TODAY’S BOWL GAMES

COTTON BOWL

No. 15 TENNESSEE (9-3) vs.

No. 22 TEXAS A&M; (7-4)

* Site, time: Dallas, 8 a.m. (Channel 11).

* Line: Texas A&M; by 3 1/2 .

* Series record: Tennessee leads, 1-0.

* Bowl records: Tennessee 23-21, Texas A&M; 13-14.

* Last bowl appearance: Tennessee lost to Clemson, 27-14, in the 2004 Peach Bowl. Texas A&M; beat TCU, 28-9, in the 2001 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl.

* What to watch: Two teams with talented, young offenses and unspectacular defenses, this could be sloppy fun. Texas A&M;’s Reggie McNeal is a daring freelancer at QB, able to do damage passing (2,550 yards, 13 TDs) or running (700 yards, eight TDs). WR Terrence Murphy leads the Aggies with 51 catches. Both of Tennessee’s freshman QBs are likely to be out, leaving junior Rick Clausen to start.

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OUTBACK BOWL

No. 16 WISCONSIN (9-2) vs.

No. 8 GEORGIA (9-2)

* Site, time: Tampa, Fla., 8 a.m. (ESPN).

* Line: Georgia by 7 1/2 .

* Series record: Georgia leads, 1-0

* Bowl records: Wisconsin 8-7, Georgia 21-15-3.

* Last bowl appearance: Wisconsin lost to Auburn, 28-14, in the 2003 Music City Bowl. Georgia beat Purdue, 34-27, in overtime in the 2004 Capital One Bowl.

* What to watch: The top two defensive ends in the country will try to outdo each other. Wisconsin’s Erasmus James (eight sacks) leads one of the nation’s top defenses, along with DE Anttaj Hawthorne. Georgia’s David Pollack (9 1/2 sacks) is the key to the Bulldogs’ defense, which ranks just a shade behind Wisconsin’s in most categories. Both teams have held opponents under 300 yards a game this season, and neither team’s offense is particularly intimidating, though Bulldog QB David Greene is second-best rated passer in the SEC. He has thrown for 2,244 yards and 18 TDs this season and has a career record of 41-10 as a starter. Freshman RBs Thomas Brown and Danny Ware have combined for nearly 1,400 yards and 11 TDs.

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GATOR BOWL

No. 17 FLORIDA STATE (8-3) vs.

WEST VIRGINIA (8-3)

* Site, time: Jacksonville, Fla., 9:30 a.m. (Channel 4).

* Line: Florida State by 10.

* Series record: Florida State leads, 1-0.

* Bowl records: Florida State 19-12-2, West Virginia 9-14.

* Last bowl appearance: Florida State lost to Miami, 16-14, in the 2004 Orange Bowl. West Virginia lost to Maryland, 41-7, in the 2004 Gator Bowl.

* What to watch: West Virginia QB Rasheed Marshall and RB Kay-Jay Harris take on the nation’s best run defense. The Seminoles have held opponents to 69 yards a game and given up only four rushing TDs. That probably means Marshall, who has thrown for 18 TDs this season and run for four more, will be the key to the Mountaineers’ hopes. Marshall has completed 61% of his passes for 1,755 yards, but rarely faced linemen like DE Chauncey Davis and DT Charles Howard (five sacks apiece). The Seminoles, meanwhile, struggled at QB this year, benching Chris Rix in favor of Wyatt Sexton, then benching Sexton.

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CAPITAL ONE BOWL

No. 11 IOWA (9-2) vs.

No. 12 LOUISIANA STATE (9-2)

* Site, time: Orlando, Fla., 10 a.m. (Channel 7).

* Line: LSU by 6 1/2 .

* Series record: First meeting.

* Bowl records: Iowa 10-8-1, LSU 17-17-1.

* Last bowl appearance: Iowa beat Florida, 37-17, in the 2004 Outback Bowl. LSU beat Oklahoma, 21-14, in the 2004 Sugar Bowl.

* What to watch: Nick Saban’s last game as LSU coach should be a defensive struggle. Both teams have top-10 defenses. The Tigers are led by DE Marcus Spears (nine sacks this season) and CB Corey Webster (16 career INTs), have held teams to less than 250 yards a game, and gave up only 12 second-half points in their last six games. Iowa’s defense, featuring DE Matt Roth and LBs Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge, is particularly strong against the run (90.2 ypg).