An illustrated guide to college football's New Year's Six bowl games

ByCHRIS MORRIS
December 26, 2016, 9:51 AM

— -- Is Alabama unbeatable (again)?

Can Clemson get back to the national title game -- and win it this time?

Will undefeated Western Michigan knock off another Big Ten team?

So many questions remain for the 2016 college football season. But the New Year's Six bowl lineup ought to go a long way toward answering the most pressing ones.

Here's all the info you need to know, starting with the College Football Playoff.

Dec. 31

College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Alabama is two playoff wins away from a fifth national title in eight years, but the Crimson Tide must get past the Pac-12's best team, the Huskies, in the Peach Bowl.

Game info

No. 4 Washington vs. No. 1 Alabama

3 p.m. ET, ESPN

Georgia Dome, Atlanta

College Football Playoff semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

The Buckeyes take on the Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl. But nobody knows how to beat Urban Meyer in a big postseason game, right? Wrong. Only two coaches have knocked off a Meyer bowl team -- Lloyd Carr and Dabo Swinney. So can Dabo become the first to do it twice?

Game info

No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Clemson

7 p.m. ET, ESPN

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Dec. 30

Capital One Orange Bowl

The last time Michigan played in an Orange Bowl, it was 1999, and Tom Brady was under center. Now the Wolverines will need quarterback Wilton Speight to play big against the Seminoles -- or else end 2016 with three losses in their final four games after a 9-0 start.?

Game info

No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Florida State

8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida

Jan. 2

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Something's gotta give in the Cotton Bowl. The Badgers are going for their third consecutive bowl win, while the Broncos hope to build on last season's Bahamas Bowl victory, the program's first postseason win.?

Game info

No. 15 Western Michigan vs. No. 8 Wisconsin

1 p.m. ET, ESPN

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual

The Trojans and Nittany Lions were ecstatic to accept this Rose after rocky starts to their seasons. The stakes are huge: USC can win the Rose Bowl for the 25th time, adding to a college football record for most individual school wins in a single bowl game. And the Nittany Lions can get to 12 wins in a season for the first time since 1994.?

Game info

No. 9 USC vs. No. 5 Penn State

5 p.m. ET, ESPN

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Allstate Sugar Bowl

The Tigers will try to upset the rallying Sooners, winners of nine straight games to close out 2016. The two teams haven't met since the Sugar Bowl in 1971, when Oklahoma knocked off Auburn 40-22.

Game info

No. 14 Auburn vs. No. 7 Oklahoma

8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans