Top 5 Non-College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six Bowl Games

Every year there are far more great teams than New Year’s Six bowl slots. Which games outside the College Football Playoff put together the best showdowns?

The beauty of college football is that, even now that we have a playoff system, there will always be more quality teams than slots available. Even with the affiliated New Year’s Six games providing more opportunities for the top programs to be rewarded with high-profile opponents, there always seem to be some games that end up outshining what the College Football Playoff selection committee conjures up for the preeminent part of the postseason calendar.

Everyone already knows the importance of the Peach and Fiesta Bowls this season, and the rest of the New Year’s Six games are sure to draw solid audiences thanks to the extended New Year’s schedule. But which other bowl games do you want to make sure not to miss this year? Click through to see our choice for the five best games of the 2016-2017 postseason that fall outside the College Football Playoff-affiliated contests.

NOTE: All rankings are from the final College Football Playoff rankings released December 4.