Florida college football team bowl destinations, local bowl games roundup

For the first time since 2010, all five major Florida college football teams are heading to bowl games.

Four of those teams will compete without having to leave the state.

No. 17 Florida (8-4) will face Iowa (8-4) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on January 2. The Gators stumbled at the end of the season for the second-straight year, suffering lopsided defeats to Florida State and Alabama. Conversely, the Hawkeyes seem to be peaking. Iowa is coming off three-straight wins, including victories over Michigan (who was ranked No. 3 at the time) and Nebraska.

One of the marquee matchups outside of the College Football Playoff will take place in south Florida in the Orange Bowl, with No. 11 Florida State (9-3) taking on No. 6 Michigan (10-2). The Wolverines lost two games all season, both on the road, by a total of four points. The Seminoles rattled off four-straight wins to reach a top-tier bowl game for the fifth-straight season. The December 30 game will mark the 10th time that Florida State will play in the Orange Bowl.

USF will look to build on its program-record 10-win season when the Bulls (10-2) take on South Carolina (6-6) out of the SEC in the Birmingham (AL) Bowl on December 29. Willie Taggart's high-powered offense was held under 35 points only one time all season, led by the junior tandem of quarterback Quinton Flowers and running back Marlon Mack. Will Muschamp's Gamecocks overcame a 2-4 start to reach the six-win mark for bowl eligibility.

Two area teams will be bowling in Orlando. UCF (6-6) rebounded nicely from a winless season in 2015 to return to the postseason. The Knights will make the short journey to Camping World Stadium for one of the season's first bowl games -- the Cure Bowl on December 17, to face Sun Belt Conference co-champion Arkansas State (7-5). The Red Wolves had a six-game winning streak during the season after beginning 0-4.

On December 28 in Orlando, the Miami Hurricanes (8-4) will make the trip up the Turnpike north to face No. 16 West Virginia (10-2) in the Russell Athletic Bowl at Camping World Stadium. The Hurricanes did things in fours in Mark Richt's first season at the helm -- Miami won their first four contests, then lost four-straight, and finished the season by winning four in-a-row. A win over the Mountaineers would be the Canes' most-impressive win of the season, as their only win over a Top 25 team was a 51-28 triumph over No. 23 Pittsburgh. WVU's only losses this season were to Big 12 titans Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

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