THURSDAY’S BOWL GAMES
MILITARY BOWL VIRGINIA (6-6) VS. NAVY (6-6) ESPN, 1:30 p.m.
FAMILIAR FOES: This will be the 40th meeting between the two schools, but the first since 1994. Though Navy leads the series 28-11, the Cavaliers have won five straight. A common thread in the rivalry is coach George Welsh, who guided Navy from 1973-81before spending 19 years at Virginia and becoming the school’s all-time leader in wins. Welsh won 55games at Navy, second on the career list behind current Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo.
STAND YOUR GROUND: Virginia’s task on defense will be to stop Navy’s triple option, the driving force behind the nation’s second-ranked rushing attack at 343 yards per game. Sophomore Malcolm Perry, who ran for 250yards and a touchdown against Army, will start at quarterback for Navy.
AIR BENKERT: Cavaliers QB Kurt Benkert has thrown for 25TDs and a school-record 3,062 yards, including a four-TD, 384-yard performance against Miami. The 6-foot-4 senior needs three TD passes to tie Matt Schaub for most in UVA history (28). Olamide Zaccheaus leads Virginia with 80 catches for 833 yards and five touchdowns. COACHING CONNECTION: When Bronco Mendenhall left Brigham Young for Virginia in 2015, Niumatalolo interviewed for the vacancy at BYU before deciding to stay at Navy. Niumatalolo’s son, Va’a, is a senior at BYU and played under Mendenhall for two seasons. “I know my son learned a lot from him and his staff,” Ken Niumatalolo said. “As a dad, I was very appreciative and grateful that my son got to play for someone like Bronco.”
CAMPING WORLD BOWL VIRGINIA TECH (9-3) VS. OKLAHOMA STATE (9-3) ESPN, 5:15 p.m.
SCORING POKES: Oklahoma State is the first Big 12 team to have a 4,000-yard passer (Mason Rudolph), a 1,000-yard rusher (Justice Hill) and two 1,000-yard receivers (James Washington and Marcell Ateman). Washington is this season’s Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s top receiver, with 69 catches for 1,423receiving yards and 12 TDs. He leads the nation with 17 catches for 30 yards or more, and he needs 68 yards for the school career receiving yards mark.
DEFENSIVE LEADERS: Virginia Tech is fifth in points allowed per game this season, along with second in third-down conversion defense and third in red zone defense. It also helps that the Hokies aren’t penalty-prone (4.6 per game as a team for 40 yards) and control the ball (averaging 32 minutes per game on offense). And no one runs it up on the Hokies; they allowed 31 points only once this season, while Oklahoma State scored at least 31 in 11 of its 12 games.
AT STAKE: Both teams are chasing a 10-win season, which would be a schoolrecord third straight for Oklahoma State and the second straight for Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Josh Jackson could become the first freshman in Blacksburg to win 10games as a starter since Michael Vick did in 1999.
ALAMO BOWL STANFORD (9-4) VS. TCU (10-3) ESPN, 9 p.m.
CARDINAL QB: The Stanford offense revolves around back Bryce Love. But if his ankle gives him problems again, that puts more pressure on the arm of redshirt freshman quarterback K.J. Costello. He’s a move-the-chains QB who averaged 174 yards passing with seven TDs and two interceptions over the last five games as Love was battling the ankle problem.
LONG RUN LOVE: If the ankle is in good shape, Love’s big-play ability is unmatched. Love had 12 runs of 50 yards or more, and 11 of them went for TDs.
SPEEDY TURPIN: The Horned Frogs’ most dangerous player might be do-it-all KaVontae Turpin, if they can get him the ball. Turpin has exceptional speed and his 38 catches rank second on the team. He also has 15 punt returns with one for a touchdown. Get Turpin in space and he can get to the end zone in a hurry.
EYES ON THE NFL: Stanford defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, the Cardinal’s leading tackler, hinted strongly he’ll be leaving the program for the NFL after the bowl, and could make a big statement for scouts with a big game.. Phillips has 100 tackles, and also leads the defense in sacks (7 ½) and tackles for loss (17).
HOLIDAY BOWL WASHINGTON STATE (9-3) VS. MICHIGAN STATE (9-3) FS1, 9 p.m.
FALK: Luke Falk, Washington State’s senior QB, who threw for 3,593 yards and 30 TDs, was photographed Tuesday with a cast on his non-throwing left wrist. During an appearance later that day, Falk was careful to keep the wrist out of view. In last year’s Holiday Bowl, Falk was held to 264 yards — 86 below his average — on 30-of-51 passing.
TURNAROUND SEASON: The Spartans have gone from playing in the national championship semifinal in 2015 to 3-9 last season to 9-3 this season. So it was an emotional moment when the seniors went through their final practice this week. “I think any time you take the jersey off for the last time or practice with your teammates you start to go through emotions, you’ve got to get closure,” coach Mark Dantonio said. MILESTONES IN REACH: Dantonio is 99-45(.688) in 11seasons as Spartans coach. A victory in the Holiday Bowl would make him the eighth active FBS coach with 100 wins at his current school. MSU is looking for double-digit wins for the eighth time. DUAL THREAT: MSU sophomore QB Brian Lewerke threw for 2,580 yards and 17 touchdowns against seven interceptions, and ran for 486 yards and five touchdowns.