TUESDAY’S BOWL GAMES
FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL IN BOISE Akron (7-5) vs. Utah State (6-6) Time/TV: 3:30 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Artificial. Pregame.com line: Utah State by 6½. Sagarin difference: Utah State by 7.79. It isn’t quite a home game for the Aggies, but they and their fans won’t have nearly as far to travel. Though Utah State faced Boise State at home this season, the blue turf will be familiar to most of the players. But the Aggies dropped three of their last four games, while the Zips enter on a four-game winning streak. Utah State followers hope to bid a triumphant farewell to QB Chuckie Keeton, who has flashed amazing athletic ability but has been hampered by injuries for much of his career, including a big chunk of this season. Akron hasn’t been bowling since 2005, so the Zips should be eager to leave a good impression. They’re paced by the backfield tandem of QB Thomas Woodson and TB Conor Hundley, who will be opposed by veteran Aggies LBs Nick Vigil and Kyler Fackrell.
BOCA RATON (FLA.) BOWL No. 24 Temple (10-3) vs. Toledo (9-2) Time/TV: 7 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Grass. Pregame.com line: Temple by 2. Sagarin difference: Toledo by 0.47. It’s been a somewhat contradictory season for the Owls. They have played well but have come up short in games that might have been considered the biggest in program history. Nevertheless, this is Temple’s best overall campaign since its last and only previous 10-win effort, in 1979. A victory against the Rockets, a former opponent from Temple’s Mid-American Conference days, would be icing on the cake. Toledo might not be quite as happy to be here, as the Rockets lost their regular-season finale to Western Michigan and missed out on a berth in the MAC title game as a result. Add in the fact that Rockets coach Matt Campbell has moved on to Iowa State, and it might be hard to gauge the team’s level of interest. It should help, however, that offensive coordinator Jason Candle has assumed the reins and should still be on the same page with senior QB Phillip Ely. They face a daunting enough task against the Owls defense, featuring LBs Tyler Matakevich and Jarred Alwan. The Temple attack is directed by QB P.J. Walker, who has just enough scrambling ability to avoid trouble. He gets help from TB Jahad Thomas, who will do his best to steer clear of Rockets’ LB Chase Murdock.