TODAY’S BOWL GAMES
NO. 7 OHIO STATE (11-1) VS. NO. 8 NOTRE DAME (12-2) 1 P.M. ET (ESPN)
Line: Oho State by 6.
Series record: Ohio State leads 3-2.
WHAT’S AT STAKE Two teams that were in the mix for a College Football Playoff late in the season try to close on a winning note. With numerous potential NFL players on both rosters, it could be one of the most exciting games of the bowl season.
KEY MATCHUP
Ohio State DE Joey Bosa vs. Notre Dame T Ronnie Stanley. The Buckeyes like to move Bosa around, so he won’t be going head to head with Stanley on every play, but pay attention when they do. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said on Thursday that Bosa will skip his senior season and declare for the NFL draft, where he has been projected as the No. 1 pick in some mock drafts. Stanley is an athletic 6-foot-5, 315 pounder who could be a top-10 pick.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oho State: RB Ezekiel Elliott. The junior will be playing his last game for the Buckeyes after announcing he will skip his senior year and declare for the NFL draft. He had a superb final season, rushing for 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns, and will want to go out with a bang in the Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame: WR Will Fuller. A second-team All-American, Fuller is Notre Dame’s most explosive player. The speedy junior averaged 20.5 yards per catch this season, finishing with 1,145 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had seven TD catches of at least 45 yards.
STANFORD (11-2) VS. IOWA (12-1), 5 P.M. (ESPN)
Line: Stanford by 6 1⁄2.
Series Record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE The 102nd edition of the Granddaddy of Them All matches the two schools that barely missed out on the College Football Playoff. Iowa hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl in 25 years, while Stanford is in Pasadena for the third time in four postseasons.
KEY MATCHUP
Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Iowa LBs Josey Jewell and Cole Fisher. The Heisman Trophy finalist was Stanford’s leading rusher and receiver while gaining more total yards in a single season than anybody in college football history. The task of slowing down McCaffrey will fall heavily on Jewell and Fisher, the top two tacklers on an Iowa defense yielding just 114.9 yards rushing per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Stanford: LB Blake Martinez. The Pac-12’s leading tackler is the foundation of the Cardinal’s defense. Although this is his third Rose Bowl, he is eager to go out with a game to remember after making just one tackle in his first two appearances. Iowa: QB C.J. Beathard. His perfect record as a starter ended in the Big Ten title game, but the resilient junior with just one interception since mid-October has a chance at more history in Pasadena. From Chuck Long to Ricky Stanzi, no Hawkeyes quarterback has won the Rose Bowl since Heisman Trophy runner-up Randy Duncan in 1959.
NO. 13 OKLAHOMA STATE (10-2) VS. NO. 16 MISSISSIPPI (9-3), 7:30 P.M. (ESPN)
Line: Ole Miss by 7½.
Series Record: Ole Miss leads 2-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE Ole Miss (No. 12 CFP) wants to prove that it’s one of the better teams in the country following an up-and-down regular season full of impressive wins and head-scratching losses. The Rebels would also like to show that last year’s embarrassing Peach Bowl trip — a 42-3 loss to TCU — was a fluke. Oklahoma State (No. 16 CFP) is trying to look more like the team that won 10 straight games to start the season than the one that lost its final two contests of the regular season to Baylor and Oklahoma.
KEY MATCHUP
Ole Miss LT Laremy Tunsil vs. Oklahoma State DE Emmanuel Ogbah. This should be an intriguing battle between players who have a chance to go in the first round of the NFL draft this spring. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Tunsil has been terrific protecting QB Chad Kelly’s blind side over the past five games since returning from a 7-game NCAA suspension. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Ogbah is a disruptive player on the Cowboys’ defensive line that is the NCAA’s active career leader in sacks with 28.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ole Miss: QB Chad Kelly has thrown for 3,740 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season, generally improving as the year has progressed. He’s also run for 427 yards and 10 touchdowns. Oklahoma State: WR James Washington is the Cowboys’ major deep threat. He’s caught 52 passes for 1,077 yards and 10 touchdowns and averages nearly 21 yards per catch.