Cotton Bowl moves up to Friday, Dec. 29, in primetime

Published Mar. 3, 2017 4:52 p.m. ET

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- The Cotton Bowl will be under Friday night lights.

Organizers say the game is moving to Friday night, Dec. 29, from Saturday, Dec. 30. The move will take advantage of a prime-time television audience that proved beneficial last season: The Orange Bowl was moved from an early afternoon kickoff on Dec. 31 to a prime-time start on Dec. 30 and ended up drawing big ratings.

The exact kick-off time for Cotton Bowl is pending. It had been scheduled to start Saturday afternoon as part of a tripleheader with the Fiesta and Orange bowls.

The College Football Playoff semifinals are back on New Year's Day this season in the Rose and Sugar bowls. The Peach Bowl will start the Jan. 1 tripleheader.