College Football Cheat Sheet: Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Nine bowl games are in the books. We’ve seen USF put a beating on a checked-out Syracuse team, some outstanding football weather in the Cure Bowl, a wild comeback from WKU, Rob Gronkowski shenanigans at the LA Bowl, and New Mexico State head coach Jerry Kill getting big mad at rival New Mexico for the bowl setup.

This postseason has already gotten sideways. It’s about to get more sideways.

KSR’s College Football Cheat Sheet is back to set the table from Friday through Wednesday as the bowl season really gets ramped up around Christmas. We’ve got multiple Power Five vs. Power Five matchups beginning on Friday night in Orlando, an after dark Hawai’i Bowl on Saturday night, a mayo bath, and plenty of interim coach situations coming down the chimney.

Let’s get ready for some more postseason football.

The Slate

Gasparilla Bowl	Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. UCF (6-6)	6:30pm ET (Friday)	ESPN
Camellia Bowl	Arkansas State (6-6) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6)	Noon ET (Saturday)	ESPN
Birmingham Bowl	Troy (11-2) vs. Duke (7-5)	Noon ET (Saturday)	ABC
Armed Forces Bowl	James Madison (11-1) vs. Air Force (8-4)	3:30pm ET (Saturday)	ABC
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Georgia State (6-6) vs. Utah State (6-6)	3:30pm ET (Saturday)	ESPN
68 Ventures Bowl	South Alabama (6-6) vs. Eastern Michigan (6-6)	7:00pm ET (Saturday)	ESPN
Las Vegas Bowl	Utah (8-4) vs. Northwestern (7-5)	7:30pm ET (Saturday)	ABC
Hawai’i Bowl	Coastal Carolina (7-5) vs. San Jose State (7-5)	10:30pm ET (Saturday)	ESPN
Quick Lane Bowl	Bowling Green (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7)	2:00pm ET (Tuesday)	ESPN
First Responder Bowl	Texas State (7-5) vs. Rice (6-6)	5:30pm ET (Tuesday)	ESPN
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Kansas (8-4) vs. UNLV (9-4)	9:00pm ET (Tuesday)	ESPN
Military Bowl	Virginia Tech (6-6) vs. Tulane (11-2)	2:00pm ET (Wednesday)	ESPN
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4)	5:30pm ET (Wednesday)	ESPN
Holiday Bowl	Louisville (10-3) vs. USC (7-5)	8:00pm ET (Wednesday)	FOX
Texas Bowl	Texas A&M (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (9-4)	9:00pm ET (Wednesday)	ESPN

Full Rundown

Gasparilla Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. UCF

In the only game on Friday, we will get an ACC vs. Big 12 matchup in Tampa. This is a battle between teams with good offenses and fun quarterbacks against bad defenses. Let’s see some points. Both the Yellow Jackets and Knights rank sub-115 in defensive success rate. This has a chance to be the most entertaining game of bowl season.

Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

In a battle of 6-6 MAC teams, Arkansas State might have the “we’re excited to be here” advantage. The Red Wolves surprisingly got to .500 largely thanks to true freshman quarterback Jaylen Raynor (9.0 yards per attempt, 483 non-sack rushing yards, 20 total touchdowns) looking like a cornerstone piece for this program. Northern Illinois is clearly better on defense and will want to play ground-and-pound with tailback Antario Brown (1,164 rushing yards, 6.2 yards per rush, 11 total touchdowns). This seems to be a very even matchup.

Birmingham Bowl: Troy vs. Duke

We’ve got an interim coach bowl at the home of Trent Dilfer and the SEC offices after Jon Sumrall bolted for Tulane and Mike Elko departed for Texas A&M after just two seasons at both Troy and Duke. Gerad Parker and Manny Diaz will both watch their future teams from the sidelines on Saturday afternoon. Duke has lost a ton of star power to the transfer portal, and Troy has not. If the Trojans are locked in, they’ve got a great chance to record a Power Five victory playing in front of what should be a heavy Troy crowd.

Armed Forces Bowl: James Madison vs. Air Force

The best matchup of the Saturday could be in Fort Worth against two teams that enter the postseason with 19 combined wins. Unfortunately, this bowl game lost some luster when James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti left for Indiana. The Dukes have lost a ton of starters to the transfer portal highlighted by quarterback Jordan McCloud. Air Force is close to full strength and will force James Madison with an interim coaching staff to defend the option.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Georgia State vs. Utah State

There will be a fry bath on the blue turf in Boise on Saturday evening. Georgia State and Utah State each enter this game at 6-6 in a Sun Belt vs. Mountain West matchup. The Panthers will be without major star power on offense after tailback Marcus Carroll (Missouri), wide receiver Robert Lewis (Auburn), and offensive tackle Montavious Cunningham (Virginia Tech) entered the transfer portal. Utah State will be on QB3 due to injuries. Good luck predicting what will happen.

68 Ventures Bowl: South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan

South Alabama will stay at home this bowl season but will be without star tailback La’Damian Webb and wide receiver Caullin Lacy (Louisville). Starting quarterback Carter Bradley might also be unavailable. Eastern Michigan will also be without multiple starters highlighted by quarterback Austin Smith being absent. Despite this being a battle of 6-6 teams, South Alabama is laying 17 points due to having a significant on-paper advantage. However, the Eagles are one of the best road underdogs in college football under Chris Creighton.

Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. Northwestern

We’ll get a Big Ten vs. Pac-12 matchup out in Vegas. Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes is in the transfer portal but will be suiting up for the Utes one final time. Northwestern will be very close to full strength after a surprising 7-5 campaign. Each offense labors to move the football. Expect a slugfest in the desert.

Bryson Barnes is CLUTCH 😱 pic.twitter.com/Od6M4zIZcP

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 22, 2023

Hawai’i Bowl: San Jose State vs. Coastal Carolina

In Honolulu late Saturday night, both teams will be missing significant offensive pieces. Star Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall has transferred to NC State. San Jose State will be without their starting left tackle and tight end. Both teams in this matchup struggle to stop the run. San Jose State owns the much better rushing attack.

Quick Lane Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Minnesota

Over in Detroit, Minnesota will be the only 5-7 team participating in bowl season this year on Tuesday. The Gophers will be without their defensive coordinator and starting quarterback. Bowling Green will not have all-conference cornerback Jalen Huskey. The Falcons beat Minnesota in Minneapolis two years ago and will be making a consecutive trip to the Quick Lane Bowl after falling to New Mexico State last season.

First Responder Bowl: Texas State vs. Rice

At SMU’s stadium, two Texas teams will face off in Dallas on Tuesday evening. Texas State will be playing in its first-ever bowl game after G.J. Kinne‘s offense finished the season ranked No. 16 in success rate, No. 29 in yards per play, and No. 30 in points per drive. Rice will be without quarterback JT Daniels after the former blue-chip recruit missed the final three games and medically retired from football after the season. There are no major opt-outs, and both teams seem excited to be in a bowl game. This one should be fun.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Kansas vs. UNLV

Kansas will be without offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki (Penn State) but will be pretty close to full strength otherwise as this program looks for its first bowl win since 2008. UNLV is also at full strength and will be looking to close out a strong season after losing to Boise State in the Mountain West Championship Game. Expect a shootout with both defenses ranking sub-100 in EPA/play allowed.

Military Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Tulane

Brent Pry got Virginia Tech to the postseason in year two. Tulane will be missing a handful of starters and will have an interim coaching staff after Willie Fritz left for Houston. The “we want to be here” meter heavily favors the Hokies. Tulane should expect a heavy dose of the run game. Virginia Tech rushed 250-plus yards in three of their last five games.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia

North Carolina will be dealing with heavy opt-outs in Charlotte. West Virginia will not. The Mountaineers lost some depth pieces to the transfer portal, but their rushing attack (No. 7 in success rate, 234.3 yards per game) should have its way with a bad North Carolina defense. WVU is laying near a touchdown for a reason.

Holiday Bowl: Louisville vs. USC

Louisville will be missing star tailback Jawhar Jordan and WR1 Jamari Thrash out in San Diego, but that is nothing compared to the opt-outs USC is dealing with. Caleb Williams, RB1 MarShawn Lloyd, and starting wideout Brenden Rice will each miss the bowl game. There are also some productive players in the transfer portal along with an interim defensive coaching staff. The Trojans still have a ton of talent but Louisville has a great chance to pick up a name-brand win in their bowl under Jeff Brohm.

Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State

Texas A&M has an interim coaching situation and will not have offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino in Houston. More than a handful of starters have entered the transfer portal along with four other starters opting out. The Aggies will very much have their backups starting. Oklahoma State is at full strength. The Pokes have a great opportunity to get a 10th win in the Texas Bowl.