THE MAIN EVENT | 2014-15 BOWL GUIDE | BY JENNI CARLSON SATURDAY DECEMBER 20 SATURDAY DECEMBER 27 THURSDAY JANUARY 1 FRIDAY JANUARY 2 SATURDAY JANUARY 3 SUNDAY JANUARY 4 MONDAY JANUARY 12 TUESDAY DECEMBER 23 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 24 FRIDAY DECEMBER 26 MONDAY DECEMBER 29 TUESDAY DECEMBER 30 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31 MONDAY DECEMBER 22 10 a.m. ESPN New Orleans Bowl New Orleans Superdome RATING 1 star (out of five) Nevada’s Cody Fajardo only second college quarterback to throw for 9,000, run for 3,000 yards NEVADA (7-5) VS. LA.-LAFAYETTE (8-4) Noon ESPN Military Bowl Anapolis, Md. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium RATING 2 stars Gunner Kiel — remember him? — has thrown for 3,000 yards and 30 TDs for Cincy CINCINNATI (9-3) VS. VIRGINIA TECH (6-6) 11 a.m. ESPN2 Outback Bowl Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium RATING 3 stars Last time out, Auburn gave up 55, Wisconsin 59. Last one with the ball wins? AUBURN (8-4) VS. WISCONSIN (10-3) Noon ESPN2 Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas Amon G. Carter Stadium RATING 1 star Houston is on the verge of firing its coach, and Pitt was a bowl bubble team HOUSTON (7-5) VS. PITTSBURGH (6-6) Noon ESPN2 Birmingham Bowl Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field RATING 2 stars Pirates will be motivated to beat a big name. What about Gators after coaching change? E. CAROLINA (8-4) VS. FLORIDA (6-5) 8 p.m. ESPN GoDaddy Bowl Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium RATING 1 star Arkansas State’s Fredi Knighten is worth a peek. Dual-threat QB is fun to watch TOLEDO (8-4) VS. ARKANSAS ST. (7-5) 7:30 p.m. ESPN National Championship Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium RATING 4 stars Doesn’t matter who advances. This is must-see TV ALABAMA/OHIO ST. VS. OREGON/FLORIDA ST. 5 p.m. ESPN Boca Raton Bowl Boca Raton, Fla. FAU Stadium RATING 2 stars Nevada’s Cody Fajardo only second college quarterback to throw for 9,000, run for 3,000 yards MARSHALL (12-1) VS. N. ILLINOIS (11-2) 11 a.m. ESPN Bahamas Bowl Robinson National Stadium Nassau, Bahamas RATING 1 star The locale is the most esthetically pleasing part of this match-up between 7-5 teams C. MICHIGAN (7-5) VS. W. KENTUCKY (7-5) Noon ESPN Heart of Dallas Bowl Dallas Cotton Bowl RATING 1 star Neither program has played in a bowl since 2011 ILLINOIS (6-6) VS. LOUISIANA TECH (8-4) 1 p.m. ESPN Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tenn. Liberty Bowl RATING 3 stars WVU vs. Texas A&M: Defense? What defense? TEXAS A&M (7-5) VS. W. VIRGINIA (7-5) 2 p.m. ESPN Music City Bowl Nashville, Tenn. LP Field RATING 2 stars Notre Dame stumbled after a 6-0 start, but LSU has had issues scoring points NOTRE DAME (7-5) VS. LSU (8-4) 11:30 a.m. ESPN Peach Bowl Atlanta Georgia Dome RATING 4 stars TCU’s Trevone Boykin vs. Ole Miss’s Land Shark defense. But will Frogs motivated? OLE MISS (9-3) VS. TCU (11-1) 1 p.m. ESPN Beach Bowl Miami. Fla. Marlins Park RATING 2 stars Big 12 could consider both of these teams if expansion talk becomes reality BYU (8-4) VS. MEMPHIS (9-3) 1:20 p.m. ESPN New Mexico Bowl Albuquerque, N.M. University Stadium RATING 1 star UTEP goes from two wins last season to its first bowl since 2010 this season UTAH ST. (9-4) VS. UTEP (7-5) 1 p.m. CBS Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas Sun Bowl RATING 3 stars Defense optional. Todd Graham and David Cutcliffe have teams built to score a bunch ARIZONA ST. (9-3) VS. DUKE (9-3) 11:30 a.m. ESPN Cotton Bowl Arlington, Texas AT&T Stadium RATING 4 stars Will Baylor be fired up after playoff slight? Should have a big-time crowd rallying it MICHIGAN ST. (10-2) VS. BAYLOR (11-1) 2:20 p.m. ESPN TaxSlayer Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. EverBank Field RATING 2 stars Watch the trenches. Iowa LT Brandon Scherff and Tennessee DE Derek Barnett are NFL talents IOWA (7-5) VS. TENNESSEE (6-6) 8:30 p.m. ESPN Poinsettia Bowl San Diego Qualcomm Stadium RATING 2 stars Marketer’s dream: San Diego State playing in SD. Navy playing near a huge base NAVY (6-5) VS. SAN DIEGO ST. (7-5) 7 p.m. ESPN Hawai’i Bowl Honolulu Aloha Stadium RATING 1 star Fresno State comes in with a losing record, hopes to avoid finishing season 6-8 FRESNO ST. (6-7) VS. RICE (7-5) 3:30 p.m. ESPN Quick Lane Bowl Detroit Ford Field RATING 1 star Teams headed in different directions, as Rutgers finished strong, UNC stumbled home RUTGERS (7-5) VS. N. CAROLINA (6-6) 5:30 p.m. ESPN Belk Bowl Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium RATING 3 stars Features two of the best non-Heisman types, Georgia RB Nick Chubb, L’ville WR DeVante Parker GEORGIA (9-3) VS. LOUISVILLE (9-3) 3 p.m. ESPN Fiesta Bowl Glendale, Ariz. U. of Phoenix Stadium RATING 3 stars Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl — does anyone doubt they’ll be fireworks? BOISE ST. (11-2) VS. ARIZONA (10-3) 7 p.m. ESPN Bitcoin Bowl St. Petersburg, Fla. Tropicana Field RATING 2 stars UCF looking for third consecutive 10-win season by winning third consecutive bowl NC STATE (7-5) VS. UCF (7-3) 8 p.m. ESPN Texas Bowl Houston NRG Stadium RATING 3 stars Longtime rivals in the Southwest Conference battle again with smash-mouth run games ARKANSAS (6-6) VS. TEXAS (6-6) 9 p.m. ESPN Foster Farms Bowl Santa Clara, Calif. Levi’s Stadium RATING 2 stars The Kevin Hogan saga continues. Stanford QB has gone from beloved to loathed MARYLAND (7-5) VS. STANFORD (7-5) 7 p.m. ESPN Orange Bowl Miami Sun Life Stadium RATING 3 stars State QB Dak Prescott could build momentum for next season with big day MISSISSIPPI ST. (10-2) VS. GEORGIA TECH (10-3) 2:30 p.m. ABC Las Vegas Bowl Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium RATING 2 stars Longtime league foes renew rivalry. Colorado State will be without coach Jim McElwain UTAH (8-4) VS. COLORADO ST. (10-2) 2:30 p.m. ABC Independence Bowl Shreveport, La. Independence Stadium RATING 2 stars Somebody’s going home with a losing record MIAMI (6-6) VS. S. CAROLINA (6-6) Noon ABC Citrus Bowl Orlando, Fla. Florida Citrus Bowl RATING 3 stars Who shows up to quarterback Missouri, good Maty Mauk or bad Maty? MISSOURI (10-3) VS. MINNESOTA (8-4) 5:45 p.m. ABC Alamo Bowl San Antonio Alamodome RATING 3 stars K-State’s Tyler Lockett and UCLA’s Brett Hundley will provide the fireworks KANSAS ST. (9-3) VS. UCLA (9-3) 4:45 p.m. ESPN Idaho Potato Bowl Boise, Idaho Stadium RATING 1 star Only Melvin Gordon rushed for more TDs than Western Michigan freshman Jarvion Franklin 3:30 p.m. ESPN Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, N.Y. Yankee Stadium RATING 2 stars Boston College vs. Penn State: Penn State returns to bowl play after being ineligible past two seasons BOSTON COLLEGE (7-5) VS. PENN ST. (6-6) 7:30 p.m. ESPN Sugar Bowl New Orleans Superdome RATING 4 stars Saban vs. Meyer. But bigger match-up is Ohio State QB Cardale Jones vs. Bama D ALABAMA (12-1) VS. OHIO ST. (12-1) 9:15 p.m. ESPN Cactus Bowl Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devil Stadium RATING 3 stars UW defensive front is stout. Can Mason Rudolph replicate success of first two starts? OSU (6-6) VS. WASHINGTON (8-5) 8:15 p.m. ESPN Camelia Bowl Montgomery, Ala. Cramton Bowl RATING 1 star South Alabama QB Brandon Bridge has turned NFL heads. Tall, athletic and Canadian S. ALABAMA (6-6) VS. BOWLING GREEN (7-6) 8 p.m. ESPN Holiday Bowl San Diego Qualcomm Stadium RATING 3 stars Big-name teams with big-name stars, USC QB Cody Kessler, Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah NEBRASKA (9-3) VS. USC (8-4) 4 p.m. ESPN Rose Bowl Pasadena, Calif. Rose Bowl RATING 4 stars This year’s (?) beloved Heisman winner vs. last year’s loathed Heisman winner OREGON (12-1) VS. FLORIDA ST. (13-0) 4:30 p.m. ESPN Russell Athletic Bowl Orlando, Fla. Citrus Bowl RATING 3 stars Disappointing Sooner season ends facing former defensive coordinator Brent Venables OKLAHOMA (8-4) VS. CLEMSON (9-3) W. MICHIGAN (8-4) VS. AIR FORCE (9-3) College Football Playoff Semifinal