Jackson Free Press

If you were holding off on watching bowl games until the main course, this is the post you were waiting to read. This features the steak of New Year’s Six games and filet mignon of playoff games for you to devour as 2016 ends and 2017 begins.

Things get going with a dream matchup in the Orange Bowl, which kicks off Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The Orange Bowl features traditional college football powers the University of Michigan against Florida State University.

How long has it been since the Wolverines were in the Orange Bowl? The last time was 1999 when some guy named Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes, and the team beat the University of Alabama.

Florida State is making its second appearance in the Orange Bowl this season after beating the University of Miami in Florida earlier in the year. This is the Seminoles’ 10th trip to the Orange Bowl.

Heisman Trophy finalist Jabrill Peppers does a little bit of everything on defense, offense and special teams for the Wolverines. The Seminoles feature running back Dalvin Cook, who is a threat to take any run to the house.

Expect both teams’ quarterbacks to be under constant pressure. FSU leads the nation in sacks with 47, and Michigan is fourth with 44.

New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, features the two semifinals College Football Playoff games. Before the New Year rings in, we will know who is playing for a title on Jan. 9.

The semifinals begin with the University of Alabama against the University of Washington at 2 p.m. on ESPN in the Peach Bowl. Both teams should have plenty of motivation and have had plenty of time to prepare.

Alabama is one of two teams left in the country and has made it this far with freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts and one of the best defenses in college football history. Washington started the season ranked 14th in the Associated Press poll and 18th in the Coaches Poll but are the Pac-12 champions.

Both teams played against the University of Southern California during the regular season. The Crimson Tide overpowered the Trojans for a 52-6 win. USC gave the Huskies their only loss of the season in a 26-13 win.

Washington couldn’t handle USC’s defensive front, and Alabama’s defensive front is even better. That could lead to a lopsided game if the Huskies can’t block.

Hurts has been turnover-prone this season and could keep Washington in the game if he can’t hold on to the ball or if he throws interceptions. Alabama’s defense covers up a lot of his mistakes.

In the second playoff game, the University of Clemson faces Ohio State University at 6 p.m. on ESPN in the Fiesta Bowl. Both teams enter the game with one loss and again should be highly motivated.

NFL talent will be all over the field for both teams. The Tigers have quarterback Deshaun Watson …

This is the final guide to the bowl games that aren’t in the College Football Playoff or New Year’s Six games. These bowl games will mainly feature teams from Power Five conferences, but a few Group of Five teams are sprinkled in the mix.

This guide will take you from Thursday, Dec. 29, to Monday, Jan. 2. You can plan your New Year’s celebrations around the games you most want to see.

The Birmingham Bowl kicks off the games on Dec. 29 with the University of South Florida against the University of South Carolina. This game is a matchup between a Group of Five team and a Power Five team at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

South Carolina is rebuilding under first-year coach Will Muschamp, but the team still managed to reach a bowl game. South Florida won a school-record 10 games, but head coach Willie Taggart jumped ship to take over at the University of Oregon.

Both schools could be even better next season, and this game could set the tone for 2017. It would be a slight upset for a 6-6 SEC team to win against a 10-2 team from the AAC.

If you’re out getting after-Christmas sales and miss the Birmingham Bowl, make sure to be home in time to catch the Belk Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 on ESPN. This game will feature the University of Arkansas from the SEC against Virginia Tech out of the ACC.

The Razorbacks started the season 5-2 before stumbling to a 7-5 finish. Virginia Tech comes in this game at 9-4 after the Hokies gave Clemson University a scare in the ACC title game. Arkansas features the most sacked quarterback in the SEC, Austin Allen, who was put down 28 times. The Hokies hired Justin Fuente away from the University of Memphis, and he has done a fine job replacing coaching legend Frank Beamer.

The Dec. 29 games end with an 8 p.m. kickoff on ESPN for the Alamo Bowl in a top-15 matchup between No. 12 Oklahoma State University and No. 10 University of Colorado.

Colorado should be motivated coming into this game. The Buffaloes haven’t been to a bowl game since 2007, and the team hasn’t won a bowl game since 2004.

Oklahoma State enters this game with a chance to get to 10 wins. Colorado already has 10 on the season and played in the Pac-12 championship game.

This game will probably have a ton of points. Defense will be optional, and both teams have solid quarterbacks. Plan to stay up late, as with all the potential scoring, the game could run long.

If you are going to watch all the Dec. 30 college football games, be sure to have plenty of snacks and drinks on hand. The day starts with an 11 a.m. kickoff of the Liberty Bowl between the University of Georgia and Texas Christian University on ESPN.

In the preseason this game would …

It seems fitting that the final game of Mississippi State University’s 2016 football season came down to a special-teams play. One of the biggest question marks for this squad since the opening game was special teams.

MSU lost the first game of the season against the University of South Alabama due to a missed 28-yard field goal. There were other special-teams blunders along the way for the Bulldogs, so it made sense for the final play of the season to come down to a kick.

Late in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Monday, Dec. 26, the MSU Bulldogs, clinging to a 17-16 lead, watched Miami University from Ohio drive to their 20-yard line.

On third down and 20 yards, with 14 seconds left, the Miami RedHawks decided to try for a potential game-winning 37-yard field goal. It felt like the Bulldogs would end their season with the opposing team making a massive kick.

Instead, MSU defensive lineman Nelson Adams stuck his big paw into the air and blocked the field-goal attempt to seal the victory for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs ran out the final five seconds to finish off the game.

Adams’ block was the second in the game for the Bulldogs. MSU also blocked a Miami extra point after starting the game with a Christmas hangover.

Miami jumped out to a 3-0 lead on its first drive of the game and added to that lead with RedHawks quarterback Gus Ragland’s six-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. The RedHawks were up 9-0 after the initial blocked extra point, as the Bulldogs struggled to get going.

With 22 seconds left before halftime, MSU finally broke through with a touchdown on a two-yard run from quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to cut Miami’s lead to only two points at the break.

The RedHawks added to that lead with a third-quarter touchdown to go up 16-7 on the Bulldogs, but Mississippi State answered right back on its next drive to stay in the game as Fitzgerald made a 44-yard touchdown run. That touchdown cut the Miami lead to two points yet again late in the third quarter.

On the ensuing RedHawks drive, MSU corner Jamoral Graham picked off Ragland at the beginning of the fourth quarter, setting up Flowood, Miss.-native kicker Westin Graves to cap off a seven-play drive with a 36-yard field goal, taking the lead 17-16.

Graves’ field goal ended up being all the Bulldogs needed on offense to win the game. MSU’s defense played a solid game and kept the team in the running until the offense could get going.

The Bulldogs’ defense forced two turnovers, with senior linebacker Richie Brown forcing and recovering a fumble in the second quarter and Graham’s interception. The fumble helped to keep MSU alive, and the interception helped to win the game.

Fitzgerald struggled in passing, going 13 for 26 on throws for 136 …