Today’s bowl games
BIRMINGHAM BOWL No. 20 Houston (11-2) vs. Auburn (6-6) Noon, ESPN
KEY MATCHUP
Auburn’s offensive line, which is minus three starters, against a defensive line nicknamed “Sack Ave”.
The Cougars rank fifth nationally in sacks per game (3.38) and had seven sacks and 14 tackles for loss in the regularseason finale at UConn. Twelve different defensive linemen have recorded sacks, led by D’Anthony Jones (seven) and Logan Hall (6 ½).
FIRST RESPONDER BOWL Air Force (9-3) vs. Louisville (6-6) 3:15 p.m., ESPN
KEY MATCHUP
Louisville’s rushing defense against Air Force’s NCAAbest rushing offense that didn’t throw a pass in its last
game. The Falcons had 511 total yards against UNLV while not attempting a pass for the first time in a game since 2012. They run for nearly 341 yards game and have 42 rushing TDs. The Cardinals allowed 545 yards rushing, and nearly 6.9 yards per carry, in their last two games — a 40-point win at Duke and a 31-point loss to in-state rival Kentucky.
LIBERTY BOWL
Mississippi St. (7-5) vs Texas Tech (6-6) 6:45 p.m., ESPN
TOP PLAYERS
Mississippi St: Quarterback Will Rogers, just a sophomore, leads the country in completions and completion percentage and ranks second in passing yardage.
Texas Tech: Placekicker Jonathan Garibay is the team’s lone first-team All-Big 12 conference player. He made 13 of 14 field goals, including an FBS-record 62-yarder as time expired to beat Iowa State on Nov. 13.
HOLIDAY BOWL UCLA (8-4) vs. No. 18 NC State (9-3) 8 p.m., FOX
KEY MATCHUP
NC State record-setting QB Devin Leary against
UCLA’s defense. Leary threw four TD passes in the regularseason finale against UNC to give him 35, breaking the school single-season record of 34 by Philip Rivers in 2003. Leary has distributed those 35 TD passes to nine different players, and has completed passes to 17 players overall, 18 if counting the tipped pass guard Derrick Eason caught against Louisville.
GUARANTEED RATE BOWL West Virginia (6-6) vs. Minnesota (8-4) 10:15 p.m., ESPN
KEY MATCHUP
West Virginia RB Tony Mathis against Minnesota’s run
defense. The Gophers are fourth nationally in total defense and ninth against the run, holding teams to 100 yards per game. Mathis became the Mountaineers’ featured runner after leading rusher Leddie Brown opted out of the bowl to prepare for the NFL draft. Mathis saw limited action behind Brown, rushing for 356 yards on 59 carries.