Skidding USC, without its star QB, meets Louisville in the Holiday Bowl
Southern California felt it was a national championship contender and certainly was resembling one when the squad was unbeaten through six games.
But the rest of the season was a disaster for the Trojans, who finish the campaign Wednesday in a mid-level bowl when it opposes No. 15 Louisville in the Holiday Bowl in
San Diego (8 p.m., Fox).
USC (7-5) limped to the finish with five losses in six games and had to rally from 14 points down in the fourth quarter in the one victory — 50-49 over Cal on Oct. 28.
In the eyes of Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, his team needs to forget what happened over the second half of the season.
“We got to make the most of it,” Riley said of the bowl experience. “You can’t let all that outside stuff take away from the opportunities at hand.”
Nearly 20 USC players have opted out of the game, including 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
Miller Moss makes his first career start at quarterback. That’s no easy task with Louisville (10-3) ranking 16th in total defense (307.4 yards per game) entering the bowl season.
The Cardinals also feature an elite defensive end in Ashton Gillotte
(11 sacks), who announced he will return in 2024.
The Cardinals are looking to finish with a bang after back-to-back losses took some shine off their stellar campaign. Still, they have won 10 games for the first time since 2013.
Louisville blew a 10point lead while succumbing 38-31 to Kentucky in late November, and then the offense struggled in a 16-6 loss to then-No. 4 Florida State in the ACC title game.
Louisville will be without star running back Jawhar Jordan and top receiver Jamari Thrash. Both opted out of the bowl to focus on the NFL draft.
MILITARY BOWL
Virginia Tech (6-6) tries to snap a four-game losing streak in bowls when it faces Tulane (11-2) on Wednesday in the Military Bowl (2 p.m., ESPN) in Annapolis, Md.
The Hokies haven’t won a bowl since beating Arkansas in the 2016 Belk Bowl.
Tulane has a chance for its second consecutive 12-win season. That would be quite a foundation for new coach Jon Sumrall when he takes over next year.
The Green Wave lost coach Willie Fritz to Houston earlier this month. Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle is finishing the season as the interim coach.
DUKE’S MAYO BOWL
Not many expected West Virginia and North Carolina to be in this bowl Wednesday (5:30 p.m., ESPN) in Charlotte, but for entirely different reasons.
West Virginia (8-4) was picked last in the preseason Big 12 poll and coach Neal Brown was on the hot seat. The Mountaineers finished 6-3 in the
Big 12, good for a tie for fourth place.
North Carolina (8-4) had national championship aspirations and was ranked as high as No. 10 after winning its first six games. But UNC lost four of its final six to finish 4-4 in the ACC, in a threeway tie for sixth.
One of the nation’s best rushing teams, West Virginia is averaging 234.3 yards per game, third among FBS teams.
The Mountaineers spread it around, with three backs rushing for at least 64 yards per game. Jahiem White leads with 72 yards per game. Garrett Greene (13) and CJ Donaldson Jr. (11) each have double figures in touchdowns.
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, who likely will be selected early in the NFL Draft, opted out of the bowl game. He’ll be replaced by freshman Conner Harrell.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is West Virginia’s 40th bowl appearance, including 19 in the past 22 years. This is the third meeting between the two schools, all in bowl games, with each winning once.
Maybe the mayonnaise bath that goes to the winning coach will help UNC smooth some bruised egos.
“We need to win,” Tar Heels coach Mack
Brown said. “I’d let someone hit me with a frying pan 365 days if we won. Mayonnaise is easy.” (all times Eastern)
SATURDAY, DEC. 16
MYRTLE BEACH BOWL At Conway, .S.C.
Ohio 41, Georgia Southern 21 CELEBRATION BOWL At Atlanta
Florida A&M 30, Howard 26
NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Jacksonville St. 34, La-Lafayette 31 (OT)
CURE BOWL
At Orlando
Appalachian St. 13, Miami (Ohio) 9
NEW MEXICO BOWL
At Albuquerque
Fresno St. 37, New Mexico St. 10
L.A. BOWL
At Inglewood, Calif.
UCLA 35, Boise St. 22
INDEPENDENCE BOWL
At Shreveport, La.
Texas Tech 34, California 14
MONDAY, DEC. 18
FAMOUS TOASTERY BOWL
At Charlotte, N.C.
Western Kentucky 38, Old Dominion 35
TUESDAY, DEC. 19
FRISCO BOWL
At Frisco, Texas
UTSA 35, Marshall 17
THURSDAY, DEC. 21
BOCA RATON BOWL
At FAU Stadium
USF 45, Syracuse 0
FRIDAY, DEC. 22 GASPARILLA BOWL At Tampa
Georgia Tech 30, UCF 17
SATURDAY, DEC. 23
BIRMINGHAM BOWL
At Birmingham, Ala.
Duke 17, Troy 10
CAMELLIA BOWL
At Montgomery, Ala.
N. Illinois 21, Arkansas St. 19
ARMED FORCES BOWL
At Fort Worth, Texas
Air Force 31, No. 24 James Madison 21
FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL
At Boise, Idaho
Georgia St. 45, Utah St. 22
68 VENTURES BOWL
At Mobile, Ala.
South Alabama 59, Eastern Michigan 10
LAS VEGAS BOWL
Northwestern 14, Utah 7
HAWAII BOWL
At Honolulu
Coastal Carolina 24, San Jose St. 14
TUESDAY, DEC. 26
QUICK LANE BOWL
At Detroit
Bowling Green vs. Minnesota
FIRST RESPONDER BOWL At Dallas
Texas State vs. Rice
GUARANTEED RATE BOWL At Phoenix
Kansas vs. UNLV
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27
MILITARY BOWL
At Annapolis, Md.
Tulane vs. Virginia Tech, 2 (ESPN)
THURSDAY, DEC. 28
FENWAY BOWL
At Boston
No. 24 SMU vs. Boston College, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
PINSTRIPE BOWL
At The Bronx, N.Y.
Rutgers vs. Miami, 2:15 (ESPN)
POP-TARTS BOWL
At Orlando
No. 18 NC State vs. No. 25 Kansas State, 5:45 (ESPN)
ALAMO BOWL
At San Antonio
No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Arizona, 9:15 (ESPN)
FRIDAY, DEC. 29
GATOR BOWL
At Jacksonville
No. 22 Clemson vs. Kentucky, Noon (ESPN)
TONY THE TIGER SUN BOWL
At El Paso
No. 16 Notre Dame vs. No. 19 Oregon St., 2 (CBS)
LIBERTY BOWL
At Memphis
Memphis vs. Iowa St., 3:30 (ESPN)
COTTON BOWL
At Dallas
No. 7 Ohio St. vs. No. 9 Missouri, 8 (ESPN)
SATURDAY, DEC. 30
PEACH BOWL
At Atlanta
No. 10 Penn St. vs. No. 11 Ole Miss, Noon (ESPN)
MUSIC CITY BOWL
At Nashville
Auburn vs. Maryland, 2 (ABC)
ORANGE BOWL
At Hard Rock Stadium
No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Georgia, 4 (ESPN)
ARIZONA BOWL
At Tucson
Wyoming vs. Toledo, 4:30 (Barstool)
MONDAY, JAN. 1, 2024
RELIAQUEST BOWL
At Tampa
No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin, Noon (ESPN2)
CITRUS BOWL
At Orlando
No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee, 1 (ABC)
FIESTA BOWL
At Glendale, Ariz.
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty, 1 (ESPN)
CFP SEMIFINAL AT THE ROSE BOWL At Pasadena, Calif.
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama, 5 (ESPN)
CFP SEMIFINAL AT THE SUGAR BOWL At New Orleans
No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas, 8:45 (ESPN)
MONDAY, JAN. 8, 2024
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP At Houston
TBD vs. TBD, 7:30 (ESPN)