COLLEGE FOOTBALL
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Boston College (7-5) vs. Boise State (10-3) Time, TV: 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN
Site: Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Reasons to watch
Yeah, the Mountain West champion goes to the Las Vegas Bowl, but don’t be stunned if this turns into a better game than Fresno State vs. Arizona State.
Boise State has the veterans and the talent to make this as physical and efficient as it needs to be, and Boston College — helped, maybe, by the stability of locking up coach Steve Addazio to a contract extension — always brings the effort. This won’t be some smug Power Five team that thinks it can beat the Group of Fiver simply by getting off the bus.
Boise State is a fantastic program that’s strong in bowl games and is going to really, really care. If the Boise State-level team that showed up in the Las Vegas Bowl win over Oregon last year makes the trip to Dallas, look out.
Yeah, Boston College lost to Clemson and dropped the next two games to close out with a thud. However, the time off before the bowl should do wonders for a banged-up backfield that just wasn’t the same over the second half of the season. Players to watch
QB Brett Rypien, Boise State: Already with 13,578 passing yards, the brilliant four-year starter is 41 yards away from finishing 11th all time in college football history. He has hit the 300-yard mark seven times with 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions this season.
RB AJ Dillon, Boston College: The workhorse has taken a pounding. He suffered an ankle injury in midseason and wasn’t quite right afterward. Even so, he ran for 1,108 yards and 10 touchdowns, and now he’s been able to rest and heal.
Quick Lane Bowl
Minnesota (6-6) vs. Georgia Tech (7-5) Time, TV: 5:15 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN
Site: Ford Field, Detroit
Reasons to watch
It’s the final game in the terrific career of Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, and it’s the final game of the amazing option offense that leads the nation in rushing. Temple head man Geoff Collins is on the way, but Johnson gets one more shot to crank up the deadly attack that’s been unstoppable at times over the second half of the season.
If you don’t like this bowl game or if you have some place to be, don’t worry — this will be over in a hurry. It’s not that these two don’t, won’t or can’t throw, but the main mode of transportation should be on the ground in what should be among the fastest of the bowl games. If these two rushing attacks operate like they should, the pace should be quick.
For those of you into historical firsts, Minnesota and Georgia Tech have never played each other before. To take this further, this the first time Minnesota has ever played a team from Georgia. To get even more obscure, this is the first time Georgia Tech has played a game in the state of Michigan since beating Michigan State 21-16 in 1972. Players to watch
QB TaQuon Marshall, Georgia Tech: Amazing when he was healthy, he blasted through Louisville for 175 yards and South Florida for 113 as part of a huge first half of the season. He missed time in the middle of the year, but he came back to finish with 897 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s not Drew Brees when throwing the ball, completing 44% of his passes, but he can hit the occasional deep ball to open things up.
LB Carter Coughlin, Minnesota: The hybrid outside linebacker/pass rusher, quick and with a relentless motor, was good against the run, but he was great at getting behind the line with 91⁄ sacks and 15 tackles 2 for loss.
Cheez-It Bowl
California (7-5) vs. TCU (6-6) Time, TV: 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN
Site: Chase Field, Phoenix
Reasons to watch
For those who despised the wild-and-crazy offensive shootouts such as the Chiefs-Rams or Oklahoma against, well, everyone, this is for you. It will be partly about the bad offenses, but the defenses are terrific in what should be a close dogfight. Both programs worked hard to get here.
Going bowling isn’t a normal thing for Cal. This is the first trip under head coach Justin Wilcox and just the second since Jeff Tedford took the program to the 2011 Holiday. With a stunning defensive performance against Southern California and cementing the bowl berth with a win over Colorado, it’s been a breakthrough season.
TCU could’ve quit, probably should’ve quit and didn’t quit. The season went into the tank after injuries and close losses led to a run of five losses in six games, but the Horned Frogs fought through game after game to go 3-1 in November to get bowl eligible. Players to watch
RB Patrick Laird, California: It was hard to find too much room to move with no one respecting the Golden Bears’ passing game, but he was able to pound out a team-high 932 yards and five touchdowns. If he’s averaging more than 5 yards per carry, he’ll be doing his job against the stingy TCU run defense.
WR Jalen Reagor, TCU: He had a team-high 72 catches for 1,061 yards and nine touchdowns, scoring at least once in each of the last seven games for a team that struggled to get 17 points. He also ran for two scores — with 121 yards vs. Oklahoma State — in the last two games.