College football TV schedule and open thread: Friday and Saturday bowl games

The post-Christmas college football bowl slate is starting to heat up, with several games taking place today and tomorrow before New Year’s brings more top match-ups and the playoff games.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday this past week, and that that continues into this weekend. I have the flu, so the previews below are a bit more abbreviated than usual. You’ll still find the full Friday and Saturday viewing schedules below.

Friday, December 29

Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M (1:00 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): Charlotte’s Belk Bowl features the interim coached Aggies and the Demon Deacons, two teams sporting 7-5 overall records. Both have shown some potency on offense this season, while also struggling at times on defense.

NC State vs. Arizona State (3:00 p.m., CBS): The No. 24 Wolfpack meet the Sun Devils in El Paso for the Hyundai Sun Bowl. Both of these teams have competent quarterbacks, decent passing attacks, and solid pass rushes. Arizona State is still being coached in this bowl by Todd Graham, despite Graham being let go and Herm Edwards being hired.

Kentucky vs. Northwestern (4:30 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): The Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl pits two teams of Wildcats against one another in Nashville. This will be just the second all-time meeting between these two teams, with the first coming in 1928.

New Mexico State vs. Utah State (5:30 p.m., CBSSN): Here’s another bowl setting two like-named teams against one another. These two sets of Aggies meet in the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl, which is a rematch of the 1960 Sun Bowl — which also happens to be the last time that New Mexico State appeared in a bowl game. Those Aggies have ended the nation’s longest postseason drought, and would love to cap that accomplishment off with a win.

USC vs. Ohio State (8:30 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): The Big Ten and Pac-12 champions meet in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. This is the eighth postseason meeting between the No. 8 Trojans and the No. 5 Buckeyes, but it is the first time that the two will play in a bowl game outside of the Rose Bowl.

Saturday, December 30

Louisville vs. Mississippi State (12:00 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): Dan Mullen’s former team takes on last year’s Heisman Trophy winner in Jacksonville at the Taxslayer Bowl. The No. 23 Bulldogs will be coached by running backs coach and special teams coordinator Greg Knox.

Iowa State at Memphis (12:30 p.m., ABC/WatchESPN): This is the first of two bowls on Saturday being played on one of the participant’s home field. The Autozone Liberty Bowl takes place at the home of the No. 20 Tigers, who will host the Cyclones in a bowl battle of two up and coming coaches whose names were brought up for almost every opening this season.

Washington vs. Penn State (4:00 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): Another of the New Year’s Six Bowl slate finds the No. 9 Nittany Lions and No. 11 Huskies in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl. Both teams finished the season with ten wins and this match-up could be one of the better ones outside of the playoff games. Penn State is 6-0 in their previous Fiesta Bowl appearances.

Wisconsin at Miami (8:00 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): The Capital One Orange Bowl features two conference runner-ups, the No. 6 Badgers and No. 10 Hurricanes. The ‘Canes literally have home field advantage, as the game is being played on their turf. However, Wisconsin fans travel well and Miami is not exactly known for having a full or raucous home crowd.

And here are your schedule tables.