Ten Southeastern Conference football teams learned their post-season bowl destinations on Sunday. No. 2-ranked Alabama will play No. 3 Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on the night of December 31 in a semifinal game in the College Football Playoff structure.
In addition to the College Football Playoff system, this marks the second year the conference assigned league schools to a “Pool of Six” bowls that include the Outback Bowl in Tampa, the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville, the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston, the Belk Bowl in Charlotte and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
On Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee first selected teams for the national semifinal games, the Goodyear Cotton and Capital One Orange bowl.
Get the list of all bowl games below.
The committee later announced the participants in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual.
From the SEC, Ole Miss will play Oklahoma State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl as it is the highest ranked SEC team in the CFP rankings not included in the national semifinals.
Next, the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl selected Florida from the SEC to play Michigan from the Big 10 before the SEC assigned teams to the Pool of Six bowls. The selection process for the Pool of Six bowls was based on preferences expressed by the SEC’s bowl eligible schools, input from the SEC’s affiliated bowls, travel considerations, attention to previous matchups and additional relevant factors.
“The Pool of Six participants are determined after conversations with bowl partners and discussions with school personnel in order to create a lineup of compelling bowl games for our schools and their fans,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “This process provides an opportunity to create intriguing matchups, consider potential attendance factors and variations of assignments to help prevent repetitive postseason destinations.”
Tennessee will play Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, Georgia will meet Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl, Texas A&M will play Louisville in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl, LSU will play Texas Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, Mississippi State will play North Carolina State in the Belk Bowl and Arkansas will play Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
Here’s the complete schedule of bowl games. Game times listed in CT.
DECEMBER 19
Celebration Bowl: Alcorn State (9-3) vs. North Carolina AT&T (9-2)
Atlanta | Georgia Dome
11 a.m. ABC
Cure Bowl: San Jose State (5-7) vs. Georgia State (6-6)
Orlando | Orlando Citrus Bowl
Noon, CBS Sports Network
New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico (7-5) vs. Arizona (6-6)
Albuquerque | University Stadium
1 p.m., ESPN
Las Vegas Bowl: BYU (9-3) vs. Utah (9-3)
Las Vegas | Sam Boyd Stadium
2:30 p.m., ABC
Camellia Bowl: Ohio (8-4) vs. Appalachian State (10-2)
Montgomery, Ala. | Cramton Bowl
4:30 p.m., ESPN
New Orleans Bowl: Arkansas State (9-3) vs. Louisiana Tech (8-4)
New Orleans | Superdome
8 p.m., ESPN
DECEMBER 21
Miami Beach Bowl: South Florida (8-4) vs. Western Kentucky (11-2)
Miami | Marlins Park
1:30 p.m. on ESPN
DECEMBER 22
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron (7-5) vs. Utah State (6-6)
Boise, Idaho | Albertsons Stadium
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Boca Raton Bowl: Temple (10-3) vs. Toledo (9-2)
Boca Raton, Fla. | FAU Stadium
6 p.m., ESPN
DECEMBER 23
Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State (8-4) vs. Northern Illinois (8-5)
San Diego | Qualcomm Stadium
3:30 p.m., ESPN
GoDaddy Bowl: Bowling Green (10-3) vs. Georgia Southern (8-4)
Mobile, Ala. | Ladd-Peebles Stadium
7 p.m., ESPN
DECEMBER 24
Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee (7-5) vs. Western Michigan (7-5)
Nassau, Bahamas | Robinson National Stadium
11 a.m., ESPN
Hawaii Bowl: San Diego State (10-3) vs. Cincinnati (7-6)
Honolulu | Aloha Stadium
7 p.m., ESPN
DECEMBER 26
St. Petersburg Bowl: Connecticut (6-6) vs. Marshall (9-3)
St. Petersburg, Fla. | Tropicana Field
10 a.m., ESPN
Sun Bowl: Miami (8-4) vs. Washington State (8-4)
El Paso, Texas | Sun Bowl
1 p.m., CBS
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Washington (6-6) vs. Southern Mississippi (9-4)
Dallas | Cotton Bowl
1:20 p.m., ESPN
Pinstripe Bowl: Duke (7-5) vs. Indiana (6-6)
New York City | Yankee Stadium
2:30 p.m., ABC
Independence Bowl: Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Tulsa (6-6)
Shreveport, La. | Independence Stadium
4:45 p.m. on ESPN
Foster Farms Bowl: Nebraska (8-4) vs. UCLA (5-7)
Santa Clara, Calif. | Levi’s Stadium
8:15 p.m., ESPN
DECEMBER 28
Military Bowl: Pitt (8-4) vs. Navy (9-2)
Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
1:30 p.m., ESPN
Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota (5-7) vs. Central Michigan (7-5)
Detroit | Ford Field
4 p.m., ESPN2
DECEMBER 29
Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force (8-5) vs. California (7-5)
Fort Worth, Texas | Amon G. Carter Stadium
1 p.m., ESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina (11-2) vs. Baylor (9-3)
Orlando, Fla. | Citrus Bowl
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Arizona Bowl: Colorado State (7-5) vs. Nevada (6-6)
Tucson, Arizona | Arizona Stadium
6:30 p.m., campusinsiders.com
Texas Bowl: LSU (8-3) vs. Texas Tech (7-5)
Houston | NRG Stadium
8 p.m., ESPN
DEC. 30
Birmingham Bowl: Auburn (6-6) vs. Memphis (9-3)
Birmingham, Alabama | Legion Field
11 a.m., ESPN
Belk Bowl: North Carolina State (7-5) vs. Mississippi State (8-4)
Charlotte, N.C. | Bank of America Stadium
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Music City Bowl: Louisville (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (8-4)
Nashville | LP Field
6 p.m., ESPN
Holiday Bowl: Southern Cal (8-5) vs. Wisconsin (9-3)
San Diego | Qualcomm Stadium
9:30 p.m., ESPN
DECEMBER 31
Peach Bowl: Houston (12-1) vs. Florida State (10-2)
Atlanta | Georgia Dome
11 a.m., ESPN
College Football Playoff, semifinals
Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Clemson (13-0) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1)
Miami Gardens, Fla. | Sun Life Stadium
3 p.m., ESPN
College Football Playoff, semifinals
Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 3 Michigan State (12-1)
Arlington, Texas | AT&T Stadium
7 p.m., ESPN
JANUARY 1
Outback Bowl: Northwestern (10-2) vs. Tennessee (8-4)
Tampa | Raymond James Stadium
11 a.m, ESPN2
Citrus Bowl: Michigan (9-3) vs. Florida (10-3)
Orlando | Orlando Citrus Bowl
Noon, ABC
Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame (10-2) vs. Ohio State (11-1)
Glendale, Ariz. | University of Phoenix Stadium
Noon, ESPN
Rose Bowl: Stanford (11-2) vs. Iowa (12-1)
Pasadena, Calif. | Rose Bowl
4 p.m., ESPN
Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. Ole Miss (9-3)
New Orleans | Superdome
7:30 p.m., ESPN
JANUARY 2
TaxSlayer Bowl: Penn State (7-5) vs. Georgia (9-3)
Jacksonville, Fla. | EverBank Field
11 a.m., ESPN
Liberty Bowl: Kansas State (6-6) vs Arkansas (7-5)
Memphis | Liberty Bowl
2:20 p.m., ESPN
Alamo Bowl: Oregon (9-3) vs. TCU (10-2)
San Antonio, Texas | Alamodome
5:45 p.m., ESPN
Cactus Bowl: West Virginia (7-5) vs. Arizona State (6-6)
Phoenix | Chase Field
9:15 p.m., ESPN
JANUARY 11
College Football Playoff: Championship game
Clemson/Oklahoma winner vs. Alabama/Michigan State winner
Glendale, Arizona | University of Phoenix Stadium
7:30 p.m., ESPN