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Saturday’s college football bowl game previews and picks

San Diego State quarterback Christian Chapman signals to a receiver during the first quarter against Colorado State on Nov. 26.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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Saturday’s bowl games

All times Pacific

Celebration: North Carolina Central (9-2) vs. Grambling State (10-1), at Atlanta, 9 a.m., Channel 7 — Neither of these teams has lost to another Football Championship Subdivision team in more than a year. Grambling is champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference; NC Central of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The quarterbacks in this game — Malcolm Bell of Central and DeVante Kincade of Grambling — both were finalists for the inaugural Black College Football Player of the Year Award. The pick: Grambling State, 34-20.

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New Mexico: Texas-San Antonio (6-6) vs. New Mexico (8-4), at Albuquerque, 11 a.m., ESPN— Remember Bob Davie, who bombed as Notre Dame’s coach? He’s at New Mexico now, and winning. After going 11-26 in his first three seasons, Davie’s Lobos have put together back-to-back winning seasons. New Mexico has a pair of 1,000-yard backs in Teriyon Gipson and Tyrone Owens, plus Richard McQuarley, who has 16 touchdowns. Texas-San Antonio is in its first bowl game at the end of its fifth season in FBS. The Roadrunners have two 700-yard runners, plus quarterback Dalton Sturm, who has passed for 2,052 yards and 18 touchdowns and run for 263 yards and four touchdowns. The pick: New Mexico, 38-30.

Las Vegas: Houston (9-3) vs. San Diego State (10-3), at Las Vegas, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7 — Donnel Pumphrey, who is from Las Vegas, needs to rush for 108 yards in this, his final college game, to become major college football’s career rushing leader, passing Ron Dayne, who ran for 6,397 for Wisconsin from 1996 to 1999. Houston has its own star bidding farewell: dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who has been at the controls of an offense that has averaged nearly 460 yards per game. Houston is without Coach Tom Herman, who left for Texas, but Major Applewhite has stepped up from offensive coordinator to replace him, and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando is still in place. The pick: Houston, 27-23.

Camelia: Toledo (9-3) vs. Appalachian State (9-3), at Montgomery, Ala., 2:30 p.m., ESPN — Toledo is fourth in the nation in total offense, averaging nearly 530 yards per game. The Rockets are paced by quarterback Logan Woodside, who has a FBS-best 43 touchdown passes this season, and running back Kareem Hunt, who has more than 1,300 yards rushing and is coming off a 200-yard game against unbeaten Western Michigan. Appalachian State is No. 15 in total defense, yielding an average of 326 yards. The Mountaineers have given up only 10 touchdown passes and have 20 interceptions, which is third in the nation. Appalachian State also has a 1,300-yard rusher in Jalin Moore and another productive back in Marcus Cox, who is second on the FBS’ career rushing list among active players. He has run for 4,960 yards. Hunt is third with 4,825. The pick: Toledo, 34-28.

Cure: Arkansas State (7-5) vs. Central Florida (6-6), at Orlando, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network — Central Florida, which will be playing at home, was 0-12 last season but has a chance to turn the corner with first-year Coach Scott Frost if it can win this one. That said, the Knights don’t have a win over a team that finished with a winning record. Arkansas State lost its first four games but closed the regular season by winning seven out of eight, including a 35-3 win on the road against then-No. 25 Troy. The pick: Central Florida, 27-23.

New Orleans: Southern Mississippi (6-6) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (6-6), at New Orleans, 6 p.m., ESPN — The Ragin’ Cajuns from Louisiana-Lafayette should feel right at home in this bowl, where they played — and won — four consecutive seasons, 2011-14. Coach Mark Hudspeth’s team qualified for a bowl by winning three of its last four games; the only loss, 35-21, to Georgia. Southern Mississippi has lost three of its last four in what has been a disappointing first season for Coach Jay Hopson. The Golden Eagles are paced by senior quarterback Nick Mullens, who has passed for more than 2,900 yards with 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The pick: Southern Mississippi, 31-26.

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mike.hiserman@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeHiserman

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