BOWL CAPSULES
Outback Bowl: Penn State (7-5) vs. No. 22 Arkansas (8-4), noon (ESPN2)
Line: Arkansas by 2
Series: First meeting What’s at stake: Arkansas is coming off four consecutive seasons of four or fewer wins and looking for its first nine-win year since going 11-2 in 2011. Penn State hasn’t won a New Year’s Day bowl since beating LSU 19-17 in the 2010 Capital One Bowl. Sean Clifford is just one of three players in Penn State history to reach 8,000plus yards of total offense and one of three quarterbacks to reach 7,500 career passing yards.
Citrus Bowl: No. 17 Iowa (10-3) vs. No. 25 Kentucky (9-3), 1 p.m. (ABC-10)
Line: Kentucky by 3
Series: First meeting
What’s at stake: Kentucky is trying for a rare 10-win season. Since going 11-1 in 1950 under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, the Wildcats have only accomplished the feat twice (1977 and 2018). Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz (9-8) is seeking his 10th bowl victory, which would tie Joe Paterno for most bowl wins as a member of the Big Ten.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1) vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State (11-2), 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Line: Notre Dame by 1
Series: First meeting
What’s at stake: Two teams that just missed the College Football Playoff have a chance to end the season with a major bowl win. Notre Dame needed a bit of chaos in the final weekend of the regular season but didn’t get it, ending up fifth in the final rankings. Marcus Freeman will make his debut as head coach after being promoted following Brian Kelly’s departure to LSU. Oklahoma State ended up ninth in the final rankings after Dezmon Jackson’s reach for the end zone pylon in the closing seconds came up inches short in the Cowboys’ 21-16 loss to No. 9 Baylor in the Big 12 championship game.
Rose Bowl: No. 7 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 10 Utah (10-3), 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Line: Ohio State by 4
Series: Ohio State leads 1-0 What’s at stake: With the Utes making their first appearance and the Buckeyes back for the 16th time, ‘The Granddaddy of Them All’ returns home after last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal was relocated to Arlington, Texas, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trying to reach 11 wins for the ninth time in 10 years, Ohio State will have to shake off the disappointment of a rivalry loss to Michigan that prevented the Buckeyes from playing for the Big Ten title and a spot in the final four. Motivation is not in question for Utah, which expects to have 60,000 fans in attendance on New Year’s Day and has been driven by the memory of deceased teammates Aaron Lowe and Ty Jordan.
Sugar Bowl: No. 6 Baylor (11-2, Big 12) vs. No. 8 Mississippi (10-2, SEC), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Line: Mississippi by 11⁄2 Series: Baylor leads 1-0 What’s at stake: Possibly a top-10 ranking and conference pride. Baylor is the Big 12 champion and is matched up with the third-highest ranked SEC team because the top two — Alabama and Georgia — both received bids to the four-team College Football Playoff. Ole Miss also has a chance to win 11 games in a season for the first time.