TODAY'S GAMES.

INSIGHT.COM BOWL

--Boston College (8-3) vs. Colorado (6-5)

--Kickoff: 10:30 a.m.

--TV: ESPN 

BOSTON COLLEGE: Led by a senior class that coach Tom O'Brien has described as having ``hearts the size of oceans'' - the No. 25 Eagles are playing in their first bowl game in five years.

Tailback Eric Washington gained 1,122 yards and scored seven touchdowns on 222 carries and caught 29 passes this season, earning all-Big East Conference honors.

He exemplifies the powerful ground game that drew comparisons to the two Big 12 teams that took Colorado to overtime.

COLORADO: The Buffaloes won three of their last five, the last a 33-30 overtime loss to Nebraska, which Colorado was poised to win until Jeremy Aldrich, the most accurate kicker in school history, missed a 34-yard field goal.

The Buffs are in a bowl for the 12th time in the last 14 years and have won five straight, tied with Georgia Tech for best in the country.

Cornerback Ben Kelly, the team leader with five interceptions and nine deflections, has scored six career TDs on kick returns and two on fumble returns.

SUN BOWL

--Oregon (8-3) vs. Minnesota (8-3)

--Kickoff: 11:15 a.m.

--TV: CBS 

MINNESOTA: The Gophers have two excellent pass rushers, and they'll need them against Oregon's high-scoring offense. Minnesota's pass rush is led by defensive end Karon Riley, whose 16 sacks led the Big Ten Conference, and linebacker Ben Mezera, who accounted for 12 sacks

The Ducks average 266 yards passing per game, which would be second in the Big Ten only to Purdue. Moreover, Oregon's quarterbacks have been sacked just 14 times in 11 games.

Minnesota got its first eight-win season in 32 years by winning its last three games.

OREGON: Before the season, quarterback loomed as Oregon's biggest question mark. The Ducks had lost Akili Smith, last year's Pac-10 co-offensive player of the year and now a Cincinnati Bengal.

A.J. Feeley got the nod and passed for 343 yards and two touchdowns in the Ducks' 27-20 season-opening loss to Michigan State.

Feeley started four more games, completing 61 percent of his passes for 1,389 yards and 11 touchdowns and was eighth in the country in passing efficiency.

But Feeley's momentum slowed in the Ducks' sixth game, a 34-29 loss at UCLA.

The next week against Arizona, Feeley was replaced by Joey Harrington, who led three scoring drives on the way to a 44-41 victory.

Oregon, which averages 35 points a game, has won five in a row and is making its fifth bowl appearance in six years.

LIBERTY BOWL

--Colorado State (8-3) vs. Southern Mississippi (8-3)

--Kickoff: 2 p.m.

--TV: ESPN

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: The return of wide receiver Sherrod Gideon will give 14th-ranked Southern Mississippi a boost.

Gideon, considered a mid-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, missed the Golden Eagles' last two regular-season games with an ankle injury, but is expected to start against the Rams.

Southern Miss, playing in its third consecutive bowl game, is 3-5 in postseason games.

COLORADO STATE: The Rams toughest challenge will be moving the ball against a Southern Mississippi defense that allowed just 295 yards a game.

The key matchup features two conference players of the year. Colorado State running back Kevin McDougal gained 1,164 yards and scored eight TDs and was named Mountain West Conference offensive player of the year. The Eagles counter with Conference USA defensive player of the year defensive end Adalius Thomas.

After a slow start, the Rams won their last five games

INDEPENDENCE

--Mississippi (7-4) vs. Oklahoma (7-4)

--Kickoff: 5:30 p.m.

--TV: ESPN

MISSISSIPPI: Ole Miss is led by the running back combination of Joe Gunn and Deuce McAllister. Gunn ran for 951 yards and McAllister had 809, and each averaged more than 5 yards per carry. McAllister has 1,692 all-purpose yards to rank seventh in the nation.

The Rebels had a chance to play in a more high-profile game, but finished the season with two losses in a row, each by three points.

OKLAHOMA: The Sooners are playing in their first bowl game since 1994, where they lost 31-6 to Brigham Young.

Oklahoma has won six national championships and has played in 32 bowl games, but hasn't been a national force since the late 1980s. Before first-year coach Bob Stoops arrived, Oklahoma had gone five years without a winning season.

The biggest change for Oklahoma has been on offense, where the Sooners installed a system that relies on the pass first and the run a distant second. Quarterback Josh Heupel has set 13 single-season school records.