Texas A&M and Kentucky will look to finish on a high note this afternoon.

Granted, winning eight games and ending the season with a bowl victory isn’t ultimate glory for an SEC team, but it beats the alternative. And despite what many think about the over-saturation of bowls, these games matter to the teams’ fans and can spring the programs into 2018 with some positive energy.

Texas A&M will face off against Wake Forest in the Belk Bowl, and Kentucky will battle Northwestern in the Music City Bowl, which start at 1 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET, respectively.

Here are five things that I’d like to see from the teams as they wrap up 2017:

1. Improved Kentucky secondary

Kentucky is 112th in America against the pass, which doesn’t bode well against a capable passer in Clayton Thorson. That’s also not a good formula with a more-than-capable tailback in Justin Jackson. Northwestern could easily establish balance and make this game a shootout. That wouldn’t be ideal for a Kentucky team that has struggled to throw the ball all year.

That’s why secondary play is so important for Kentucky. The question is where those answers will come from. Perhaps switching the athletic Lynn Bowden over to the secondary will provide a spark. Maybe just having a month to game-plan and shore up some bumps and bruises will be the difference.

You can beat Northwestern if you get it into some third-and-long situations. That, however, will be easier said than done.

2. Non-Benny Snell offense

It’s easy to light up the scoreboard when your best player is going off. To Snell’s credit, he’s been able to do that several times to fuel Kentucky victories this year. But against the nation’s No. 10 running defense, Kentucky can’t put all of its eggs in Snell’s basket.

This has to be a big Stephen Johnson game. I don’t think this can be one of those days where he goes 10-for-17 with 120 passing yards. If the Wildcats are going to win, they’re going to have to out-scheme Pat Fitzgerald’s unit.

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Keep in mind that Northwestern is riding a seven-game winning streak in which it surrendered just 15 points per contest. Chances are, Kentucky isn’t going to simply impose its will and run the ball 50 times. Johnson is going to have to attack downfield and at least try to keep that talented secondary honest.

Balance hasn’t been Kentucky’s strength, but some form of it will have to be established.

3. Christian Kirk being Christian Kirk

Far too often in 2017, the SEC’s top skill player — and maybe top overall player — has been extremely hindered by Texas A&M’s quarterback situation. Kirk hasn’t officially declared early for the NFL draft, but the thinking is that today will likely be his last college game.

In other words, there should be no excuse for the Aggies to make him invisible. As always, Kirk needs to be targeted early and often. Jet sweeps? Sure. Wide receiver screens? Why not. Go routes? Go for it.

Kirk’s junior year will show a decrease in production. Unless he has 22 catches in the Belk Bowl, he’ll fall short of 80 receptions for the first time in his collegiate career. Fortunately for him, 22 catches are more likely than 2 catches with Nick Starkel under center for Texas A&M.

There’s nothing the Aggies can do if Wake Forest plays it safe and kicks away from Kirk, but if they don’t, there’s a good chance we see one of his signature return touchdowns.

If Kirk makes a handful of plays like that, the Aggies should roll in this one.

4. For Nick Starkel to make a statement

I like the potential of Kellen Mond long term, but I’m a bigger believer in Starkel in the immediate future. Yes, he struggled in the regular-season finale against LSU, as many do against that defense. Still, this is a perfect opportunity to show his new coach that he’s the man for the job in 2018.

People often ask what value bowl games actually have. For Texas A&M, this is a huge early factor in deciding the quarterback battle. For underclassmen such as Mond and Starkel, this game could wind up being a factor in one of them possibly deciding to transfer. That’s obviously looking down the road, but it doesn’t take much for that to become a reality.

If Starkel throws for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns in a Belk Bowl victory, he’s going to have public support, and he’ll have made the best possible first impression on Jimbo Fisher. One has to think Fisher is going to give the nod to the more polished player, a case Starkel can make against Wake Forest.

5. Take. Some. Chances.

This goes for both Kentucky and Texas A&M. Let’s be honest. Neither of these are what we would call “make-or-break” bowl games. If I see either of these teams punting on 4th-and-2 from their opponent’s 40-yard line, I might lose it. That shouldn’t happen in the regular season, much less in the last game of the year.

There’s no excuse for a conservative game plan in bowl games like these. A&M’s Jeff Banks is an interim coach who already has made $75,000 just for roaming the sidelines today, and nobody is deciding Mark Stoops’ long-term future based on UK’s  result. So yes, pull out a few gadget plays. That’s not to say that we should see a dozen flea flickers or fake punts on 4TH-AND-18 FROM YOUR OWN END ZONE, NORTHERN ILLINOIS.

We can find the happy medium between NIU’s insanity and Jeff Fisher-level conservatism … right?