2023 College Football Bowl Previews (Sat 12/30)

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OUR TAKE

Lane Kiffin has this Ole Miss team going in the right direction, and they seem to be making a statement in the transfer portal as well. One of the top offenses this year (scoring 34 ppg, good for 20th overall, and top 25 in yards) is led by Jaxson Dart, who threw for just under 3,000 yards this season and 20 touchdowns while also running for seven. He had three receivers go over 700 yards on the season in Jordan Watkins (53-741-3), Dayton Wade (52-769-4), and Tre Harris (47-851-8). Pair that with 1,000-yard rusher Quinshon Judkins this offense has been rolling this year.

We got that Ole Miss offense going against one of the best defenses in Penn State. They have been a top-five defense and have one of the best sack rates and pressures in college football. They are also only giving up 11.8 points a game. The offense has a 1-2 punch at RB with Nick Singleton (163-702-8) and Kaytron Allen (162-851-6). Drew Allar might not have put up the numbers some expected, but he didn’t turn it over. He threw for 2,336 yards, 23 touchdowns, and only 1 interception in 350 attempts.

TL;DR: This looks to be a top-25 offense (Ole Miss) that can move the ball through the air and on the ground vs. a top-5 defense that hasn’t allowed much to offenses all year. Give me Ole Miss in this one, though. Too many weapons.

OLE MISS OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• S Demarko Williams

• DB Isheem Young

• OT Cedric Melton

• S Rayf Vinson

• TE Jayvontay Conner

• TE Kyirin Heath

• WR Bralon Brown

• WR JJ Henry

• WR Jeremiah Dillon

• OTCedrick Nicely

• K Caden Costa

• DE Reginald Hughes

PENN STATE OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• S Christian Driver
• CB Jace Tutty
• P Alex Bacchetta

STAFF PICKS

	Josh Chevalier	Zach Hall	Matt Wispe	Rick Kamla	Mike Bainbridge
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OUR TAKE

The Auburn Tigers will take on the Maryland Terrapins in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. While the Tigers opened up as 2.5-point favorite, that line moved up to 7 points when it was announced that Taulia Tagovailoa would opt out of the bowl. This is a huge blow to the Maryland offense, considering they average 284.8 PASS YPG versus 108.9 RUSH YPG. The latter was one of the worst marks in all of FBS. The Terrapins will play a combination of Billy Edwards and Cameron Edge at QB in the bowl game. Neither did much during the regular season and probably won’t have much motivation to lead this team, considering the Terps brought in transfer QB MJ Morris from NC State to be the starter in 2024. The best option for Maryland is to lean on versatile RB Roman Hemby in this game. Defensively, Maryland is a top-40 overall unit in the nation, holding opposing offense to 336.9 YPG and 4.0 YPP.

The Auburn Tigers had one of the worst passing attacks in the country, averaging a meager 157.1 YPG. However, their rushing attack, led by dynamic RB Jarquez Hunter, was top 15 in the nation, averaging 198.8 YPG. Hunter rushed for 90-plus yards in 5 of his last 6 games, averaging 107.8 YPG over that stretch. Defensively, the Tigers were good against opposing passing attacks while struggling to contain the running game, giving up 159.4 YPG.

TL;DR: If Auburn can establish their ground game with Jarquez Hunter, then they will win this game. However, it was not long ago we saw the Tigers upset by New Mexico State. Losing Taulia Tagovailoa is simply too big of a loss for Maryland to overcome, in my opinion. With the line moving so drastically, I’m picking Auburn to win this game and cover the spread, despite a majority of our staff leaning in the opposite direction.

AUBURN OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• QB Robby Ashford

• WR Malcolm Johnson Jr.

• DT Marcus Harris

• CB DJ James

• CB Nehemiah Pritchett

MARYLAND OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• QB Taulia Tagovailoa
• RB Antwain Littleton
• WR Tyrese Chambers
• TE Corey Dyches
• TE Rico Walker
• LB Riyal Wilmot
• CB Corey Coley
• CB Tarheeb Still
• CB Tamarcus Cooley
• S Avantae Williams

STAFF PICKS

	Josh Chevalier	Zach Hall	Matt Wispe	Rick Kamla	Mike Bainbridge
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OUR TAKE

The Georgia Bulldogs take on the Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl down in Miami, Florida. The biggest storyline for this game is all of the opt-outs on the FSU side after they were controversially denied a spot in the college football playoffs. Literally, every top playmaker on offense is not playing in this bowl game. While QB Brock Glenn will start this bowl game, their best offense might be running the wildcat with Lawrence Toafili as they did versus Louisville in the ACC Championship Game. Defensively, they will be missing their top player in Jared Verse, as well as several other key pieces on the defensive line. It is going to be tough for FSU to overcome all these losses to make this game competitive.

On the other side, stud QB Carson Beck announced that he will play in the bowl game and return for the 2024 season. While there are several players who could opt-out for this bowl, the offense will be fine with Beck throwing the rock as long as the offensive line stays intact. Defensively, Georgia is always a top unit, and this year was no different. While they also may see some opt-outs in this bowl game, the Bulldogs will have capable replacements waiting in the wings.

TL;DR: With all the opt-outs, this game has lost a bit of its luster. It’s simply too hard to envision where the FSU offensive production comes from in this game. A large majority of our staff is picking Georgia to not only win this game, but cover the spread too.

GEORGIA OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• QB Brock Vandagriff

• WR Mekhi Mews

• LB Marvin Jones Jr

• LB Xavien Sorey Jr.

• LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson

• CB AJ Harris

• CB Daniel Harris

FLORIDA STATE OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• QB Tate Rodemaker
• RB Trey Benson
• WR Johnny Wilson
• WR Keon Coleman
• WR Winston Wright
• TE Jaheim Bell
• TE Markeston Douglas
• OT Bless Harris
• DT Malcolm Ray
• DL Fabien Lovett
• DE Jared Verse

STAFF PICKS

	Josh Chevalier	Zach Hall	Matt Wispe	Rick Kamla	Mike Bainbridge
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OUR TAKE

The Toledo Rockets will take on the Wyoming Cowboys in the Arizona Bowl in Tuscon, Arizona. The Rockets will do so without their all-world starting QB, Dequan Finn, who is transferring to Baylor for the 2024 season. However, they will have one of the top 2023 RBs in the country, Peny Boone, who turned 183 carries into 1,359 yards and 15 TDs. It was fun to see Boone finally live up to his potential this year. Defensively, Toledo was top 15 against the pass, but dipped into the 50’s against the run, allowing opposing teams to average 147.2 YPG.

Many times these bowl games come down to which team is more highly motivated to win. You might not find any team with more motivation to win than Wyoming, as HC Craig Bohl announced he will be retiring after this game. Bohl’s players will want to help him go out with a victory. Offensively, they will lean on former NIU RB, Harrison Waylee, who turned 146 rushing attempts into 856 yards and 5 TDs. Defensively, this unit is pretty balanced, only allowing 22.9 PPG.

TL;DR: On paper, this game comes down to Wyoming’s ability to shut down Peny Boone and the Toledo rushing attack. I believe these players will want to send their head coach into retirement with a win. A large majority of our staff agree with me and believe the Cowboys will cover the spread in the process.

TOLEDO OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• QB Dequan Finn

• OG Vinny Scuiry

WYOMING OPT-OUTS/TRANSFERS

• CB Kolbey Taylor

STAFF PICKS

	Josh Chevalier	Zach Hall	Matt Wispe	Rick Kamla	Mike Bainbridge
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