TODAY’S BOWL GAMES

Advocare Bowl Arizona (7-5) vs. Boston College (7-5) TIME/TV 11:30 a.m./ESPN LINE Arizona by 7½ SERIES RECORD First meeting.

KEY MATCHUP The game features two of the premier running backs in the country - Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey and Boston College’s Andre Williams. Both were named first-team AP All-Americans while Williams edged Carey for the Doak Walker Award. Williams has rushed for 2,102 yards this season while Carey has 1,716.

PLAYERS TO WATCH Arizona: QB B.J. Denker. The senior has had a breakout season for the Wildcats, with 2,241 yards passing, 14 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He’s also been a force on the ground, with 898 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Boston College: WR Alex Amidon. Boston College is certainly a run-first offense, but when the Eagles do pass, Amidon is a dangerous playmaker. The 6-foot, 182-pound senior has caught 67 passes for 895 yards and 5 touchdowns.

NOTEWORTHY Amidon is first in school history with 2,663 receiving yards. He needs nine catches today to tie Pete Mitchell for the school record in receptions. … Williams has rushed for at least 100 yards nine times this season and topped the 200-yard mark five times. His best game was a 339-yard, two touchdown effort against NC State that helped the Eagles clinch bowl eligibility. … Boston College QB Chase Rettig will be making his 45th career start, including his 44th in a row. … Carey had a signature game against Oregon, rushing for 206 yards and four touchdowns against Ducks. He also had 157 rushing yards and a touchdown against Arizona State. … This is Arizona’s fifth bowl appearance in six seasons.

Sun Bowl

Virginia Tech (8-4) vs. No. 17 UCLA (9-3) TIME/TV 1 p.m./CBS LINE UCLA by 7½ SERIES RECORD First meeting.

KEY MATCHUP Virginia Tech’s defensive line against UCLA’s offensive line. The Bruins start three freshmen on their offensive line: Scott Quessenberry (5 starts) at left guard, Alex Redmond (9 starts) at right guard and Caleb Benenoch (8 starts) at right tackle. They line up against a Hokies defense that is No. 8 in the nation in rushing defense and No. 5 in sacks.

PLAYERS TO WATCH Virginia Tech: Senior QB Logan Thomas has a school-record 24 career rushing TDs. Thomas has started a school-record 39 consecutive games, and this season he passed for 2,861 yards and 16 TDs. He also rushed for 295 yards and 4 TDs. UCLA: Sophomore QB Brett Hundley has passed for 2,845 yards and 22 TDs, while also having rushed for 587 yards and 9 TDs. Senior linebacker Anthony Barr (62 tackles, 10 sacks, 5 forced fumbles) was a finalist for the Lombardi, Butkus and Bednarik awards. Freshman linebacker Myles Jack (7 rushing TDs, 70 tackles) was named the Pac-12’s Freshman Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year.

NOTEWORTHY Virginia Tech is No. 4 in the nation among FBS teams in total defense, No. 3 in passing defense and No. 8 in rushing defense and points allowed. The Hokies are No. 5 in the nation in sacks, averaging 3.08 per game. . This is the Hokies’ 27th bowl appearance in program history (10-16 all-time). . UCLA is making its fourth trip to the Sun Bowl. The Bruins are 2-1 in El Paso. They won the 2005 game 50-38 against Northwestern, lost 21-20 to Wisconsin in 2000 and beat Illinois 6-3 in 1991.

Liberty Bowl

Mississippi State (6-6) vs. Rice (10-3) TIME/TV 3 p.m./ESPN LINE Mississippi State by 7.

SERIES RECORD Rice leads 1-0. Mississippi State beat Rice 28-14 on Oct. 11, 1975, but later forfeited the game.

KEY MATCHUP Rice running game vs. Mississippi State run defense: Rice leads Conference USA with 240.2 yards rushing per game, an average that ranks 16th among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Mississippi State has allowed 4.4 yards per carry this season, but the Bulldogs limited Ole Miss to 3.3 yards per rush in their regular-season finale.

PLAYERS TO WATCH Mississippi State: After sharing quarterback duties with Tyler Russell during the regular season, Dak Prescott will be the one leading Mississippi State’s offense now that Russell has undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. Prescott has thrown for 1,657 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, and he also has rushed for 751 yards and 11 touchdowns. Rice: RB Charles Ross has rushed for 1,252 yards and 14 touchdowns this season while averaging 6.2 yards per carry.

NOTEWORTHY Mississippi State WR Jameon Lewis is the only FBS player with at least 5 touchdown catches, 3 touchdown runs and 3 touchdown passes this season. All three of his passes have produced touchdowns. Lewis also has 55 catches for 703 yards to lead the Bulldogs in both categories. … This marks only the second time in school history that Rice has reached bowl games in back-to-back seasons. Rice capped the 1960 season with a 14-6 Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss and fell 33-7 to Kansas in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl.

Chick-fil-A Bowl No. 21 Texas A&M (8-4) vs. No. 24 Duke (10-3) TIME/TV 7 p.m./ESPN LINE Texas A&M by 12½ SERIES RECORD First meeting.

KEY MATCHUP Duke defensive ends Justin Foxx and Kenny Anunike against Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. Duke’s defense is concerned about two “plays” on each snap - the play that is called and then what Manziel can create with his ability to run and extend the play. Anunike led Duke with 13½ tackles for loss and six sacks.

PLAYERS TO WATCH Texas A&M: QB Johnny Manziel. After winning the Heisman Trophy as a freshman and finishing fifth this season, Manziel could be playing his final college game if he decides to enter the NFL draft. Manziel threw for 311 yards per game while completing 69.1 percent of his passes, leading the SEC in each category. He has the top two total offense season totals in SEC history, including 4,481 this year. Duke: WR/PR Jamison Crowder. Coaches voted Crowder a first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference player as a receiver and punt returner. He returned two punts for touchdowns this season and ranks second in the ACC with 1,197 yards receiving.

NOTEWORTHY The Blue Devils had an eight-game winning streak end with their 45-7 loss to No. 1 Florida State in the ACC championship game. … Duke is 0-3 in bowl games since beating Arkansas 7-6 in the 1961 Cotton Bowl. … Texas A&M sophomore Mike Evans leads the SEC with 12 touchdown catches. … Duke QB Anthony Boone missed three games early in the season with a broken collarbone and still passed for 1,833 yards. … Texas A&M is making its 35th bowl appearance but hasn’t played in a bowl game as far east as Atlanta since facing Tennessee in the 1956 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.