It would be sort of logical to have the games be in time Zone order..... i.e. have the games on the east coast start earlier in the day, and the game on the West Coast start later in the day.

BUT, didn't the Rose Bowl makes a fuss at one point about "having to have their traditional afternoon kickoff time slot"?

Were the times picked BEFORE the teams (i.e. Rose Bowl has to be a particular time) ... or were the times picked AFTER the teams, and ESPN wanted Georgia in the Night Slot?