The tumultuous year that has been 2020 is finally over, and if that isn't enough reason to celebrate, college football fans will get to kick off the new year with a great slate of games on Friday.
There are four bowl games scheduled for Jan. 1, including both College Football Playoff Semi-Final games, with No. 1 Alabama facing No. 4 Notre Dame at 4 p.m. and No. 2 Clemson facing No. 3 Ohio State at 8 p.m. to cap off the evening.
Fans will also get to see undefeated No. 8 Cincinnati go up against No. 9 Georgia in the Peach Bowl at noon, along with No. 14 Northwestern vs. Auburn at 1 p.m. as a precursor to the CFP games.
Here's a guide to everything you need to know to watch the college football bowl schedule for Friday, including TV channels and start times for the New Year's Day games.
MORE: Watch college football games live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
New Year's Day schedule: What games are on today?
Here's the full schedule for Friday's college football bowl games, plus final scores and how to watch every game live.
Friday, Jan. 1
(College Football Playoff games in bold)
| Bowl | Time (ET) | TV channel |
| Peach: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Georgia | 12 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV |
| Citrus: No. 14 Northwestern vs. Auburn | 1 p.m. | ABC, fuboTV |
| Rose: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame | 4 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV |
| Sugar: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State | 8 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV |
Cincinnati vs. Georgia
Cincinnati (9-0) didn't receive much love from the CFP selection committee despite finishing the regular season with a perfect record. The Bearcats aren't getting much love from oddsmakers either, as Georgia (7-2) is currently a 6.5-point favorite. That's probably fair as the Bulldogs' only losses came to No. 1 Alabama and No. 7 Florida. Still, don't count out Cincinnati QB Desmond Ritter to make things interesting. Ritter is a true dual threat QB with 17 passing TDs and 12 rushing TDs on the season. Georgia will be without cornerback Eric Stokes, who is opting out of the game and declaring for the NFL Draft; still playing for the Bulldogs, however, will be outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, who leads the team with 5.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.
Northwestern vs. Auburn
Not many could have predicted this kind of turnaround for Northwestern (6-2), except perhaps for head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The Wildcats went 3-9 last year, and at his end-of-season press conference, Fitzgerald said his team would turn things around and play for a Big Ten Championship. Lo and behold, Northwestern won the Big Ten West and gave Ohio State a run for its money in the Big Ten Championship game before ultimately falling 22-10. It may be a shock to some that the Wildcats are 3.5-point favorites over Auburn (6-4), but to put things in perspective, the Tigers just fired head coach Guz Malzahn. Kevin Steele will be interim coach for the game, but he won't even get a chance to make his case for next season as Auburn has already hired Boise State's Bryan Harsin.
Alabama vs. Notre Dame
Perhaps no team in the country has seen a more precipitous fall in confidence than Notre Dame (10-1). The Irish went into the ACC Championship game as one of the favorites to win this year's CFP championship, and now, following their 34-10 beatdown at the hands of Clemson, they're a 19.5-point underdog in the CFP Semi-Final against No. 1 Alabama (11-0). The Crimson Tide are led by a powerful offensive triumvirate of quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Jones and Smith are both Heisman finalists. If Notre Dame has any shot at winning, dual-threat senior QB Ian Book will need to find his mojo again on offense, because no one is keeping Alabama from putting up points.
Clemson vs. Ohio State
This one should have all of the drama: No. 2 Clemson (10-1) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0). Both coaches have made headlines for their comments towards each other; Dabo Swinney said he ranked the Buckeyes 11th in the Coaches' Poll because they haven't played enough games, while Ryan Day said to players in his postgame speech following the Big Ten Championship that he doesn't care if OSU plays Clemson, Notre Dame or Alabma: "We're gonna f—ing beat their ass." Lest we forget last year's semfinal in which Clemson came back from down 16-0 to win, thanks in part to a questionable targeting call that ejected Ohio State's Sean Wade. Clemson is a 6.5-point favorite to beat Ohio State again and get back to the CFP Final.
How to watch, live stream college football bowl games
The New Year's Day bowl games will be broadcast live on national TV, with games appearing on ESPN and ABC. Live streaming options include WatchESPN, and fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.
College football scores
| Game |
| No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Georgia |
| No. 14 Northwestern vs. Auburn |
| No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Notre Dame |
| No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State |