College Football Playoff, FSU-Georgia headline 43-game bowl schedule

MIAMI, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Georgia Southern will battle Ohio to launch college football's bowl season Dec. 16 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Michigan-Alabama, Washington-Texas and Florida State-Georgia are among intriguing postseason matchups.

The 43-game bowl schedule, listed below, was finalized Saturday after conference championship weekend. The games will be played through Jan. 8, when the College Football Playoff National Championship Game is held at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Seven games will be held Dec. 16, starting with Georgia Southern and Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. That game will kick off at 11 a.m. EST and air on ESPN.

But the Michigan-Alabama duel will attract far more national attention, and could lead to a national championship.

"We're thrilled," Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters Sunday when asked about facing Alabama. "We're thrilled to be where we're at.

"We're thrilled to be playing Alabama, thrilled to be playing in the Rose Bowl because it's going to be competition. That's what this team lives for."

No. 16 Louisville will be the first team inside the Top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings to play a bowl game. The Cardinals will take on USC on Dec. 27 in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl.

No. 7 Ohio State and No. 9 Missouri will be the first Top 10 teams in the College Football Playoff rankings to start meet in the postseason. They will play Dec. 29 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

The reigning champion No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) will face the undefeated No. 5 Florida State Seminoles (13-0) on Dec. 30 in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

The Seminoles, who were snubbed in reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals, are 13.5-point underdogs.

"To be able to matchup with them, in [a game] I believe is between two of the best teams in college football this year, is going to be special," Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said.

No. 1 Michigan will meet No. 4 Alabama on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl, the first College Football Playoff semifinal. That game will kick off at 5 p.m.

No. 2 Washington will then face No. 3 Texas at 8:45 p.m. in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the second semifinal. The winners from those two games will meet in the College Football Playoff finale at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 in Houston.

All College Football Playoff games will air on ESPN.

Bowl schedule

Dec. 16

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Ohio at 11 a.m. on ESPN

Cricket Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M at noon on ABC

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN

Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl: Miami University vs. Appalachian State at 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Isleta New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico State vs. Fresno State at 5:45 p.m. on ESPN

LA Bowl: UCLA vs. Boise State at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: Cal vs. Texas Tech at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 18

Famous Toastery Bowl: Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 19

Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl: UTSA vs. Marshall at 9 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 21

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl: South Florida vs. Syracuse at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 22

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 23

Birmingham Bowl: Troy vs. Duke at noon on ABC

Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois at noon on ESPN

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: James Madison vs. Air Force at 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Georgia State vs. Utah State at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN

68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on ESPN

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 26

Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota at 2 p.m. on ESPN

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: Texas State vs. Rice at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV at 9 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 27

Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane at 2 p.m. on ESPN

Duke's Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN

DirecTV Holiday Bowl: Louisville vs. USC at 8 p.m. on Fox

TaxAct Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State at 9 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 28

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: SMU vs. Boston College at 11 a.m. on ESPN

Bad Boy Bowers Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Miami at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN

Pop-Tarts Bowl: NC State vs. Kansas State at 5:45 p.m. on ESPN

Valero Alamo Bowl: Arizona vs. Oklahoma at 9:15 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 29

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Clemson vs. Kentucky at noon on ESPN

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Oregon State vs. Notre Dame at 2 p.m. on CBS

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa State at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Missouri vs. Ohio State at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Dec. 30

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Penn State at noon on ESPN

TransPerfect Music City Bowl: Auburn vs. Maryland at 2 p.m. on ABC

Capital One Orange Bowl: Georgia vs. Florida State at 4 p.m. on ESPN

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl: Toledo vs. Wyoming at 4:30 p.m. on CW Network

Jan. 1

ReliaQuest Bowl: Wisconsin vs. LSU at noon on ESPN2

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee at 1 p.m. on ABC

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: Liberty vs. Oregon at 1 p.m. on ESPN

CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential: Alabama vs. Michigan at 5 p.m. on ESPN

CFP semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl: Texas vs. Washington at 8:45 p.m. on ESPN

Jan. 8

CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN