Bahamas Bowl to launch 43-game college football postseason

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A Bahamas Bowl matchup between Miami University of Ohio and the University at Alabama at Birmingham will kick off the 2022 college football bowl season, which will feature 43 games and run through Jan. 9.

The 84 teams that will participate in the postseason had their spots confirmed over the weekend after conference championship week.

The Miami University RedHawks (6-6) will meet the UAB Blazers (6-6) at 11:30 a.m. EST Dec. 16 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau. That game will air on ESPN.

UTSA, the No. 25 team in the final College Football Playoff rankings, will battle No. 24 Troy in the Cure Bowl at 3 p.m. Dec. 16 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla. That game also will air on ESPN.

Dec. 17 will be the busiest day of bowl season, with seven games set to kick off between 11 a.m. and 9:15 p.m. Cincinnati (9-3) will play Louisville (9-3) in the Fenway Bowl on ESPN to launch that day's slate.

Jackson State (12-0) will then meet North Carolina Central (9-2) in the Celebration Bowl at noon on ABC. SMU (7-5) will take on BYU (7-5) in the New Mexico Bowl at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN.

Washington State (7-5) will battle Fresno State (9-4) in the LA Bowl at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. Rice (5-7) will face Southern Mississippi (6-6) in the LendingTree Bowl at 5:45 p.m. on ESPN.

No. 14 Oregon State (9-3) will face Florida (6-6) in the Las Vegas Bowl at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. Boise State (9-4) then will meet North Texas (7-6) in the Frisco Bowl, the final game of the night, at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN.

The two College Football Playoff matchups will be Ohio State versus Georgia and TCU against Michigan. The College Football Playoff selection committee announced its final rankings Sunday on ESPN.

Georgia (13-0) held onto the top spot in the rankings for the fifth-consecutive week. The Bulldogs wrapped up their perfect campaign with a 50-30 win over No. 17 LSU (9-4) in the SEC championship game Saturday in Atlanta.

"When you make the final four, whether you are 1 or 4, it really doesn't matter," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart told ESPN. "What matters is how you manage the time building up to the [College Football Playoff semifinal] game."

Undefeated Michigan kept the No. 2 spot. The Wolverines (13-0) beat Purdue (8-5) 43-22 in the Big Ten title game Saturday in Indianapolis.

TCU (12-1) held onto the No. 3 spot despite a 31-28 loss to No. 9 Kansas State (10-3) in the Big 12 title game Saturday in Arlington, Texas. The Horned Frogs will now meet the Wolverines in the Fiesta Bowl, the first College Football Playoff semifinal, at 4 p.m. Dec. 31 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Ohio State jumped from No. 5 to No. 4 and will battle Georgia in the Peach Bowl, the other semifinal. The Buckeyes (11-1) lost to Michigan on Nov. 26 and didn't earn a spot in their conference title game.

The Buckeyes and Bulldogs will kick off at 8 p.m. Dec. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Both semifinals will air on ESPN.

"This whole thing is an unbelievable opportunity," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day told reporters Sunday at a news conference. "You just never know how these years are going to go. This opportunity wasn't available a few days ago, but it is now.

"Last week, everyone was dying to have an opportunity to have a shot to go win this and now we do."

The two victors from the semifinals will meet in the title game at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. That game also will air on ESPN.

USC (11-2) dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 in the rankings. The Trojans lost 47-24 to No. 8 Utah (10-3) in the Pac 12 title game Friday in Las Vegas.

The Trojans will now face No. 17 Tulane (11-2) on Jan. 2 in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

No. 5 Alabama (10-2) failed to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals for just the second time since the system started in 2014. The Crimson Tide (10-2) will battle No. 9 Kansas State on Dec. 31 in the Sugar Bowl.

The No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (10-2) moved up from No. 7, despite being inactive last week. They will meet Clemson (11-2) on Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl.

Clemson beat North Carolina (9-4) 39-10 in the ACC title game Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. That win pushed the Tigers up from No. 9 to No. 7 in the final rankings.

No. 8 Utah will face No. 11 Penn State (10-2) on Jan. 2 in the Rose Bowl.

College football bowl schedule

Times in EST

Dec. 16

Bahamas Bowl: Miami University vs. UAB at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN

Cure Bowl: No. 24 Troy vs. No. 25 UTSA at 3 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 17

Fenway Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Louisville at 11 a.m. on ESPN

Celebration Bowl: Jackson State vs. N.C. Central at noon on ABC

New Mexico Bowl: SMU vs. BYU at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN

LA Bowl: Washington State vs. Fresno State at 3:30 p.m. on ABC

LendingTree Bowl: Rice vs. Southern Mississippi at 5:45 p.m. on ESPN

Las Vegas Bowl: No. 14 Oregon State vs. Florida at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Frisco Bowl: Boise State vs. North Texas at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 19

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Marshall vs. UConn at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 20

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Boca Raton Bowl: Liberty vs. Toledo at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 21

New Orleans Bowl: South Alabama vs. Western Kentucky at 9 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 22

Armed Forces Bowl: Baylor vs. Air Force at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 23

Independence Bowl: Houston vs. Louisiana at 3 p.m. on ESPN

Gasparilla Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Missouri at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 24

Hawaii Bowl: Middle Tennessee State vs. San Diego State at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 26

Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. New Mexico State at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 27

Camellia Bowl: Buffalo vs. Georgia Southern at noon on ESPN

First Responder Bowl: Memphis vs. Utah State at 3:15 p.m. on ESPN

Birmingham Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Wisconsin at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 28

Military Bowl: Duke vs. UCF at 2 p.m. on ESPN

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Kansas at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN

Holiday Bowl: No. 15 Oregon vs. North Carolina at 8 p.m. on FOX

Texas Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss at 9 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 29

Pinstripe Bowl: Minnesota vs. Syracuse at 2 p.m. on ESPN

Cheez-It Bowl: No. 13 Florida State vs. Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN

Alamo Bowl: No. 12 Washington vs. No. 20 Texas at 9 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 30

Duke's Mayo Bowl: No. 23 NC State vs. Maryland at noon on ESPN

Sun Bowl: No. 18 UCLA vs. Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. on CBS

Gator Bowl: No. 19 South Carolina vs. No. 21 Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Arizona Bowl: Ohio vs. Wyoming at 4:30 p.m. on Barstool Sports

Orange Bowl: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 31

Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Kentucky at noon on ABC

Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 9 Kansas State at noon on ESPN

Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal): No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 TCU at 4 p.m. on ESPN

Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal): No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Ohio State at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Jan. 2

ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 22 Mississippi State vs. Illinois at noon on ESPN2

Citrus Bowl: No. 17 LSU vs. Purdue at 1 p.m. on ABC

Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 10 USC vs. No. 16 Tulane at 1 p.m. on ESPN

Rose Bowl Game: No. 8 Utah vs. No. 11 Penn State at 5 p.m. on ESPN

Jan. 9

College Football Playoff national championship game at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN