College football schedule, Dec. 17: Times, TV coverage, and live stream info for bowls and more

The first day of bowl season is upon us, and the day’s schedule includes a number of teams that rank among the most entertaining in the nation. There are five games stretching from just after lunch to well into the night, so settle in for a long day of meaningless, yet what should hopefully be fun football.

Here’s the schedule for Saturday.

Celebration Bowl
NC Central vs. Grambling State
Noon ET, ABC (WatchESPN)

New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico vs. UTSA
2 p.m. ET, ESPN (WatchESPN)

Las Vegas Bowl
Houston vs. San Diego State
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC (WatchESPN)

Division II national title game
Northwest Missouri State vs. North Alabama
4 p.m. ET, ESPN2. (WatchESPN)

Camellia Bowl
Appalachian State vs. Toledo
5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN (WatchESPN)

Cure Bowl
UCF vs. Arkansas State
5:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN (CBS Sports)

FCS playoff semifinal*
Youngstown State at Eastern Washington
6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU (WatchESPN)

New Orleans Bowl
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Southern Miss
9 p.m. ET, ESPN (WatchESPN)

* The winner gets James Madison, fresh off an upset of North Dakota State, in the upcoming FCS national title game.

The New Mexico Bowl has seen some high-scoring shootouts in recent years. This game may not be one of them, but at least tune in to watch New Mexico, one of the best rushing teams in the country. That’s the first FBS game, though the excellent Celebration Bowl comes before it by a few hours.

The Las Vegas Bowl is next up at 3:30 p.m. ET, and includes a two of the best mid-major programs in the country this year in Houston and San Diego State. Who knows how Houston will respond now that Tom Herman is the head coach at Texas, but they’ll have their hands full regardless with the Aztecs and running back Donnel Pumphrey.

The Camellia Bowl is a matchup of nine-win teams. Toledo finished second in the MAC West behind undefeated Western Michigan, and Appalachian State earned a share of the Sun Belt title along with Arkansas State. This isn’t a bowl with a lot of history or shine to it, but this has the makings of a very good game.

The Cure Bowl will feature the other Sun Belt co-champion, Arkansas State, which takes on UCF. The Knights are staying home for this game, which is one of the rare bowl games to exist outside the ESPN orbit. If you get CBS Sports Network, give it a look.

The last game of the night should be in front of a raucous crowd in the Superdome between Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Miss. Both schools are only a short drive to New Orleans, and the fans should be in fine form after having all day to get ready for the 8 p.m. local kick.