There are 39 bowl games and thankfully for college football fans, they're spread out throughout the holiday season to offer a three-hour break from shopping, caroling, and stuffing ones face with trimmings.Though the participants in the year's biggest bowl, the National Championship Game (to be held January 12 in Arlington, TX) won't be determined until the first round of the first ever college football playoff takes place on New Years Day, the rest of the matchups are ready to go. Here's a look:Saturday, December 20New Orleans Bowl: Nevada (-1.5) vs. LA Lafayette, 11 a.m on ESPNSenior Cody Fajardo leads the favored Wolf Pack vs the Sun Belt's Ragin' Cajunsin the first bowl game of the season.New Mexico Bowl: Utah State (-11) vs. Texas El Paso, 2:20 p.m. on ESPNUTEP'sAaron Jones has run for 1,233 yards and will have his hands full against Utah State's No. 21-ranked scoring defense.Las Vegas Bowl: Utah (-4) vs. Colorado State, 3:30 p.m. on ESPNBoth teams are much-improved from last season, Colorado State is 10-2 a year after going 3-9 and Utah is 8-4 after going 5-7. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Western Michigan (-3) vs. Air Force, 5:45 p.m. on ESPNWestern Michiganrunning back Jarvion Franklin, a freshman, helped his team win eight winsen route to a MAC offensive player of the year award.Camellia Bowl: South Alabama vs. Bowling Green (-1.5), 9:15 pm. on ESPNWith just 13 wins between the two teams, both are happy to just earn a bowl appearance.Monday, December 22Miami Beach Bowl: BYU vs. Memphis (-1), 2 p.m. on ESPNIn the inaugural Beach Bowl, BYU will try and combat 6-foot-7 signal caller Paxton Lynch for the Memphis Tigers.Tuesday, December 23Boca Raton Bowl: Marshall (-11) vs. Northern Illinois, 6 p.m. on ESPNMarshall saw it's perfect season end in the final weekend of the regular season and it will seek revenge against the MAC's top squad in Northern Illinois.Poinsettia Bowl, Navy vs. San Diego St (-1.5), 9:30 p.m. on ESPNThe slightly favored Aztecs will have their hands full against college football's second-best rushing attack in Navy, averaging 357.8 yards per game on the ground.Wednesday, December 24Bahamas Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky (-2) 12 p.m. on ESPNThe inaugural Bahamas Bowl will be the first FBS bowl game played outside of the U.S. or Canada since 1937.Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State (-2.5) vs. Rice, 8 p.m. on ESPNBoth teams earnedbowl appearances after 0-3 starts, and both have potential NFL wideouts on their rosters: Fresno State's Josh Harper and Rice's Jordan Taylor.Friday, December 26Heart of Dallas Bowl, Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech (-4), 1 p.m. on ESPNLouisiana Tech just missed a conference title and will face Big 10-tested Illinois, a team thankful to be in a bowl at all.Quick Lane Bowl, Rutgers vs. North Carolina (-3), 4:30 p.m. on ESPNIt's a battle of two teams without very good defenses -- so it could be a slugfest. Both allow over 30 points per game.St. Petersburg Bowl: North Carolina State vs. Central Florida (-3), 8 p.m. on ESPNCentral Florida has a tight defense and they could ruin the homecoming of Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett, NC State's quarterback.Saturday, December 27Military Bowl: Cincinnati (-3.5) vs. Virginia Tech, 1 p.m. on ESPNCincy'sGunner Kiel threw for an AAC-leading 30 touchdowns whole the Hokiesfinished second in tackles for loss per game and ninth in defensive efficiency.Sun Bowl: Arizona State (-9) vs. Duke, 2 p.m. on CBSBoth teams sports 9-3 records as Arizona State's powerful offense will face off against the Blue Devils' top 25-ranked defense.Independence Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. South Carolina (even), 3:30 p.m. on ABCTwo key players to watch: Miami's Duke Johnson (1,520 rushing yards) and South Carolina's Brad Kayaa (ACC rookie of the year).Pinstripe Howl: Boston College (-2.5) vs. Penn State, 4:30 p.m. on ESPNPSU has the nation's No. 2 defense while BC has the nation's 12th. Don't expect many points on the board in Yankee Stadium in this one.Holiday Bowl: Nebraska vs. USC (-4.5), 8 p.m. on ESPNCody Kessler has 36 touchdowns and just two interceptions for the Trojans, the latest in a rich quarterback lineage for USC.Monday, December 29Liberty Bowl: Texas A&M vs. West Virginia (even), 2 p.m. on ESPNBoth of these teams are in the top 12 in passing yards per game with more than 300 apiece.Russell Athletic Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Clemson, 5:30 p.m. on ESPNThis is arguably the best matchup outside of the New Years Day six. Clemson has a stiflingdefense, while the Sooners average nearly 40 points per game.Texas Bowl: Arkansas (-5) vs. Texas, 9 p.m. on ESPNA fun matchup in Texas, but not a good one with both squads supplying just 6-6 regular season records.Tuesday, December 30Music City Bowl: Notre Dame vs. LSU (-7.5), 3 p.m. on ESPNBoth of these teams were ranked in the top 10 at some point this season before falling apart during the stretch run.Belk Bowl: Georgia (-7) vs. Louisville, 6:30 p.m. on ESPNThese two teams have never met, but the Bulldogs and their 41.7 points per game make them a big favorite in Charlotte.Foster Farms Bowl: Maryland vs. Stanford (-13), 10 p.m. on ESPNStanford has the home-field advantage, playing just 20 minutes from campus at Levi's Stadium.Wednesday, December 31Peach Bowl: Mississippi vs. TCU (-3), 12:30 p.m. on ESPNTCU was left out of the playoff picture and will have to settle with a pretty good matchup againstoverachieving Ole Miss.Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Arizona (-3.5), 4 p.m. on ESPNBoise State is back in the Fiesta Bowl, site of their legendary 2007 victory.Orange Bowl: Mississippi State (-7) vs. Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. on ESPNBoth of these teams have followed similar paths, improving from seven wins last season to 10 each this season -- and into a marquee bowl game.Thursday, January 1Outback Bowl: Auburn (-5.5) vs. Wisconsin, 12 p.m. on ESPN2Watch out for Wisconsin Heisman candidate Melvin Gordon against Auburn's Cameron Artis-Payne, the SEC's leading rusher.Cotton Bowl: Michigan State vs. Baylor (-3), 12:30 p.m. on ESPNThe No. 5 Bears are not happy to be out of the playoff and will surely unleash their wrath against the Big 10's Michigan State.Citrus Bowl: Missouri (-6.5) vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m. on ABCThe run-heavy Minnesota offense will vie with the top defensive line in the SEC.Rose Bowl Playoff Semifinal: Florida State vs. Oregon (-9.5), 5 p.m. on ESPNFlorida State has won 29 games in a row, and their leader --last year's Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston -- will face off against this year's favorite, Marcus Mariota in a dream matchup in Pasadena.Sugar Bowl Playoff Semifinal: Ohio State vs. Alabama (-10), 8:30 p.m. on ESPNNick Sabanand Urban Meyer meet again -- their two most recent meetings were in the 2008 and 2009 SEC title games. Ohio State has its hands full with a third string quarterback against the Tide's defense (allowing just 16.76 points per game).Friday, January 2Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs Pittsburgh (-2), 12 p.m. on ESPNHouston's Efram Oliphant has 129 tackles, 10th in the country, and he could be a thorn in the Panthers' side.TaxSlayerBowl: Iowa vs. Tennessee (-3), 3:20 p.m. on ESPNTwo inconsistent teams face off in Jacksonville, each needing to stop the run to prevail.Alamo Bowl: Kansas State (-2.5) vs. UCLA, 6:45 p.m. on ESPNThe Bruins saw their Pac-12 South hopes wither in a loss to Stanford, but they can end their season with double digit wins if they can slow down Kansas State and quarterback Jake Waters.Cactus Bowl: Washington (-5) vs. Oklahoma State, 10:15 p.m. on ESPNThe Cowboys won five straight early and then lose five straight late. It's anyones guess which Oklahoma State squad will show up against Washington's potent pass rush.Saturday, January 3Birmingham Bowl: East Carolina vs. Florida (-7), 12 p.m. on ESPNFlorida will have to keep Shane Carden(4,309 passing yards) and the nation's No. 2 passing attack under wraps to win this one.Sunday, January 4GoDaddy.com Bowl: Toledo (-1) vs. Arkansas State, 9 p.m. on ESPNThe teams in this matchup average a combined 70 points per game. There coule be fireworks in Mobile, Alabama.
