TODAY'S BOWL GAMES
CAMELIA BOWL
Georgia Southern (6-6) vs. Buffalo (6-6), 9 a.m., ESPN
Line: Georgia Southern by 4 1⁄2
Series record: First meeting
What to know: Simply put, the winner gets to finish with a winning record. They both battled their way into the postseason with down-tothe-wire victories to end the regular season and snap three-game losing streaks. Buffalo rebounded from an 0-3start. Georgia Southern became bowl eligible with a 51-48 doubleovertime victory over Appalachian State in the regular-season finale. The Bulls beat Akron 2322. The Eagles are under first-year coach Clay Helton, who is in his first year of coaching the Eagles and previously was at USC. Buffalo is led by second-year coach Maurice Linguist . ... Led by former Buffalo quarterback Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern is averaging 328 yards a game passing with 26touchdowns. The Bulls, meanwhile, are holding opponents to 216 yards a game through the air. Buffalo safety Marcus Fuqua leads the nation with seven interceptions, including a three-pick game against Toledo and two in the last game against Akron. He's a third-team AP All-American . ... Georgia Southern beat Nebraska 45-42 on Sept. 10 . ... The Eagles are 4-1against current MAC teams and Buffalo is 0-3against Sun Belt teams.
FIRST RESPONDER BOWL
Memphis (6-6) vs. Utah State (6-6), 12:15 p.m., ESPN
Line: Memphis by 7 1⁄2.
Series record: Memphis leads 4-3.
What to know: After both teams lost their regular-season finale, the bowl game played on SMU's campus will determine which finishes with a winning record – and which ends below .500. Memphis is bowl eligible for the ninth season in a row, the longest current streak by a Group of Five team. The Tigers will play their eighth bowl game in that stretch since last season's Hawaii Bowl was canceled due to COVID issues in the Hawaii program. Utah State is playing in its 10th bowl game in 12 seasons after only six bowls in its first 119seasons ... Memphis sophomore QB Seth Henigan against Utah State's defense. The Aggies are 25th nationally allowing only 198yards passing per game. Henigan has thrown for 3,275 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Only one of Utah State's opponents has thrown for more than 300yards, and six were held to 202or less. ... Memphis senior safety Quindell Johnson led the American Athletic Conference with four interceptions, along with four pass breakups and 73tackles . ... Utah State redshirt freshman safety Ike Larsen is the only player in the nation that has four interceptions, three blocked kicks and a defensive touchdown . ... Utah State rebounded from a 1-4start to get bowl eligible. Memphis began the season 4-1. … Memphis is ranked fifth in the nation for fewest penalties (48 overall, four per game). … The Aggies had to come from behind in five of their victories. … Utah State graduate senior OL Alfred Edwards is set to start his 53rd career game, which will break his tie with Tyler Larsen (2009-13) for the school record. Edwards will be only the third Aggies player ever to appear in four bowl games
BIRMINGHAM BOWL
Coastal Carolina (9-3) vs East Carolina (75), 3:45 p.m., ESPN
Line: East Carolina by 71⁄2.
Series record: First meeting.
What to know: Coastal Carolina is trying to reach double-digit wins for the third straight season and recover from two lopsided losses. East Carolina is trying to improve to 10-11in bowl games after snapping a two-game losing streak with a 49-46win over Temple. The Pirates are playing in their first bowl game since 2014. Last year's Military Bowl was canceled because of COVID-19 protocols within the Boston College program. The Chanticleers are trying to avoid their first three-game skid since suffering a pair of losses in 2019after falling 47-7to James Madison and 45-26to Troy in the Sun Belt Conference championship game. ... Two strong passing teams face porous pass defenses. East Carolina quarterback Holton Ahlers leads the nation's No. 16passing offense against a defense that is 124th in stopping the pass. Coastal Carolina is allowing 282yards a game through the air, which is 16 fewer than the Pirates are giving up. East Carolina is 131st in pass defense and has to contend with quarterback and three-time Sun Belt Conference player of the year Grayson McCall . ... Coastal Carolina's McCall is the only one to win the Sun Belt Conference player of the year title that many times and may be playing his final game for the Chanticleers. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 12. McCall ranks third nationally in passing efficiency . ... East Carolina RB Keaton Mitchell, a first-team All-AAC pick, has rushed for 1,325 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Had 222yards and four touchdowns against Temple . ... East Carolina posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2013-14 . ... Coastal Carolina wasted no time in hiring North Carolina State offensive coordinator Tim Beck to replace Jamey Chadwell, who left for Liberty. Chad Staggs was elevated from defensive coordinator to interim coach for the bowl game . ... The Chanticleers are 1-1 in bowl games and East Carolina is 9-11 . ... Coastal Carolina has gone 31-6over the past three seasons . ... Mitchell is the first Pirates player to earn first-team all-conference honors in multiple seasons since Justin Hardy (2012-14). ... East Carolina hasn't committed an offensive turnover in the last six games, the program's longest such streak.
GUARANTEED RATE BOWL
Wisconsin (6-6) vs Oklahoma State (7-5), 7:15 p.m., ESPN
Line: Wisconsin by 3 1⁄2.
Series record: First meeting.
What to know: Both programs are looking to finish strong and build momentum for next season after an up-and-down 2022. The Badgers fired coach Paul Chryst after a 2-3start, but beat Nebraska late in the season to become bowl eligible for the 21st straight season, the third-longest active streak in FBS. Former Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell is the new coach, but is planning to defer most decisions in the bowl game to interim coach Jim Leonhard and the rest of the coaches. The Cowboys reached No. 7 in the AP Top 25 after opening 5-0, but lost four of their final five games . ... Wisconsin's QB vs. Oklahoma State's defense. The Badgers lost three-year starter Graham Mertz to the transfer portal — he ended up at Florida — so the offense will be in the hands of fifth-year senior Chase Wolf or freshman Myles Burkett. They had a combined six pass attempts this season and will be facing a Cowboys defense that was 13th nationally, allowing 305.4 total yards per game . ... Wisconsin senior S John Torchio tied for eighth nationally with five interceptions and is the first Wisconsin player with two interception returns for touchdowns in a season since 2010 . ... Oklahoma State freshman QB Garret Rangel will get the start in the desert after four-year starter Spencer Sanders entered the transfer portal. Rangel doesn't have Sanders' elusiveness, but is a solid passer who's still mobile. He started two games this season, throwing for a combined 482yards and two touchdowns against West Virginia and Kansas. ... Wisconsin is playing a bowl game in Arizona for the first time since the 1996Copper Bowl. ... Oklahoma State is playing in its 17th straight bowl game, the sixth-longest streak in FBS . ... Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen averages 5.4 yards per carry, which was second in the Big Ten among backs with at least 150carries . ... The Cowboys and Badgers are among five teams with a winning record every year since 2010, with Alabama, Boise State and Oklahoma . ... The Badgers have scored at least 20points in nine straight bowl games . ... Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has 11 bowl victories and can move into a tie with three others for sixth all-time with a win.