College Football Bowl Schedule Released

The complete college football bowl schedule was released on Sunday.

The Fighting Illini are heading to the Heart of Dallas Bowl to play Louisiana Tech. The game kicks off at noon on ESPN Friday, December 26. Illinois went 6-6 in the regular season while the Bulldogs were 8-5 out of Conference USA.

Notre Dame will do battle with LSU in the Music City Bowl on December 30.

The first-ever College Football Playoff is set. Top-ranked Alabama will face fourth-ranked Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl on January 1.The second-ranked Oregon Ducks will take on number-three Florida State in the Rose Bowl the same day. The winners will meet at AT&T Stadium in Texas on Monday, January 12th in the College Football National Championship Game.

In all, 39 bowl games will be played, beginning with the New Orleans Bowl between Nevada and Louisiana-Lafayette on December 20. A trio of marquee games will take place on New Year's Eve. TCU, which finished sixth in the final College Football Playoff rankings, will take on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, while Arizona will clash with Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Also on December 31, Georgia Tech will meet Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl. On New Year's Day, Wisconsin will battle Auburn in the Outback Bowl, while Baylor will face Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.

Saturday, Dec. 20

New Orleans Bowl

Nevada (7-5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4), 10 a.m. (ESPN)

New Mexico Bowl

UTEP (7-5) vs. Utah State (9-4), 11:20 a.m. (ESPN) at Albuquerque

Las Vegas Bowl

Colorado State (10-2) vs. Utah (8-4), 12:30 p.m. (Channel 15)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Western Michigan (8-4) vs. Air Force (9-3), 2:45 p.m. (ESPN) at Boise

Camelia Bowl

Bowling Green (7-6) vs. South Alabama (6-6), 6:15 p.m. (ESPN) at Montgomery, Ala.

Monday, Dec. 22

Miami Beach Bowl

BYU (8-4) vs. Memphis (9-3), 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, Dec. 23

Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl

Marshall (12-1) vs. Northern Illinois (11-2), 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Poinsettia Bowl

Navy (6-5) vs. San Diego State (7-5), 6:30 p.m. (ESPN) at San Diego

Wednesday, Dec. 24

Bahamas Bowl

Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (7-5), 9 a.m. (ESPN) at Nassau

Hawaii Bowl

Rice (7-5) vs. Fresno State (6-7), 5 p.m. (ESPN) at Honolulu

Friday, Dec. 26

Heart of Dallas Bowl

Illinois (6-6) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4), 10 a.m. (ESPN)

Quick Lane Bowl

Rutgers (7-5) vs. North Carolina (6-6), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) at Detroit

St. Petersburg (Fla.) Bowl

UCF (9-3) vs. N.C. State (7-5), 5 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, Dec. 27

Military Bowl

Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Cincinnati (9-3), 10 a.m. (ESPN) at Annapolis, Md.

Sun Bowl

Arizona State (9-3) vs. Duke (9-3), 11 a.m. (Channel 5) at El Paso, Texas

Independence Bowl

Miami (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6), 1 p.m. (ESPN2) at Shreveport, La.

Pinstripe Bowl

Boston College (7-5) vs. Penn State (6-6), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) at Bronx, N.Y.

Holiday Bowl

Nebraska (9-3) vs. USC (8-4), 5 p.m. (ESPN) at San Diego

Monday, Dec. 29

Liberty Bowl

West Virginia (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (7-5), 11 a.m. (ESPN) at Memphis, Tenn.

Russell Athletic Bowl

Clemson (9-3) vs. Oklahoma (8-4), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) at Orlando, Fla.

Texas Bowl

Texas (6-6) vs. Arkansas (6-6), 6 p.m. (ESPN) at Houston

Tuesday, Dec. 30

Music City Bowl

Notre Dame (7-5) vs. LSU (8-4), noon (ESPN), at Nashville, Tenn.

Belk Bowl

Louisville (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) at Charlotte, N.C.

Fosters Farm Bowl

Stanford (7-5) vs. Maryland (7-5), 7 p.m. (ESPN) at Santa Clara, Calif.

Wednesday, Dec. 31

Peach Bowl

Mississippi (9-3) vs. TCU (11-1), 9:30 a.m. (ESPN) at Atlanta

Fiesta Bowl

Arizona (10-3) vs. Boise State (11-2), 1 p.m. (ESPN) at Glendale

Orange Bowl

Mississippi State (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (10-3), 5 p.m. (ESPN) at Miami

Thursday, Jan. 1

Outback Bowl

Wisconsin (10-3) vs. Auburn (8-4), 9 a.m. (ESPN2) at Tampa, Fla.

Cotton Bowl Classic

Michigan State (10-2) vs. Baylor (11-1), 9:30 a.m. (ESPN) at Arlington, Texas

Citrus Bowl

Minnesota (8-4) vs. Missouri (10-3), 10 a.m. (Channel 15) at Orlando, Fla.

Rose Bowl

Playoff semifinal: Oregon (12-1) vs. Florida State (13-0), 2 p.m. (ESPN) at Pasadena, Calif.

Sugar Bowl

Playoff semifinal: Alabama (12-1) vs. Ohio State (12-1), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) at New Orleans

Friday, Jan. 2

Armed Forces Bowl

Pittsburgh (6-6) vs. Houston (7-5), 9 a.m. (ESPN) at Fort Worth, Texas

TaxSlayer Bowl

Iowa (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6), 11:20 a.m. (ESPN) at Jacksonville, Fla.

Alamo Bowl

UCLA (9-3) vs. Kansas State (9-3), 3:45 p.m. (ESPN) at San Antonio

TicketCity Cactus Bowl

Oklahoma State (6-6) vs. Washington (8-5), 7:15 p.m. (ESPN) at Tempe

Saturday, Jan. 3

Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl

Florida (6-5) vs. East Carolina (8-4), 10 a.m. (ESPN2)

GoDaddy Bowl

Toledo (8-4) vs. Arkansas State (7-5), 6 p.m. (ESPN) at Mobile, Ala.

Monday, Jan. 12

College Football Championship

Sugar Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) at Arlington, Texas

Saturday, Jan. 17

East-West Shrine Classic at St. Petersburg, Fla.

East vs. West, 1 p.m. (NFL Network)

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at Carson, Calif.

National vs. American, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)

Saturday, Jan. 24

Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala.

North vs. South, 1 p.m. (NFL Network)