FRIDAY’S BOWL GAMES

GATOR BOWL

Teams: No. 20 Wake Forest (10-3) vs. Rutgers (5-7). Time/TV: 10 a.m.; ESPN.

Notable: Wake Forest is trying to win 11 games for just the second time in the program’s 114-year history. The Demon Deacons previously accomplished the feat in 2006, when then-coach Jim Grobe led them to an 11th victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Rutgers is making its first bowl appearance since 2014 and is doing so on short notice. The Scarlet Knights were a late substitution for Texas A&M, which pulled out because of a lack of available players because of injuries, opt-outs, transfers and COVID-19 issues.

Key matchup: Wake Forest’s high-scoring offense vs Rutgers’ defense. The Demon Deacons average a schoolrecord 41.9 points, second in the ACC and fifth in the nation. Sam Hartman has thrown for 3,924 yards and 36 touchdown this season. Rutgers, whose defense ranks 20th in the nation, might have a hard time slowing them down with less than a week to prepare.

SUN BOWL

Teams: Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Washington State (7-5).

Time/TV: 11 a.m.; CBS.

Notable: Central Michigan’s trip west has turned wild, and the Chippewas still have the goal of winning a bowl game. It’s just a different bowl game. The team was already in Tucson, Ariz., when Boise State bowed out of the Arizona Bowl because of COVID-19 issues. Miami did the same with the Sun Bowl, so the Chippewas agreed to switch to the game four hours away in El Paso.

Key matchup: Washington State QB Jayden de Laura vs. Central Michigan pass defense. The freshman is averaging 250 yards passing per game with 23 TDs. The Chippewas allow an average of 266 passing yards per game.