BYU buried Western Michigan yesterday at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 49-18. Cougar freshman quarterback Zach Wilson was 18-of-18 for 317 yards, 4 TDs and 0 ints. Kid’s a total stud.

Florida International was also impressive in defeating Toledo, 35-32. FIU was a 7 point underdog, but quarterback Christian Alexander completed 17 of-26 passes for 209 yards and 1 TD and ran for 83 more He became the starter on Thursday when usual starter James Morgan was ruled out due to injury. Morgan had completed 65% of his passes for 2,727 yards and 26 TDs so it looked like a huge blow heading into the Bahamas Bowl. But Alexander stepped up in a big way and led his team to an impressive victory. Spike called it on the blog. Well done Spike.

Today there are 4 games on the slate, The Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field pitting Wake Forest and Memphis, The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth featuring Army and Houston, The Dollar General Bowl in Mobile pitting Buffalo and Troy, and finally, capping it off, the Hawaii Bowl with Hawaii squaring off with Louisiana Tech.

Here’s a look at today’s games along with predictions.

Birmingham Bowl

Wake Forest (6-6) vs. Memphis (8-5)

Legion Field, 71,594

11 AM CT

ESPN

Dave Neal. DJ Shockley, Dawn Davenport

Laundry, Conference USA, Rodney Burnette

Memphis by 3 1/2

Solid matchup in the Magic City. Memphis running back Darrell Henderson, who rushed for 1,909 yards and 22 TDs, is sitting this one out for the draft. Patrick Taylor Jr. is a more than capable back who rushed for 1,017 yards and 15 TDs. Quarterback Brady White completed 231 of 365 passes, 63%, for 3,125 yards, and 25 TDs against 8 interceptions.

On the other side, the story has been the play of quarterback Jamie Newman. Newman came in November 8th and started against NC State after starter Sam Hartman was lost for the season with an injury. Wake was a 17 point underdog in Raleigh on a Thursday Night, but Newman proceeded to complete 22 of 33 passes for 297 yards and 3 TDs against 0 ints to lead the Demon Deacons to a 27-23 upset of the then No. 14 NC State. Then at Duke, the final game of the season with Wake’s bowl hopes on the line and playing as a 12 point underdog, Newman completed 18 of 23 passes for 177 yards, 4 TDs and 0 ints to lead his team to a 59-7 rout of the Blue Devils.

So I like what Newman brings into Legion Field today. And I like his team to pull off a slight upset.

Wake Forest 34, Memphis 30

Armed Forces Bowl

Army (10-2) vs. Houston (8-4)

Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX., 50,000

2:30 PM CT

ESPN

Chris Cotter, Emmanuel Acho, Jim Mora, Quint Kessenich

Whistles, MAC, Luke Richmond

Army by 6 1/2

The Cadets’ offense rushed for 3,556 yards this season, good for fourth in the country. Houston allowed 199 rushing yards per game, 99th in the FBS out of 129 teams. I like quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (852 yards, 12 TDs) and fullback Darnell Woolfolk (885 yards, 14 TDs) to have big days against a defense that is banged up, up front. Star defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who could be a top 5 draft pick in late April, is sitting this one out in preparation for the NFL draft, another unfortunate decision particularly for his team.

Army 38, Houston 28

Dollar General Bowl

Buffalo (10-3) vs. Troy (9-3)

Ladd Peebles Stadium, Mobile, 40,000

6 PM CT

ESPN

Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks, Roddy White

Stripes, ACC, Jeff Flanagan

Buffalo by 1

Troy’s scoring defense is 23rd in the country giving up only 21.1 points per game. Buffalo is 40th giving up 24.7. Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson put together a fine season completing 205 of 372, 55%, for 2,857 yards, and 27 TDs against 11 ints. He’s pretty good, but can be erratic. Troy running back B.J. Smith rushed for 1,090 yards and 12 TDs . Quarterback Sawyer Smith, who came in this season when starter Kaleb Barker was lost for the season due to injury, completed 113 of 185 passes, 61%, for 1,349 yards, 10 TDs against 6 ints. He’s a good player overall. Defensive end Hunter Reese leads the Trojans with 14 1/2 TFLs and 7 1/2 sacks. The Troy defense posted 16 interceptions. Free safety Cedarius Rookard led the way with 4. Nickel back Tyler Murray added 3.

All in all, I like Troy’s running game and defense, including a game changing interception or 2 against Jackson, who can be errant with his passes, to carry the night for the Trojans. Going with the Trojans fairly handily in Mobile.

Troy 30, Buffalo 17

Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (8-5) vs. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-5)

Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, 50,000

9:30 PM CT

ESPN

Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison, Allison Williams

Refs, MAC, Greg Sujak

LA Tech by 1

This is a potent offense versus a solid defense. Rainbow Warriors quarterback Cole McDonald has thrown fo 3,790 yards and 35 TDs against 8 ints. His top target, John Ursua, has pulled in 89 passes for 1,343 yards and 16 TDs, which leads the FBS. ***** Note Ursua out with a hamstring injury. ****Cedric Byrd is next with 76 receptions for 939 yards and 9 TDs. JoJo Ward has pulled in 51 receptions for 865 yards and 9 TDs also. On defense for LA Tech, defensive end Jaylon Ferguson has 23 1/2 tackles for loss, 2nd in the country just behind East Carolina’s Nate Harvey, and is tied for the FBS lead with Sutton Smith of Northern Illinois with 15 sacks. The 6’2”, 262 pound “Sack Daddy” has 42 1/2 career sacks needing only 2 against Hawaii to break the official NCAA record.

With that said, LSU defeated LA Tech, 38-21, and Mississippi State defeated them 45-3, and while those are very good SEC teams, their offenses weren’t totally prolific at times during the season. I like this Hawaii attack . I watched the Rainbow Warriors upset San Diego State at the end of the season, 31-30, and was super impressed with McDonald. I like the Warriors to get the job done on their home turf.

Hawaii 38, LA Tech 35