COLLEGE FOOTBALL Saturday's bowl previews

CONTINENTAL TIRE BOWLin Charlotte, N.C.
No. 15 WEST VIRGINIA (9-3) vs. VIRGINIA (8-5), 11 a.m., ESPN2.
COACHES: Pete Rodriguez (12-11 in second year at West Virginia) and Al Groh (13-12 in second year).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $750,000.
BOWL RECORDS: West Virginia is 9-12. Virginia is 4-8.
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: West Virginia beat Ole Miss, 49-38, in the 2000 Music City Bowl. Virginia lost to Georgia, 37-14, in the 2000 Oahu Classic.
SERIES HISTORY: Virginia leads, 11-10-1.
LAST MEETING: Virginia won, 27-7, in 1985.
LAST GAME: West Virginia beat Pittsburgh, 24-17, on Nov. 30. Virginia lost at Va. Tech, 21-19, on Nov. 30.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Since 1987, Mountaineers are 1-8 in bowls while yielding 32 points per game.
GAME FACTS: In bouncing back from 3-8 mark last year, Mountaineers saw improvement from sophomore QB Rasheed Marshall (2,019 total offense, 9 TD passes, 4 ints., 10 TD runs), usual steady production from senior RB Avon Cobourne (1,593 rushing, 15 TD, all-time leading rusher in WVU, Big East history with 4,925 yards). S Angel Estrada (100 tackles, 2 ints.) is gritty competitor. Cavaliers showed character after 0-2 start vs. mean schedule (ranked 12th in nation). All-ACC QB Matt Schaub (2,794 passing, 27 TDs, 7 ints., 68.7 pct. completions) will look downfield to WR Billy McMullen (68 catches, 3 TDs), freshman TE Heath Miller (30 catches, 9 TDs) while RBs Wali Lundy, Jason Snelling (combined 84 catches, 6 TDs) are effective receivers. Groh must come up with some way for his defense (105th in nation vs. run, 206.4) to slow down Cobourne and co.
ALAMO BOWL
In San Antonio, Texas
No. 14 COLORADO (9-4) vs. WISCONSIN (7-6), 8 p.m., ESPN.
COACHES: Gary Barnett (29-20 in fourth year at Colorado) and Barry Alvarez (91-61-4 in 13th year).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $1.35 million.
BOWL RECORDS: Colorado is 11-13. Wisconsin is 7-6
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Colorado lost to Oregon, 38-16, in last year's Fiesta Bowl. Wisconsin beat UCLA, 21-20, in the 2000 Sun Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY: Colorado leads, 4-0-1.
LAST MEETING: Colorado won, 43-7, in 1995.
LAST GAME: Colorado lost to Texas, 29-7, in the Big 12 Championship Game Dec. 7. Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 49-31, on Nov. 23.
STATS THAT MATTER: Talk about mirror images. Buffaloes are 7th in nation in rushing (241.2) and 104th in passing (146.7) while Badgers are 35th in rushing (190) and 95th in passing (164.6).
GAME FACTS: Buffaloes are likely minus RB Bobby Purify (ankle) while RB Chris Brown (led Big 12, third in nation with 1,744 rushing, 18 TDs) is questionable with bruised sternum. That puts pressure on QB Robert Hodge (1,547 passing, 12 TDs, 6 ints.) to make some throws. Kicking game is both good -- P Mark Mariscal won Ray Guy award as nation's top punter while WR Jeremy Bloom (5th in nation in punt returns, 15.6, 2 TDs) is excellent return man -- and bad -- K Pat Brougham missed 3 FGs (2 inside 34 yards) in Big 12 title game loss. Badgers barely got here after 1-6 slide derailed 5-0 start. RB Anthony Davis (third in Big Ten with 1,456 rushing, 12 TDs) needs help from shaky QB Brooks Bollinger (15-of-41, 240 passing, 1 TD, sacked 6 times in last 3 games). Losses to Penn State, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan were by combined total of 18 points.