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College Football: 5 must-watch under the radar bowls in 2018

By Justin Dottavio

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 03: Will Grier #7 of the West Virginia Mountaineers celebrates after the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 03: Will Grier #7 of the West Virginia Mountaineers celebrates after the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
(Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

3. Alamo Bowl (Friday, Dec. 28)

The details: The Valero Alamo Bowl will be played on Friday, Dec. 28, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Alamo Bowl matchup is between 8-4 Iowa State who finished 2018’s regular season ranked 52nd by the S&P+ and 10-2 Washington State who is ranked 25th overall. The coaching matchup couldn’t be much different between Ohio-native, blue-collar Matt Campbell who came to Iowa State from Toledo and lawyer-by-trade Mike Leach.

Why you should watch: Campbell’s 31st-ranked defense per the S&P+ will be facing off against Leach’s 14th-ranked offense. Iowa State runs a variable defense that is used to the Air Raid because of their being in the Big 12 where the Air Raid runs supreme. Leach struggles to score against teams that are prepared to face the Air Raid, such as Chris Petersen at Washington.

It will be fun to watch Cougars quarterback Gardner Minshew play one last time in college. He threw for over 4,400 yards and threw 36 touchdowns with only nine interceptions this season. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy averaged 10 yards per passing attempt and threw 16 touchdowns in the regular season.

Fun factor: Bumper cars as the county fair. Ramming Leach’s offense into the Cyclones 3-2-6 defense that knows how to shut down the Air Raid will be a headache inducer but it’s still fun.

Prediction: Iowa State by 7

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