TODAY’S OTHER BOWL GAMES : GATOR AT JACKSONVILLE, FLA.

No. 12 MICHIGAN (8-3) vs. No. 15 MISSISSIPPI (9-2)

Time--8:30 a.m., PST. TV--ESPN. Radio--KMEN (1290).

This is the leadoff to a day of eight bowls. Although Gary Moeller is in his first year as Michigan’s coach, he is 1-0 in bowl games, having subbed for his predecessor, Bo Schembechler, in a 28-24 victory over Alabama in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl. His Ole Miss counterpart, Billy Brewer, is seeking to duplicate a Gator Bowl victory from his playing days. Brewer, 56, is 2-1 as a coach in bowl games and he played in Ole Miss’ 7-3 victory over Florida in the 1958 Gator Bowl. Michigan, which finished in a four-way tie for the Big Ten championship with Illinois, Michigan State and Iowa, is 12-2-1 against teams from the Southeastern Conference and comes into the 46th renewal of the game with a five-game winning streak. Ranked No. 1 at one time this season, the Wolverines fell back in the polls after consecutive one-point losses to Michigan State and Iowa. They also lost to Notre Dame by four points. Michigan is led by quarterback Elvis Grbac, who threw 17 touchdown passes, and sophomore running back Jon Vaughn, who gained 1,236, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Vaughn rushed for 489 yards in the Wolverines’ first two games, against Notre Dame and UCLA. Michigan averages 253 rushing yards a game. Ole Miss counters with Randy Baldwin, who averaged 5.9 and leads an offense that averaged 209 yards rushing a game; and a defense that has allowed an average of 17.4 points and 150 yards rushing a game.

HALL OF FAMEAT TAMPA, FLA.

No. 14 CLEMSON (9-2) vs. No. 16 ILLINOIS (8-3)

Time--10 a.m., PST. TV--Ch. 4, 36, 39. Radio--XTRA (690).

Illinois and Clemson have never met on the football field, and Illini Coach John Mackovic has never coached against longtime friend Ken Hatfield, who is completing his first season at Clemson. The game revolves around the diversity of Illinois’ offense and tenacity of Clemson’s defense, which led the nation by allowing only 216.9 yards per game. Mackovic said he’s most concerned with Clemson’s team speed. He said the Tigers may be the quickest opponent the Illini have met since facing Florida in the All American Bowl two years ago. Despite the success of his defense, which has allowed only 10 touchdowns, Hatfield worries most about containing the Illinois offense. In its only two losses this year, the Tigers had trouble slowing Virginia and Georgia Tech. Illinois lost quarterback Jeff George to the NFL a year early, but sophomore Jason Verduczo stepped up and led the Big Ten in passing (2,446 yards) and efficiency. He also threw for 16 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions. The Illini also has an effective running game. Clemson has allowed only one running back (Virginia’s Nikki Fisher) to gain 70 yards, but Hatfield says Illinois’ Howard Griffith is the best back the Tigers has played this season. Griffith rushed for 1,056 yards and 15 touchdowns in 1990, breaking Red Grange’s 64-year-old school record for career touchdowns. The 222-pound fullback scored an NCAA-record eight touchdowns in one game this season and ran for 269 yards in another. Defensively, Illinois will be as injury-free as it has been all season for Clemson, and Mackovic said nose tackle Moe Gardner shouldn’t be restricted by a soft cast he will wear on his broken right arm. All-American tackle Stacy Long is the mainstay of the Clemson offense and leader of a front that clears the way for freshman tailback Rodney Williams, the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year who rushed for 914 yards and eight touchdowns, while DeChane Cameron provided valuable leadership--if not impressive statistics--at quarterback in his first season as a starter. Cameron passed for 1,044 yards and five touchdowns in the Tigers’ ball-control offense.