USC to face No. 15 Louisville in the 2023 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl

The USC Trojans (7-5, 5-4) are heading to San Diego for the holidays as they’ll take on the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals (10-3, 7-1) in the 2023 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl.

The game will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 5 pm PT at Petco Park in San Diego. The game will air live on FOX and will be the first time these programs have ever met.

The Trojans will head into the contest on a three-game losing streak, as well as a three-game bowl losing streak. The biggest question for USC is whether quarterback Caleb Williams will participate. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner hasn’t yet stated whether he will declare for the 2024 NFL Draft and/or opt out of the Trojans’ bowl game. He said during the regular season that if he did indeed elect to return to USC, he didn’t see a reason why he wouldn’t play in the bowl game. Though at this point, the feeling still is that Williams will move on to the NFL.

What other players are available for USC will be something to watch as well.

Williams led the USC offense this season with 3,633 passing yards and 30 touchdowns through the air. He added 11 more touchdowns on the ground. If he doesn’t play, the Trojans would likely turn to Miller Moss at quarterback. The third-year vet completed 23-of-32 passes for 309 yards and a touchdown this season. This could present a major opportunity for Moss to prove he should be the starter for the Trojans in 2024. It will be interesting to see what Lincoln Riley does with Malachi Nelson, who threw just three passes this year and was not available for USC’s final regular season game against UCLA.

USC has not had any players specifically state they will opt out of the bowl game. Though, several have either entered the transfer portal or have stated they will.

Louisville will be coming off a 16-6 loss to undefeated Florida State in the ACC Championship Game. The Cardinals are on a two-game slide, dropping its final regular season game to Kentucky, 38-31.

One Louisville player likely looking forward to the game is quarterback Jack Plummer. He was the Cal quarterback last season and had one of the best games of his career at USC. Plummer threw for 406 and three touchdowns in completing 71.1% of his passes against the Trojans.

This season, Plummer has completed 63.5% of his passes for 3,063 yards and 21 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He was shut down by the Florida State defense in the ACC Championship Game, completing 14-of-36 passes for 111 yards and an interception.

Louisville is led by its ground game, featuring standout back Jawhar Jordan. He finished the year with 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns. And he got plenty of help from fellow back Isaac Guerendo, who totaled 649 yards and eight touchdowns. At receiver, Jamari Thrash led the team with 63 receptions, 858 yards and six scores.

Defensively, linebacker TJ Quinn leads the team with 87 tackles. Defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte has been a problem for opposing offenses. He finished the regular season with 14.5 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks, to go with a team-high three forced fumbles.

Here’s a look at where Louisville ranks nationally in some key stat categories:

Scoring offense – 45th (30.9 points per game)
Total offense – 45th (419.3 yards per game)
Rushing offense – 47th (175.3 yards per game)
Passing offense – 53rd (244.0 yards per game)

Scoring defense – 21st (19.7 points per game)
Total defense – 16th (307.3 yards per game)
Rushing offense – 13th (101.9 yards per game)
Passing offense – 35th (205.4 yards per game)

USC had not been a frequent participant in the Holiday Bowl throughout its history until the past decade. The Holiday Bowl began operating in 1978 and it took all the way until 2014 for the Trojans to make their first appearance. Since then, USC has been a Holiday Bowl participant now three more times. The Trojans beat Nebraska in 2014, then lost to Wisconsin the following year. The Trojans went back in 2019 and were blown out by Iowa, 49-24. This will be USC’s fourth trip to the Holiday Bowl in the past 10 seasons.