COLLEGE FOOTBALL | Wednesday's bowl games

MUSIC CITY BOWL, in Nashville, Tenn.
WISCONSIN (7-5) vs. AUBURN (7-5), Noon, ESPN.
FAVORITE: Power ratings say Auburn by 1.
COACHES: Barry Alvarez (99-66-4 in 14th year at Wisconsin) and Tommy Tuberville (37-24 in 5th year at Auburn).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $950,000.
BOWL RECORDS: Wisconsin is 8-6. Auburn is 15-12-2.
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Wisconsin beat Colorado, 31-28 in overtime, in last year's Alamo Bowl. Auburn beat Penn State, 13-9, in last year's Capitol One Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY: Tied, 0-0-1.
LAST MEETING: Teams tied, 7-7, in 1931.
LAST GAME: Wisconsin lost at home to Iowa, 27-21, on Nov. 22. Auburn beat Alabama, 28-23, on Nov. 22.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Badgers have won four straight bowls by combined total of 19 points.
GAME FACTS: Alvarez hopes to become first coach in UW history to win 100 games. After injuries contributed to 1-4 slide to finish season, QB Jim Sorgi (2,082 passing, 16 TDs, 8 ints.), RB Anthony Davis (605 rushing, 6.1 per carry, 7 TDs) should both be healthy here. WR Lee Evans (60 catches, 19.4 per catch, school-record 12 TDs), S Jim Leonhard (6 ints., 10th in nation in punt returns, 14.0, 2 TDs) are game-breakers. Thanks to win over Alabama, Tuberville managed one-year contract extension, only after AD David Housel, AU president William Walker flew to Louisville to offer job to Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino, a former Tigers assistant. Some fans are still seething over team's fall from preseason top five. Junior RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams (1,239 rushing, 15 TDs, career-high 204 rushing, 2 TDs vs. Alabama) may be headed for NFL. LBs Karlos Dansby, Dontarrious Thomas (combined 145 tackles) can often wreck havoc.
SUN BOWL, in El Paso, Tex.
No. 24 MINNESOTA (9-3) vs. OREGON (8-4), 2, CBS.
FAVORITE: Power ratings say Oregon by 2.
COACHES: Glen Mason (43-40 in 7th year at Minnesota) and Mike Bellotti (77-33 in 9th year at Oregon).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $1.45 million.
BOWL RECORDS: Minnesota is 3-5. Oregon is 7-10.
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Minnesota beat Arkansas, 29-14, in last year's Music City Bowl. Oregon lost to Wake Forest, 38-17, in last year's Seattle Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY: Minneosta leads, 2-1.
LAST MEETING: Oregon won, 24-20, in the 1999 Sun Bowl.
LAST GAME: Minnesota lost at Iowa, 40-22, on Nov. 15. Oregon beat Oregon State, 34-20, on Nov. 22.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Since starting last season 6-0 and reaching No. 6 in nation, Ducks are 9-10 including 1-3 mark vs. ranked foes.
GAME FACTS: Gophers wanted to go to Alamo Bowl but wound up here after 40-day layoff. UM went 2-3 vs. teams with winning records (wins over Wisconsin, Tulsa). QB Asad-Abdul Khaliq (5th in nation in QB rating, 2,229 passing, 17 TDs, 5 ints., 4 TD runs) is underrated talent while deep backfield (3rd in nation in rushing, 293.1) includes RBs Marion Barber (1,159 rushing, 17 TDs), Laurence Maroney (990 rushing, 9 TDs), Thomas Tapeh. WR Jared Ellarson (44 catches, 20.7 per catch, 5 TDs) is deep threat. After rallying to 4-1 finish, Ducks match up well here with solid run defense (12th in nation, 95.9) led by LB Kevin Mitchell (103 tackles). Sophomore QB Kellen Clemens (2,037 passing, 15 TDs, 8 ints.) seized job late in season after splitting time with senior Jason Fife. He'll look downfield for speedy WRs Samie Parker, Demetrius Williams (combined 108 catches, 13 TDs), who should get open vs. shaky Gophers' secondary (5th in Big Ten vs. pass, 204.5, gave up 851 yards passing in 3 losses).
LIBERTY BOWL, in Memphis, Tenn.
No. 25 UTAH (9-2) vs. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (9-3), 3:30, ESPN.
FAVORITE: Power ratings say Utah by 3.
COACHES: Urban Meyer (9-2 in first year at Utah) and Jeff Bower (89-61-1 in 13th year at Southern Miss).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $1.35 million.
BOWL RECORDS: Utah is 5-3. Southern Miss is 5-6.
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Utah beat Southern Cal, 10-6, in the 2001 Las Vegas Bowl. Southern Miss lost to Oklahoma State, 33-23, in last year's Houston Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY: First meeting.
LAST GAME: Utah won at BYU, 3-0, on Nov. 22. Southern Miss won at East Carolina, 38-21, on Nov. 29.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Since late 2001, Golden Eagles are 18-1 when scoring 18 points or more.
GAME FACTS: Reveling in first conference title since 1958, Mountain West champion Utes are proud to be here. Meyer turned around program that was 17-17 from 2000-2002 by emphasizing taking care of ball (only 4 ints. were part of 17 turnovers lost), which led to 5-1 mark in games decided by 7 points or less (Utes were 2-4 last year). QB Alex Smith (2,123 passing, 15 TDs, 2 ints.) is unique combination of accuracy, toughness with WR Parris Warren (9th in nation with 71 catches) a preferred target. RB Brandon Warfield returns from knee injury. Eagles won first C-USA title since 1999 thanks to rousing 40-28 win over No. 10 TCU on Nov. 20. Led by LB Rod Davis (137 tackles. 17 for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 3 sacks), W Etric Pruitt, defense has given up only 81 points in current 6-game winning streak. QB Dustin Almond (1,755 passing, 13 TDs, 7 ints., 50.5 pct. completions) can be erratic but was terrific in TCU win (14-of-27, 223 passing, 3 TDs, 1 int.).
INDEPENDENCE BOWL, in Shreveport, La.
MISSOURI (8-4) vs. ARKANSAS (8-4), 7:30, ESPN.
FAVORITE: Power ratings say Arkansas by 3.
COACHES: Gary Pinkel (17-18 in third year at Missouri) and Houston Nutt (47-27 in 6th year at Arkansas).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $1.2 million.
BOWL RECORDS: Missouri is 9-12. Arkansas is 10-20-3.
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Missouri beat West Virginia, 34-31, in the 1998 Insight.com Bowl. Arkansas lost to Minnesota, 29-14, in last year's Music City Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY: Missouri leads, 2-1.
LAST MEETING: Missouri won, 7-6, in 1963.
LAST GAME: Missouri beat Iowa State, 45-7, on Nov. 29. Arkansas lost at LSU, 55-24, on Nov. 28.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Since 1987, Razorbacks are 1-10 in bowls while scoring 15 points or less in seven of the losses.
GAME FACTS: Just 9-14 in Pinkel's first two seasons, Tigers broke through for first bowl in five years thanks to amazing QB Brad Smith (3,032 total offense, 17 TD runs, 11 TD passes, 6 ints.), whose 1,822 rushing yards were most by any QB in nation. UM's all-time leading rusher, RB Zack Abron (1,018 rushing, 13 TDs) keeps defenses from keying on Smith. To snap out of long postseason slump, Razorbacks hope RB Cedric Cobbs (1,179 rushing, 9 TDs) can find holes in Tigers' questionable run defense (63rd in nation, 1456.2, gave up ). Loss of All-America OT Shaun Andrews (sinus infection) to NFL draft hurts that plan. Inventive QB Matt Jones (2,501 total offense, 18 TD passes, 7 TD runs, 7 ints.) can often make big plays on the run under pressure.
SAN FRANCISCO BOWL.
COLORADO STATE (7-5) vs. BOSTON COLLEGE (7-5), 10:30, ESPN2.
FAVORITE: Power ratings say Colorado State by 2.
COACHES: Sonny Lubick (91-43 in 11th year at Colo. State) and Tom O'Brien (47-36 in 7th year at BC).
PAYOUT: Each school receives $825,000.
BOWL RECORDS: Colorado State is 4-5. BC is 8-6.
LAST BOWL APPEARANCE: Colo. State lost to TCU, 17-3, in last year's Liberty Bowl. BC beat Toledo, 51-25, in last year's Motor City Bowl.
SERIES HISTORY: First meeting.
LAST GAME: Colorado State won at UNLV, 24-23, on Nov. 22. BC won at Virginia Tech, 34-27, on Nov. 22.
STAT THAT MATTERS: Since 1993, Eagles are 5-1 in bowls while averaging 28.5 points per game.
GAME FACTS: Rams hope QB Bradlee Van Pelt (3,526 total offense, 18 TD passes, 9 TD runs, 10 ints.) can play despite breaking throwing hand in win over UNLV. If not, sophomore Justin Holland gets start. WR David Anderson's 1,159 yards receiving (on 62 catches with 8 TDS) was second best single-season yardage total ever at CSU. BC tries for first four-game bowl winning streak. One of nation's most underrated players, RB Derrick Knight (1,599 rushing, 8 TDs) churned out 421 yards rushing, 5 TDs in season-ending wins over Rutgers, Va. Tech to get BC here. Offense has looked better under QB Paul Peterson (900 passing, 8 TDs, 6 ints.), averaging 32.3 points in his three starts. LB Josh Ott (118 tackles), DE Mathias Kiwanuka (led Big East with 101/2 sacks) are big-time defenders.
-- Scripps Howard