The CFL guide to the college football bowl season

The American college football bowl season gets underway today with 40 games in 15 days with the National Championship set for January 16, 2016.

There are Canadian Football League ties with some high profile NCAA names on negotiation lists across the three-down league.

Here are players from each CFL team’s negotiation lists fans can watch closely when bowl season kicks-off.

Montreal Alouettes

Marquise Williams, QB, North Carolina
Tuesday, December 29
Russell Athletic Bowl
No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 17 Baylor
Orlando, FL
5:30 p.m. ET
Williams snapshot: No. 12 has put up a school-best 10,099 total offensive yards, topping Tar Heels alum Darian Durant’s 9,630.

Jakeem Grant, REC, Texas Tech
Tuesday, December 29
Texas Bowl
No. 20 Louisiana State University vs. Texas Tech
Houston, TX
9 p.m. ET
Grant snapshot: Texas Tech’s diminutive target sits atop the Red Raiders’ all-time career receiving yardage list with 3,161 yards. That’s more than Wes Welker amassed in four and Michael Crabtree in two years in Lubbock, TX.

Ottawa Redblacks

Chuckie Keeton, QB, Utah State
Tuesday, December 22
Idaho Potato Bowl
Akron vs. Utah State
Boise, ID
3:30 p.m. ET
Keaton snapshot: After suffering a knee injury in the Aggies’ third game of the season, Keaton returned to start Utah State’s final regular season game and appears set to get the call in their bowl game.

P.J. Walker, QB, Temple
Tuesday, December 22
Boca Raton Bowl
Toledo vs. No. 24 Temple
Boca Raton, FL
7 p.m. ET
Walker snapshot: Just 358 yards behind Henry Burris for the most passing yards in program history, Walker could pass the 2015 CFL MOP on the Owls’ all-time list.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Matt Johnson, QB, Bowling Green
Wednesday, December 23
GoDaddy Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green
Mobile, AL
8 p.m. ET
Johnson snapshot: The Senior quarterback returned from a broken hip in 2014 to set single-season MAC records passing for 4,700 yards and 43 touchdowns, marks previously held by Ben Roethlisberger and Chad Pennington respectively.

Tommy Armstrong, QB, Nebraska
Saturday, December 26
Foster Farms Bowl
UCLA vs. Nebraska
Santa Clara, CA
9:15 p.m. ET
Armstrong snapshot: Armstrong became Nebraska’s starter midway through his redshirt freshmen season in 2013. That year he boosted the Cornhuskers to a Gator Bowl win over Georgia.

Toronto Argonauts

Shane Williams-Rhodes, REC, Boise State
Wednesday, December 23
Poinsettia Bowl
Boise State vs. Northern Illinois
San Diego, CA
4:30 p.m. ET
Williams-Rhodes snapshot: An ankle injury held Williams-Rhodes out of the Broncos’ last two regular season games, but he’ll be back in the lineup against NIU.

Cody Kessler, QB, University of Southern California
Wednesday, December 30
Holiday Bowl
No. 25 University of Southern California vs. Wisconsin
San Diego, CA
10:30 p.m. ET
Kessler snapshot: A career 87 to 18 TD-INT ratio jumps out about Kessler who’s a three-year starter and takes care of the football.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Brandon Doughty, QB, Western Kentucky
Monday, December 21
Miami Beach Bowl
Western Kentucky vs. USF
Miami, FL
2:30 p.m. ET
Doughty snapshot: Doughty is the only quarterback in NCAA Division I history to throw for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in consecutive seasons.

Michael Brewer, QB, Virginia Tech
Saturday, December 26
Independence Bowl
Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech
Shreveport, LA
5:45 p.m. ET
Brewer snapshot: Despite suffering a broken collarbone in the Hokies’ season-opener, Brewer healed up and regained the starting job for VT.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Nick Mullens, QB, Southern Mississippi
Saturday, December 26
Heart of Dallas Bowl
Washington vs. Southern Mississippi
Dallas, TX
2:20 p.m. ET
Mullens snapshot: Mullens became the first Golden Eagles player to earn Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honours in the school’s 20 seasons in C-USA.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
Friday, January 1
Orange Bowl
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Clemson
Miami, FL
4 p.m. ET
Mayfield snapshot: As a freshman Mayfield walked-on at Texas Tech in 2013 and that year he earned the Big 12 Freshmen of the Year award then promptly transferred to Oklahoma. He’s led the Sooners to National Championship contention in his first year on campus in Norman, OK.

Calgary Stampeders

Greg Ward, QB, Houston
Thursday, December 31
Peach Bowl
No. 18 Houston vs. No. 9 Florida State
Atlanta, GA
12 p.m. ET
Ward snapshot: In the 2015 regular season Ward had more rushing touchdowns (19) than passing touchdowns (16). Nine times in 13 games this season he rushed for more than 75 yards.

Edmonton Eskimos

J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State
Friday, January 1
Fiesta Bowl
No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Ohio State
Glendale, AZ
1 p.m. ET
Barrett snapshot: Urban Meyer’s sophomore pivot has shared quarterback duties with Cardale Jones and Barrett has produced 21 total touchdowns – 10 passing and 11 rushing.

Trevone Boykin, QB, Texas Christian University
Saturday, January 2
Alamo Bowl
No. 15 Oregon vs. No. 11 TCU
San Antonio, TX
6:45 p.m. ET
Boykin snapshot: Boykin suffered an ankle injury and sat out TCU’s loss to Oklahoma on November 21 that likely cost the Horned Frogs a shot at a National title.

B.C. Lions

Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
Wednesday, December 30
NC State vs. Mississippi State
Belk Bowl
Charlotte, NC
3:30 p.m. ET
Prescott snapshot: Prescott and Tim Tebow are the only quarterbacks in SEC history with 40-plus passing and 40-plus rushing touchdowns in a career.

Vernon Adams, QB, Oregon
Saturday, January 2
Alamo Bowl
No. 15 Oregon vs. No. 11 TCU
San Antonio, TX
6:45 p.m. ET
Adams snapshot: Before transferring to Oregon for his senior season, Adams set a Big Sky Conference record with 110 touchdown passes at Eastern Washington.

Justin Dunk
Justin Dunk is a football insider, sports reporter and anchor.