Birmingham, First Responder, Liberty, Holiday and Guaranteed Rate Bowl Matchup Previews

Hello, Justin Berendzen (@jrberendzen on Twitter) with my Birmingham, First Responder, Liberty, Holiday and Guaranteed Rate Bowl matchup previews.

Birmingham Bowl- University of Houston vs Auburn University 

We have the Cougars up against the Tigers in Birmingham, Alabama. The Tigers offense has monster sophomore running back Tank Bigsby who has 1,003 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively for Houston they have senior defensive back Damarion Williams who possesses 51 tackles and 7 PBUs. The Cougars offense has sophomore wide receiver Nathaniel Dell who has 1,027 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively for Auburn they have senior linebacker Zakoby McClain who has 95 tackles, 8 TFLs and 6 PBUs.

First Responder Bowl- Air Force Academy vs University of Louisville 

Air Force against Louisville in the First Responder Bowl. Air Force offensively has junior running back Brad Roberts who possesses 1,279 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Redshirt senior linebacker CJ Avery has 87 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and 5 PBUs for Louisville. Offensively for the Cardinals they have redshirt junior quarterback Malik Cunningham who holds 2,734 passing yards and 18  passing touchdowns and 968 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. The Falcons defense includes senior defensive back Tre Bugg III who has 56 tackles, 9 PBUs and 2 interceptions.

Liberty Bowl- Mississippi State University vs Texas Tech University 

We have the Bulldogs against the Red Raiders in Memphis, Tennessee. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Makai Polk who has 989 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns for Mississippi State. The Red Raiders defense has junior defensive back Dadrion Taylor-Demerson who holds 58 tackles, 7 PBUs and 3 interceptions. Offensively for Texas Tech they have senior wide receiver Kaylon Geiger Sr who has 524 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. The Bulldogs defense includes sophomore defensive back Emmanuel Forbes who has 52 tackles, 5 PBUs, 4.5 TFLs and 3 interceptions.

Holiday Bowl- UCLA vs North Carolina State University 

Bruins versus the Wolfpack in San Diego. UCLA’s offense includes junior running back Zach Charbonnet who holds 1,137 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. Defensively for the Wolfpack they have sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas who has 99 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, 6 sacks and 3 interceptions. The NC State offense has sophomore running back Zonovan Knight who holds 753 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively for the Bruins they have senior defensive back Quentin Lake who has 54 tackles, 6 PBUs and 3 interceptions.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl- University of Minnesota vs West Virginia University 

We have the Mountaineers against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota’s offense has redshirt freshman running back Ky Thomas who holds 680 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Defensively for the Mountaineers they have senior linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo who possesses 104 tackles, 5.5 TFLs and 3 PBUs. The West Virginia offense includes junior wide receiver Winston Wright Jr who has 672 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. Junior defensive back Tyler Nubin who has 44 tackles, and 3 interceptions.