Heavyweights clash during holiday week
Other bowl games to watch this week:
Holiday Bowl: No. 15 Louisville (10-3) vs. Southern Cal (7-5)
Dec. 27, 8 p.m. ET, Fox
Location:
Spread (BetMGM):
San Diego
Louisville by 7
Louisville won 10 games for the first time since 2013 in the first season under Jeff Brohm. Louisville’s offense was held out of the end zone and had just 188 yards in the ACC championship game against Florida State. The Cardinals had scored at least 31 points in the final four games of the regular season.
QB Jack Plummer came to Louisville as a sixth-year player and became the team’s starter mainly because of his experience playing for Brohm at Purdue. The Arizona native has three 300-yard passing games this season, totaling 3,063 yards and 21 touchdowns. The Trojans will be without QB Caleb Williams, receiver Brenden Rice – the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, a former high school teammate of Jordan’s and USC’s touchdown receptions leader – and leading rusher MarShawn Lloyd. USC ended the season on a three-game losing streak and has not played a game since Nov. 18 when it lost to UCLA. Backup QB Miller Moss appeared in four games and was 23 of 32 for 309 yards and one TD this season.
Texas Bowl: No. 21 Oklahoma State (9-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5)
Dec. 27, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Location:
Spread:
Houston
Texas A&M by 2
Cowboys All-American running back Ollie Gordon II announced he intends to remain at OSU for the 2024 season. Gordon was the first Oklahoma State player to win the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back. Gordon leads the nation with 1,614 rushing yards and 1,940 yards from scrimmage.
Texas A&M fired head coach Jimbo Fisher in November. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino took a new job not long after. Interim head coach Elijah Robinson spends his off days recruiting for his next employer, Syracuse, where he’ll be the defensive coordinator. More than a dozen Aggie players have entered the transfer portal and a few more have declared for the NFL draft.
LB Edgerrin Cooper, who remains, tied for fourth in SEC with eight sacks.
Alamo Bowl: No. 12 Oklahoma (10-2) vs. No. 14 Arizona (9-3)
Dec. 28, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Location:
San Antonio
Dillon Gabriel, the Sooners starter at quarterback the last two seasons, has transferred to Oregon. QB Jackson Arnold figures to get his first career start for OU. Arnold starred at Denton (Texas) Guyer High, going 28-3 in two seasons as a starter and throwing for more than 7,000 yards with 67 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He also rushed for 1,580 yards and 36 scores over his last two seasons. He was a consensus five-star and top-25 national recruit in the 2023 class, rated as the No. 3 overall prospect by ESPN, No. 6 on On3, No. 10 by 247Sports and No. 23 by Rivals. Arizona QB Noah Fifita had 2,515 yards passing and 23 touchdowns. The Wildcats enter on a six-game winning streak.
Sun Bowl: No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) vs. No. 22 Oregon State (8-4)
Dec. 29, 2 p.m. ET, CBS
Location:
Spread:
El Paso, Texas
Notre Dame by 6.5
After three seasons at Clemson, DJ Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State for the 2023 season. He put up good numbers from the quarterback spot, throwing for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns. After the regular season ended, though, “DJ U” announced he will be going back into the transfer portal as a graduate student. Freshman Aidan Charles took the next most snaps at quarterback for the Beavers, competing 24 of 35 pass attempts for 309 yards and four TDs in limited action. Notre Dame sophomore QB Steve Angeli tops the depth chart after Sam Hartman declared for the NFL draft. Duke junior transfer Riley Leonard is the projected 2024 starter. Angeli threw four touchdowns in limited action in 2023.
Peach Bowl: No. 10 Penn State (10-2) vs. No. 11 Ole Miss (10-2)
Dec. 30, noon ET, ESPN
Location:
Spread:
Atlanta
Georgia by 16.5
Defensive end Adisa Isaac and other Penn State’s leaders said they will play in the game. Isaac was Penn State’s defensive MVP with 7.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. TE Tyler Warren, LB Curtis Jacobs, C Hunter Nourzad, CB Daequan Hardy and TE Theo Johnson say they will play in the game. Defensive end and projected early-round NFL draft pick Chop Robinson has announced that he’ll sit out.
The matchup will be the first meeting between the teams. Ole Miss ranks 15th in the nation in total offense, averaging 455.4 yards per game. QB Jaxson Dart has passed for 2,985 yards with 20 touchdowns and rushed for 377 yards with seven touchdowns. RB Quinshon Judkins has rushed for 1,052 yards and 15 TDs.
Orange Bowl: No. 3 Florida State (13-0) vs. No. 6 Georgia (12-1) Dec. 30, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
Location:
Spread:
Miami Gardens, Florida
Georgia by 16.5
Florida State redshirt junior quarterback Tate Rodemaker won’t play and has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal. Rodemaker’s decision would leave freshman Brock Glenn as the only other scholarship
quarterback on the roster and who has played this season.
Georgia junior inside linebacker Smael Mondon is returning for the 2024 season, keeping a veteran presence at a position with plenty of young talent. Mondon, a second-team All-SEC selection, tied for the team lead in tackles this season with 68 and led the team during the national championship season in 2022 with 76.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 8 Oregon (11-2) vs. No. 20 Liberty (13-0)
Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET, ABC
Location: Glendale, Arizona
Spread: OTB at press time
The Flames (13-0, 8-0 CUSA) are one of just a few FBS programs to still be unbeaten after running through one of the weakest schedules of any ranked team in the country. Quarterback Kaidon Salter has 2,750 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He’s also one of just two FBS quarterbacks, along with LSU’s Jayden Daniels, to rush for 1,000 yards. His backfield mate, Quinton Cooley, has 1,322 yards with 16 touchdowns and averages over six yards per touch. Oregon WR Troy Franklin has not publicly opted out of the bowl game. He has stated he will head to the NFL after this season, and there is an expectation he will not play in the Fiesta Bowl. Franklin set single-season Oregon records this fall for receptions (81), receiving yards (1,383) and receiving touchdowns (14).