the final, but that will certainly come with hard internal feelings.Busch

LAS VEGAS -- Houston (9-3, AAC) vs. San Diego State (10-3, MWC), Las Vegas, 3:30 p.m. EST (ABC)Line: Houston by 4.Series Record: Houston leads 2-0.WHATS AT STAKEHouston can win 10 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history while also starting the Major Applewhite era on a positive note, as the offensive coordinator and former Texas quarterback was promoted to replace Austin-bound Tom Herman as head coach. A victory by SDSU would tie the school record for wins, first set in 1969 under coach Don Coryell and matched last season by Rocky Long. The winning team is also likely to end the season ranked, something SDSU has not accomplished since the 1977 season.KEY MATCHUPHoustons run defense vs. SDSUs tailback tandem of Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny. In their two marquee games, the Cougars held Oklahoma to 2.7 yards per carry and Louisville to 2.5, but the defensive front was decidedly less effective in their three losses and allowed at least 146 yards rushing in those games. If Pumphrey and Penny can get going early, a duo that rushed for 27 touchdowns this season can not only wear down Houston but keep star quarterback Greg Ward Jr. off the field at the same time.PLAYERS TO WATCHHouston: DL Ed Oliver more than lived up to his lofty billing as a five-star recruit, immediately dissecting the Sooners for two sacks in his collegiate debut. Finishing his freshman season with 19.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and three forced fumbles, Oliver could be a one-man wrecking machine in the AAC for years to come.SDSU: Pumphrey couldnt get traction with Heisman voters despite rushing for 2,018 yards this season, but could finish his career as the most prolific runner in FBS history. Pumphrey needs 108 yards to break former Wisconsin running back Ron Daynes record of 6,397 yards rushing. Pumphrey has run for at least that many yards 10 times this season and 30 overall in his outstanding college career.FACTS & FIGURESPumphrey and Penny can become the first teammates in NCAA history to rush for 2,000 and 1,000 yards in the same season. Penny needs just five yards to crack the 1,000-yard mark. . Ward will be the third Houston quarterback to start three bowl games, joining Case Keenum and Kevin Kolb. . San Diego State and Boise State are the only Group of Five teams to play in seven straight bowl games. . Oliver has nine pass breakups, tied with cornerback Howard Wilson for the team lead. . A team from the Mountain West has won the Las Vegas Bowl nine times, but SDSU lost in its only previous appearance in 1998.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Randy Moss Youth Jersey .R. 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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Only an amateur would fill out a Chase for the Sprint Cup championship bracket and not mark Kevin Harvick down for a win at Phoenix.Harvick has proven hes just about unbeatable in the desert, and when his playoff chances are on the line, hes delivered time and again. Harvick has won six of the last nine races at Phoenix, finished second in two of his losses and is guaranteed to show up this weekend with a car capable of demoralizing the field.Assuming it will take nothing short of a freak incident to keep Harvick out of victory lane, theres essentially only one spot in the finale up for grabs Sunday.Problem is, there are five drivers jockeying for that last spot.And only two points separate three of those drivers in the standings.To say there will be some brokenhearted teams on Sunday is an understatement. This years version of the Chase has been anticlimactic, sometimes even boring, but this bottleneck in the standings is something to behold.Reigning series champion Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are tied in the standings. Busch teammate Matt Kenseth is just one point back, and Denny Hamlin sits two points out.Only one of them is making it to the final four Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway if Harvick wins, and the chances of Joe Gibbs Racing getting multiple cars into the championship took a hit on Sunday. The team dominated the regular season and had 50 percent of the drivers in this round of eight.Once a threat to get all four cars into the finale, JGR is only guaranteed to be represented by Carl Edwards, who used a fast pit stop to win a rain-shortened race Sunday night at Texas. It was the least optimal outcome for JGR in terms of getting multiple cars into the finale.Edwards, you see, was last in the playoff standings and that miracle win gave him an automatic berth. Although the rules show two spots still remaining and three JGR drivers hovering at the top of the standings, the threat of a Harvick wwin at Phoenix has burst JGRs hopes.ddddddddddddSo heres the situation:HARVICK FOR THE WIN: Hes an eight-time winner at Phoenix and has absolutely owned the place since the track was reconfigured in 2011. Hes also in a situation that Harvick handles quite well -- he pretty much has to win or wont make it to the finale for a third straight year.Harvick is known as a macho driver brimming with confidence, and he didnt seem concerned about his positioning headed into Phoenix. His warning? Hell just go to Phoenix and do what he always does there.JGR: The team had hoped to sweep the finale but cant because Jimmie Johnson earned one of the spots with a win at Martinsville. Best case scenario is that the team gets two more cars into the final, but that will certainly come with hard internal feelings.Busch, Kenseth and Hamlin will likely all be racing for themselves on Sunday and teamwork will be an afterthought.It wouldnt be a shock if JGR doesnt get even one more car into the finale because anything can happen on Sunday.LOGANO: He won at Talladega in the last round to stave off elimination, and he doesnt need to win at Phoenix to make it to Homestead. Hes essentially racing the Gibbs cars and trying to finish higher than the three Toyotas so he can snatch a spot on points.Itll be a tough battle, but Logano likes sticking it to the team that let him go three years ago.KURT BUSCH: Hes an afterthought right now after iffy performances in the last two races have him ranked last in the standings. He most certainly has to win at Phoenix to advance, and its a good track for Busch. He has four consecutive top-10 finishes at Phoenix and could pull off a miracle.Should he get the win, it will come at the expense of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Harvick. Based on the standings, they both cant make the final four. ' ' '