COLLEGE FOOTBALL / DAILY BOWL REPORT : OTHER BOWLS : Wolfpack, Wolverines Start Things Off

The first of the eight New Year’s Day bowl games will be the Hall of Fame Bowl at Tampa, Fla. North Carolina State (7-4) takes on favored Michigan (7-4) in the game to be televised by ESPN at 8 a.m. The matchup in Tampa Stadium pits the size and strength of Michigan against the speed and quickness of North Carolina State.

Another Florida bowl game, the Carquest Bowl in Miami’s Joe Robbie Stadium, has Boston College (8-3) facing Virginia (7-4), a team that lost four of its last six games. Channel 2 will televise the Carquest Bowl at 10:30 a.m.

The key to this game may be the performance of Virginia quarterback Symmion Willis, a first-year starter. Willis threw for 13 touchdowns and had just three interceptions in the Cavaliers’ first five games. He was picked off 11 times and threw for only six touchdowns in the last six games.