TODAY

INTERNATIONAL BOWL

WESTERN MICHIGAN (8-4) VS. CINCINNATI (7-5)

at the Rogers Centre, Toronto, 9 a.m., ESPN 2

* Line: Cincinnati by 7.

* Story line: Brian Kelly will make his debut as Cincinnati coach, having coached Central Michigan during the regular season. He was hired Nov. 27 to replace Mike Dantonio, who left Cincinnati for Michigan State. He inherits a team that played the nation’s second-most difficult schedule this season, with losses to Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Louisville and West Virginia before a victory over Rutgers. He guided his former team to a 31-7 victory over Western Michigan on Nov. 10. Western Michigan, playing its first bowl game since 1988, is fifth in the nation against the run, giving up 71.9 yards rushing a game. This is the first bowl game played outside of the U.S. since 1937, when Auburn and Villanova tied 7-7 in the Bacardi Bowl in Havana.

-- PETER YOON