TODAY’S BOWL GAMES

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL

SOUTH FLORIDA (6-5) vs. NORTH CAROLINA STATE (6-5)

8 a.m. PST, ESPN2, Charlotte, N.C.

* Line: North Carolina State by 3 1/2 .

* Update: South Florida will be playing in its first bowl game, and running back Andre Hall is a big reason why. Hall led the Big East Conference in rushing with 1,256 yards and has a team-high 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Pat Julmiste has good speed (342 yards rushing) and a strong arm (six touchdown passes) but struggles with interceptions (10). The Bull defense led the Big East in forced turnovers with 29 and counts on linebacker Ben Moffitt and end Terrence Royal to make big plays. South Florida gave up an average of 168.9 yards passing, seventh-best in the nation. North Carolina State will start Marcus Stone at quarterback. Although Stone led the Wolfpack to victories in three of their last four games, he has completed only 48.6% of his passes. North Carolina State is averaging only 315.9 yards, which ranks 100th (out of 119 Division I-A teams). But freshman running back Andre Brown, who gained 42 yards in 13 carries the first six games, has rushed for 574 yards and four touchdowns in the last five. North Carolina State’s defense, led by end Mario Williams, has given up an average of 299 yards a game, 14th-best in the nation.

* Facts: South Florida lost its final two games of the regular season. North Carolina State is 3-1 in bowl games under Coach Chuck Amato. The Meineke Car Care Bowl was formerly the Continental Tire Bowl.

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LIBERTY BOWL

TULSA (8-4) vs. FRESNO STATE (8-4)

10 a.m., ESPN, Memphis, Tenn.

* Line: Fresno State by 7.

* Update: Tulsa’s Garrett Mills has 83 receptions for 1,183 yards -- an NCAA record for a tight end -- and nine touchdowns. In an early-season loss to Oklahoma, Mills caught 15 passes for 152 yards, and seven times this season he has had more than 100 yards receiving in a game. Paul Smith has passed for 2,601 yards and 19 touchdowns with only six interceptions. Linebacker Nick Coleman leads the Golden Hurricane defense with 103 tackles, including four sacks. Cornerback Nick Graham led Conference USA with six interceptions. Former UCLA running back Wendell Mathis leads Fresno State in rushing with 1,196 yards and 14 touchdowns. Mathis is a physical runner who averages 5.5 yards a carry. Paul Pinegar has thrown for 3,122 yards and 29 touchdowns but has had 13 interceptions. The Bulldogs had four players catch at least 37 passes, with Joe Fernandez leading the way (44 receptions) and Paul Williams leading in yardage (682). Fresno State’s defense is weak against the run, giving up 144.8 yards a game. The Bulldogs have lost three consecutive games, including a 50-42 defeat to USC, which began the slide.

* Facts: Tulsa and Fresno State are former Western Athletic Conference rivals. The Golden Hurricanes moved to Conference USA this year and won the conference title. The last time the teams played each other was 2002.

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HOUSTON BOWL

TEXAS CHRISTIAN (10-1) vs. IOWA STATE (7-4)

11:30 a.m., ESPN2, Houston

* Line: TCU by 3 .

* Update: Texas Christian’s only loss was to Southern Methodist. The Horned Frogs’ strength is their balanced offense, led by quarterback Jeff Ballard, who replaced injured starter Tye Gunn and guided TCU to seven consecutive victories. Ballard has rushed for 327 yards and eight touchdowns and passed for 1,526 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions. Cory Rodgers grabbed 48 passes for 639 yards and five touchdowns. Rodgers is also a strong kick returner, averaging 31.7 yards on kickoffs and 13.4 on punts. The Horned Frog defense gives up an average of 18.1 points a game and has 36 sacks. Iowa State suffered an overtime loss to Kansas to close the regular season, which cost the Cyclones a berth in the Big 12 Conference championship game. Running back Steve Hicks, who has rushed for 546 yards, is a key to the offense. Quarterback Brett Meyer’s favorite targets are Todd Blythe, who has 46 catches for 765 yards and seven touchdowns, and Austin Flynn, who has 53 catches for 592 yards. Linebacker Tim Dobbins leads the Cyclones with 96 tackles. Cornerback LaMarcus Hicks has four interceptions and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

* Facts: The Houston Bowl was originally the Galleryfurniture.com bowl. TCU won its final seven games by an average of 25 points.

--LONNIE WHITE