Following today’s semifinal and New Year’s Six announcements, the full 2015-16 bowl schedule is now complete.
This year’s slate is ground-breaking -- or, depending on how you view it, bone-headed -- on a number of fronts: first, it’s the maiden voyage of CFP executive director Bill Hancock‘s grand vision to redefine New Year’s Eve in this country by holding the CFP semifinals on the biggest party night of the year. Second, this year’s schedule contains 41 games. And, related to that, it’s the first to send losing teams (conference championship-related exemptions excluded) to bowl games.
Regardless of how you feel about those aspects, the 2015-16 bowl slate is here, and we’ll all watch. The slate stretches from Dec. 19 to Jan. 11 -- a total of 24 days -- but 40 of the games are packed into 12 days between Dec. 19 and Jan. 2, taking off only for two NFL Sundays and Christmas. Prepare your remote -- and your family -- to be parked on ESPN for the foreseeable future.
As for the actual games: can I interest you in a renewal of the Holy War? What about a college football hipster’s delight in the Bowling Green spread vs. the Georgia Southern triple option? How about Trevon Boykin vs. Vernon Adams? Maybe a little Texas A&M rivalry renewal with... ah, forget it. The Aggies are headed to Nashville to face Louisville while Leonard Fournette plies his craft against FBS’s second-worst run defense in the Texas Bowl. All that and more, plus the previously announced CFP semifinals and New Year’s Six match-ups, can be found below.
Rankings are reflective of the final CFP top 25.
Saturday, Dec. 19
Gildan New Mexico Bowl (2 p.m. ET, ESPN): New Mexico vs. Arizona
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC): BYU vs. No. 22 Utah
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Ohio vs. Appalachian State
AutoNation Cure Bowl (7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network): Georgia State vs. San Jose State
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN): Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech
Monday, Dec. 21
Miami Beach Bowl (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): South Florida vs. Western Kentucky
Tuesday, Dec. 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Akron vs. Utah State
Marmot Boca Raton Bowl (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): Toledo vs. No. 24 Temple
Wednesday, Dec. 23
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Northern Illinois vs. Boise State
GoDaddy Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN): Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern
Thursday, Dec. 24
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (noon ET, ESPN): Western Michigan vs. Middle Tennessee
Hawai’i Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN): Cincinnati vs. San Diego State
Saturday, Dec. 26
St. Petersburg Bowl (11 a.m. ET, ESPN): Marshall vs. Connecticut
Hyndai Sun Bowl (2 p.m. ET, CBS): Miami vs. Washington State
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas B0wl (2:20 p.m. ET, ESPNU): Southern Miss vs. Washington
New Era Pinstripe Bowl (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Duke vs. Indiana
Camping World Independence Bowl (5:45 p.m. ET, ESPN): Virginia Tech vs. Tulsa
Foster Farms Bowl (9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): UCLA vs. Nebraska
Monday, Dec. 28
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 21 Navy vs. Pittsburgh
Quick Lane Bowl (5 p.m. ET, ESPN): Central Michigan vs. Minnesota
Tuesday, Dec. 29
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (2 p.m. ET, ESPN): Air Force vs. California
Russell Athletic Bowl (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 17 Baylor
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl (7:30 p.m. ET, Campus Insiders): Colorado State vs. Nevada
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl (9 p.m. ET, ESPN): Texas Tech vs. No. 20 LSU
Wednesday, Dec. 30
Birmingham Bowl (noon ET, ESPN): Auburn vs. Memphis
Belk Bowl (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): N.C. State vs. Mississippi State
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): Louisville vs. Texas A&M
National University Holiday Bowl (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 25 USC vs. Wisconsin
Thursday, Dec. 31
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (noon ET, ESPN): No. 18 Houston vs. No. 9 Florida State
Capital One Orange Bowl (4 ET, ESPN): No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Clemson
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (8 ET, ESPN): No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Alabama
Friday, Jan. 1
Outback Bowl (noon ET, ABC): Tennessee vs. No. 13 Northwestern
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl (1 p.m. ET, ESPN2): No. 19 Florida vs. No. 14 Michigan
BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl (1 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Ohio State
Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (5 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 6 Stanford vs. No. 5 Iowa
Allstate Sugar Bowl (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 16 Oklahoma State vs. No. 12 Ole Miss
Saturday, Jan. 2
TaxSlayer Bowl (noon ET, ESPN): Penn State vs. Georgia
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (3:20 p.m. ET, ESPN): Arkansas vs. Kansas State
Valero Alamo Bowl (6:45 p.m. ET, ESPN): No. 15 Oregon vs. No. 11 TCU
Cactus Bowl (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): Arizona State vs. West Virginia
Monday, Jan. 11
College Football Playoff Championship Game presented by AT&T (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Oklahoma/Clemson vs. Michigan State/Alabama