansas vs. TCU (-5.5), 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Friday, Jan. 1

Peach Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Georgia (-6.5), noon ET, ESPN

Citrus Bowl: Auburn vs. Northwestern (-3.5), 1 p.m. ET, ABC

Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal): Alabama (-19.5) vs. Notre Dame, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal): Clemson (-7.5) vs. Ohio State, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Saturday, Jan. 2

Gator Bowl: N.C. State vs. Kentucky (-2.5), noon ET, ESPN

Outback Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Indiana (-6.5), 12:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. Iowa State (-4.5), 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

Orange Bowl: Texas A&M (-6.5) vs. North Carolina, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Monday, Jan. 11

CFP National Championship Game, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Odds obtained via DraftKings. Picks in bold against the spread.

College Football Playoff Breakdown

This year's College Football Playoff is (unsurprisingly) filled with top teams from powerhouse conferences. Even if there were some who believed one or two schools weren't the right choices.

There was no disputing that Alabama and Clemson belonged in the playoff field (as each typically does). The Crimson Tide and Tigers will each be making their sixth appearance in the CFP. Clemson missed the inaugural playoff in the 2014 season but has made it every year since. Alabama didn't make it in the 2019 season, but it's returning this year.

Alabama is 11-0 after rolling through its all-SEC schedule. It won the conference championship with a 52-46 win over Florida, and none of its previous 10 games had been decided by more than 17 points.

Clemson is 10-1, with its only loss coming at Notre Dame in double overtime on Nov. 7 (a game in which the Tigers were missing star quarterback Trevor Lawrence and several other notable players). The Tigers avenged that loss in the ACC Championship Game, beating the Fighting Irish 34-10.

That's why some may not have thought Notre Dame was deserving to reach the CFP, but it is the No. 4 seed and will be facing top-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl. The Fighting Irish earned the last spot over other contenders such as Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Oklahoma among others.

Ohio State's selection also came with some controversy. The Buckeyes are the No. 3 seed after winning the Big Ten Championship Game with a 22-10 victory over Northwestern. But it had its schedule impacted by COVID-19 much more than the other top teams, which is why it's only 6-0 heading into the CFP.

The Buckeyes were impressive when they were on the field; they just weren't on the field quite as much as many other programs. Still, they have a strong track record and a talented team, which appeared to be enough for the CFP selection committee to include them.

Clemson and Ohio State will be facing off in the Sugar Bowl in a CFP semifinal matchup that could be much closer than the Rose Bowl (Alabama is heavily favored to beat Notre Dame). The Tigers and Buckeyes are meeting in a CFP semifinal for the second straight season, as Clemson beat Ohio State 29-23 in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.

Both teams have talented, experienced quarterbacks (Clemson's Lawrence and Ohio State's Justin Fields) who went head-to-head in last season's meeting between the teams, along with a bunch of other talented playmakers from both schools. So, it should be exciting to see them face off again.

Of the four CFP teams, Notre Dame is the only one that hasn't won a national championship since the format started in 2014. In fact, the Fighting Irish have only made the playoff once (the 2018 season), and they lost 30-3 to Clemson that year.

It would be an upset if Notre Dame beat Alabama and made it to the CFP National Championship Game, but all four teams have been strong at points throughout the year, so perhaps anything could happen in this season's playoff.

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