2016 College Football Bowl Preview

Jackson Payne, College football expert

It’s been a crazy year for college football, and if you’re like me, you’ll spend the bulk of your winter break binge-watching endless hours of bowl games, a wonderful tradition I find to be as much a part of the holidays as gingerbread houses and candy canes. Being a self proclaimed college football “expert”, I’ve taken the liberty of predicting the outcome of every bowl game below to give you something to throw back in my face when I’m eventually wrong about most of them (predicted winners indicated in italics).

BOWL/TITLE GAME DATE TIME SITE MATCHUP
Celebration Dec. 17 Noon Atlanta, Ga. Grambling St. vs. NC Central
New Mexico Dec. 17 2 p.m. Albuquerque, N.M. New Mexico vs. UTSA
Las Vegas Dec. 17 3:30 p.m. Las Vegas, Nev. Houston vs. San Diego St.
Camellia Dec. 17 5:30 p.m. Montgomery, Ala. Appalachian St. vs. Toledo
Cure Dec. 17 5:30 p.m. Orlando, Fla. Arkansas St. vs. UCF
New Orleans Dec. 17 9 p.m. New Orleans, La. Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Southern Mississippi
Miami Beach Dec. 19 2:30 p.m. Miami, Fla. Central Michigan vs. Tulsa
Boca Raton Dec. 20 7 p.m. Boca Raton, Fla.  Western Kentucky vs. Memphis
Poinsettia Dec. 21 9 p.m. San Diego, Calif. BYU vs. Wyoming
Potato Dec. 22 7 p.m. Boise, Idaho Colorado St. vs. Idaho
Bahamas Dec. 23 1 p.m. Nassau, Bahamas Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion
Armed Forces Dec. 23 4:30 p.m. Fort Worth, Tex. Louisiana Tech vs. Navy
Dollar General Dec. 23 8 p.m. Mobile, Ala. Ohio vs. Troy
Hawaii Dec. 24 8 p.m. Honolulu, Hawaii Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee
St. Petersburg Dec. 26 11 a.m. St. Petersburg, Fla. Miami (OH) vs. Mississippi St.
Quick Lane Dec. 26 2:30 p.m. Detroit, Mich. Boston College vs. Maryland
Independence Dec. 26 5 p.m. Shreveport, La. NC State vs. Vanderbilt
Heart of Dallas Dec. 27 Noon Dallas, Texas Army vs. North Texas
Military Dec. 27 3:30 p.m. Annapolis, Md. Temple vs. Wake Forest
Holiday Dec. 27 7 p.m. San Diego, Calif. Minnesota vs. Wash. St.
Cactus Dec. 27 10:15 p.m. Phoenix, Ariz. Baylor vs. Boise State
Pinstripe Dec. 28 2 p.m. New York, NY Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh
Russell Athletic Dec. 28 5:30 p.m. Orlando, Fla. Miami (Fla.) vs. West Virginia
Foster Farms Dec. 28 8:30 p.m. Santa Clara, Calif. Indiana vs. Utah
Texas Dec. 28 9 p.m. Houston, Texas Kansas St. vs. Texas A&M
Birmingham Dec. 29 2 p.m. Birmingham, Ala. South Carolina vs. South Fla.
Belk Dec. 29 5:30 p.m. Charlotte, N.C. Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech
Alamo Dec. 29 9 p.m. San Antonio, Texas Colorado vs. Oklahoma St.
Arizona Dec. 30 5:30 p.m. Tucson, Ariz. Air Force vs. South Alabama
Liberty Dec. 30 Noon Memphis, Tenn. Georgia vs. TCU
Sun Dec. 30 2 p.m. El Paso, Texas North Carolina vs. Stanford
Music City Dec. 30 3:30 p.m. Nashville, Tenn. Nebraska vs. Tennessee
Orange Dec. 30 8 p.m. Miami Gardens, Fla. Florida State vs. Michigan
Peach
College Football Playoff Semifinal
Dec. 31 3 p.m. Atlanta, Ga. Alabama vs. Washington
Fiesta
College Football Playoff Semifinal
Dec. 31 7 p.m. Glendale, Ariz. Clemson vs. Ohio State
Taxslayer Dec. 31 11 a.m. Jacksonville, Fla. Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky
Citrus Dec. 31 11 a.m. Orlando, Fla. Louisville vs. LSU
Outback Jan. 2 1 p.m. Tampa, Fla. Florida vs. Iowa
Cotton Jan. 2 1 p.m. Arlington, Texas Western Mich. vs. Wisconsin
Rose Jan. 2 5 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. Penn State vs. USC
Sugar Jan. 2 8:30 p.m. New Orleans, La. Auburn vs. Oklahoma