Previewing the weekend: Six more bowl games on slate

Previewing the weekend bowl games:

Friday

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth

Houston (7-5) vs. Pittsburgh (6-6)

Time/TV: noon ET/ESPN. Surface: Grass.

Glantz-Culver line: Pittsburgh by 3. Sagarin difference: Pitt by 7.09.

Bowl records: Pitt 13-17, Houston 8-12-1. Series: 1-1 (Pitt won last meeting 35-24 in 1997).

Synopsis: With the playoff semifinals in the books, the remainder of the bowl slate will have a denouement feel to it. The participants in this first contest on the Friday slate did, however, have eventful seasons, both claiming decent wins along with puzzling losses. Pitt needed to win its last two games just to get eligible, only to watch coach Paul Chryst bolt for Wisconsin. Houston's most notable accomplishment was a win against Memphis, the lone AAC setback for the Tigers. The Cougars moved the ball against most teams but left a lot of points on the field due to offensive inconsistency. WR Deontay Greenberry is Houston's best weapon. QB Greg Ward can run a bit as well, but he'll have to keep mistakes to a minimum. The Panthers are built for power behind TB James Conner, who amassed 1,675 rushing yards and 24 TDs. But WR Tyler Boyd adds a little flash as well if QB Chad Voytik is on his game.

TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville

Iowa (7-5) vs. Tennessee (6-6)

Time/TV: 3:20 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Grass.

Glantz-Culver line: Tennessee by 3. Sagarin difference: Tennessee by 6.25.

Bowl records: Tennessee 25-24, Iowa 14-12-1. Series: 1-1 (Tennessee won last meeting 23-22 in 1987 Kickoff Classic).

Synopsis: Tennessee is pleased to be back in the postseason, and even happier that this event doesn't have its Gator moniker this season. While the season could have been better, it's a positive step in coach Butch Jones' rebuilding efforts. Iowa fans, by contrast, are expressing some reservations with the seemingly constant mid-pack state of the Hawkeyes program. The grumbling will get louder if Kirk Ferentz's group doesn't deliver in this contest. Tennessee took a personnel hit due to academic issues after the conclusion of the regular season, which might make dual-threat QB Joshua Dobbs' job more difficult. Iowa doesn't put up points in huge bunches, but QB Jake Rudock has only thrown five picks and gets solid ground support from RB Mark Weisman.

Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio

No. 10 Kansas State (9-3) vs. No. 15 UCLA (9-3)

Time/TV: 6:45 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Artificial.

Glantz-Culver line: UCLA by 1½. Sagarin difference: K-State by 1.92.

Bowl records: UCLA 15-17-1, K-State 7-10. Series: 1-1 (K-State won last meeting 31-22 in 2010).

Synopsis: The Alamo Bowl managed to secure the best matchup in terms of rankings outside the New Year's Six. Nevertheless, both teams have bad memories of their most recent appearance on the field. The Bruins were a win away from playing for the Pac-12 title but were dominated by Stanford, and the Wildcats missed a chance to claim a share of the Big 12 title in a 38-27 setback at Baylor. They should be well-motivated, then, to want to end the season on a better note. The offenses have similar approaches with athletic signal callers running the show. UCLA QB Brett Hundley gets more help out of the backfield in the person of TB Paul Perkins, but he also has WR Jordan Payton providing the primary deep target. The K-State defense relies heavily on everybody maintaining gap integrity, but LB Jonathan Truman often finds himself in the role of cleanup man. Wildcats' QB Jake Waters still does most of the running, so he'd like to get the ball in the hands of WRs Tyler Lockett and Curry Sexton as much as possible to avoid repeated contact with UCLA LBs Eric Kendricks and Myles Jack.

TicketCity Cactus Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

Washington (8-5) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6)

Time/TV: 10:15 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Grass.

Glantz-Culver line: Washington by 6½. Sagarin difference: Washington by 7.26.

Bowl records: Oklahoma State 15-9, Washington 16-16-1. Series: 1-1 (Oklahoma State won last meeting 31-17 in 1985).

Synopsis: In a season full of ups and downs, the Huskies actually were one of the more predictable teams of the 2014 campaign. UW's record features no bad losses nor any attention-grabbing wins. The Cowboys needed one final statement just to qualify for this bowl, temporarily turning down the volume of discontent by taking down Oklahoma in overtime in a thriller of a Bedlam showdown. Freshman QB Mason Rudolph will retain the keys to the Cowboys' offense and will hope for more big plays from WR Brandon Sheperd. Steady TB Desmond Roland will also be needed to move the chains. Huskies' QB Cyler Miles had one of his better outings the last time he took the field, but that was against a struggling Washington State defense in the Apple Cup victory. But he's also been getting improved ground support from TB Dwayne Washington and Lavon Coleman.

Saturday

Birmingham Bowl

East Carolina (8-4) vs. Florida (6-5)

Time/TV: 1 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Artificial.

Glantz-Culver line: Florida by 7. Sagarin difference: Florida by 13.79.

Bowl records: Florida 20-20, ECU 6-8. Series: Florida 1-0 (24-17 in 1983).

Synopsis: the fact that Florida is playing in Birmingham tells you why the Gators will be led in the game by interim coach D.J. Durkin instead of Will Muschamp. There's still plenty of SEC-caliber talent on the roster, but whether the team will be focused is the game's biggest question. There's no questioning the Pirates' motivation. After nearly securing a win early in the season against South Carolina, they're eager for another opportunity to take down an SEC team. Still ECU was surprisingly inconsistent in the latter half of the season, and it proved costly in the American Athletic Conference race. QB Shane Cardon and WR Justin Hardy provide the primary means of transport, but they'll be up against a disruptive defense featuring DE Dante Fowler that was never the source of the Gators' troubles this year. Florida QB Treon Harris, pressed into the starting role when Jeff Driskel couldn't stop giving the ball away, must avoid mistakes himself. That means he'll must beware of ECU CB Josh Hawkins.

Sunday

GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Toledo (8-4) vs. Arkansas State (7-5)

Time/TV: 9 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Artificial.

Glantz-Culver line: Toledo by 4. Sagarin difference: Arkansas State by 1.21.

Bowl records: Toledo 8-5, Arkansas State 2-2. Series: Toledo 2-0 (won last meeting 49-0 in 1992).

Synopsis: This has become a scheduled postseason destination of late for the RedWolves, who came to this event in three of their four bowl appearances. The Rockets have still couldn't get past Northern Illinois in their division of the Mid-American Conference but put together another solid 2014 campaign. Arkansas State QB Fredi Knighten is the main attraction, accounting for 3,649 yards of total offense for the season on his own including 775 by land. Toledo QB Logan Woodside acquitted himself well when he had to succeed injured opening-day starter Phillip Ely early in the season.

Jeff Sagarin's power ratings show the relative strength of teams.

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