TODAY’S BOWL GAMES
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
NORTH CAROLINA (6-6) VS. SOUTH CAROLINA (6-6) WHEN 10:30 a.m. (ESPN)
LINE North Carolina by 10 SERIES RECORD North Carolina leads 35-19-4.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Border state bragging rights — and a mayonnaise bath for the winning head coach. North Carolina’s Mack Brown and South Carolina’s Shane Beamer have agreed to have a mayonnaise bath — instead of the traditional Gatorade bath — if they win the game. By doing so, the winning coach will get $10,000 donated to their favorite charity.
KEY MATCHUP
North Carolina QB Sam Howell vs. South Carolina secondary: A projected first-round NFL Draft pick, Howell looks to wrap up his college career with a splash. Considered a dynamic passer with outstanding arm strength and mobility, Howell has thrown for 2,851 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions this season, while rushing for a career-high 824 yards and 11 TDs. He’ll face a very good Gamecocks secondary that allowed just 179 yards passing per game and finished tied for 10th nationally with 15 interceptions.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
SOUTH CAROLINA RB Marshawn Lloyd. With leading rusher Zaquandre White not playing, the Gamecocks will turn to their top 2020 recruit Lloyd, giving them a better glimpse of their future at running back.
NORTH CAROLINA WR Josh Downs: He’s Howell’s favorite target, and finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 1,273 yards while hauling in eight TD passes.
FACTS & FIGURES
They two teams have faced off in Charlotte twice to start the season, with the two games decided by a total of eight points. South Carolina won 17-13 in 2015; North Carolina won 24-20 in 2019. … South Carolina is playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2018. … This is expected to be Howell’s last game before entering the NFL Draft, although he had not announced any decision. … North Carolina beat South Carolina 24-20 in the last meeting on on Aug. 31, 2019 behind a rally led by Howell. … This will be the Gamecocks’ final game before transfer QB Spencer Rattler arrives via Oklahoma and the transfer portal.
Music City Bowl
PURDUE (8-4)
VS. TENNESSEE (7-5) WHEN 2 p.m. (ESPN)
LINE Tennessee by 6
SERIES RECORD Purdue 1-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE Purdue needs a victory to finish with the Boilermakers’ most wins in a season since 2003. A ninth win would be only the 12th time in the Boilermakers’ 134-year history to win nine games in a season. Tennessee already has more than doubled the wins of a season ago. Coach Josh Heupel can become the sixth Volunteers’ coach all-time to win eight or more games in his debut season.
KEY MATCHUP
Tennessee’s up-tempo offense against Purdue’s defense. The Volunteers not only score fast, they have outscored opponents 169-44 in the first quarter this season. Purdue ranks 19th nationally allowing 20.5 points a game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
PURDUE QB Aidan O’Connell. The fifth-year senior led the Big Ten completing 73.5% of his passes and has completed 74% or better in seven straight games. O’Connell was at his best against top competition, averaging 433.7 yards, completing 75.3% of his passes and throwing nine TDs with no interceptions in games against Iowa, Michigan State and Ohio State.
TENNESSEE QB Hendon Hooker. The senior ranked third nationally and led the SEC with a 182.15 passer rating. He took over as the starter Sept. 18 and went 6-4 as a starter throwing 24 TD passes with only two interceptions. He had 2,866 yards of total offense completing 68.6% of his passes. He has 26 TD passes and five rushing TDs overall.
FACTS & FIGURES
Purdue won the only other game between these teams in the Bluebonnet Bowl 27-22 on Dec. 31, 1979. … This is Purdue’s second berth and Tennessee’s third trip to the Music City Bowl. The Boilermakers lost 63-14 to Auburn in 2018. Tennessee lost to North Carolina in double overtime in 2010 and beat Nebraska 38-24 in 2016. … Purdue is 10-9 in bowls all-time and third in Brohm’s five seasons. … Two of Purdue’s victories came over previously unbeaten No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan State, giving the Boilermakers two wins over Top Five teams for the first time since 1960.
Peach Bowl
NO. 12 PITT (11-2)
VS. NO. 10 MICHIGAN STATE (10-2) WHEN 6 p.m. (ESPN)
LINE Michigan State by 2 1/2 points SERIES RECORD Michigan State leads 6-0-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Coming off its first ACC championship, Pitt aims to become the second 12-win team in school history. The Panthers finished 12-0 in 1976 and won the national championship. Michigan State is looking for its sixth 11-win season and to cap a dramatic turnaround under second-year Coach Mel Tucker from a 2-5 pandemic-shortened 2020 finish.
KEY MATCHUP
Pitt WR Jordan Addison vs. Michigan State secondary: The Panthers won’t have QB Kenny Pickett, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting before opting out of the bowl game, but they have Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. Meanwhile, the Spartans rank last in the nation in pass defense, allowing 337.7 yards per game through the air. Addison leads the nation with 17 touchdown catches. Addison says he has confidence in Nick Patti, who will start for Pickett.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
MICHIGAN STATE QB Payton Thorne. Following the decision by RB Kenneth Walker to skip the game and prepare for the NFL draft, there will be more pressure on Thorne, a first-year starter. Thorne has passed for 2,886 yards and 24 touchdowns, one away from matching the Spartans’ season record of 25 by Kirk Cousins in 2011.
PITT Patti will be making only his second career start and his first since 2019. He saw only limited playing time this season, completing 12 of 14 passes for 140 yards. His only previous start came in a 17-14 win over Delaware on Sept. 28, 2019, when he completed 23 of 37 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The Peach Bowl will be the site of a College Football Playoff semifinal next season. … The teams last met on Sept. 15, 2007, when the Spartans took a 17-13 win. This is the first time the teams have played in a bowl. … Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi was Michigan State’s defensive coordinator from 2007-14. Narduzzi won the Broyles Award in 2013, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Las Vegas Bowl
ARIZONA STATE (8-4) VS. WISCONSIN (8-4) WHEN 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
LINE Wisconsin by 6
SERIES RECORD Arizona St. leads 3-1.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
After failing to live up to preseason expectations of playing for a conference title, the winner between the Sun Devils and Badgers will at least get to end 2021 on an upbeat note. Wisconsin’s loss to Minnesota in the season finale cost it a place in the Big Ten Championship Game and halted a seven-game winning streak. Arizona State’s Pac-12 championship aspirations were thwarted with a second-half implosion at Utah and a first-half no-show at Washington State the following week, but they responded by winning three of their last four.
KEY MATCHUP
Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen vs. Arizona State LB Kyle Soelle. It took a month for the freshman Allen to find himself before ripping off seven consecutive 100-yard games, totaling 1,013 yards and 11 touchdowns in that span to make his case for being the next great Badgers tailback. Soelle leads the Sun Devils with 82 tackles and was third on the team with 71/2 tackles for loss.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
ARIZONA STATE QB Jayden Daniels is a dynamic runner, as his 36 carries of 10-plus yards were the most in the Pac-12 regardless of position this season. With 1,000-yard rusher Rachaad White opting out, Daniels will have to use his legs to create against the stingiest run defense in the FBS. Wisconsin allowed just 65 yards per game on the ground and 2.14 yards per carry.
WISCONSIN LB Leo Chenal was a machine, amassing 106 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 7 sacks in 10 games. This could be his last college game.
FACTS & FIGURES
Wisconsin is playing in its 20th consecutive bowl game. That is the second-longest streak in Big Ten history, trailing Michigan’s 33-year run from 1975-2007. … Arizona State is the only FBS defense not to allow a play of 50 yards or longer this season. … This will be the first time the Las Vegas Bowl is held at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders and UNLV, after last year’s game was canceled because of the covid-19 pandemic. The game had been staged at Sam Boyd Stadium from 1992-2019.