2022 College Football - Bowl Season

[Uncle]

The 2022 College Football regular season has concluded with last weekend's Army/Navy game and now it's only "bowl season"; where corporations/companies you've never heard of sponor bowl games that not many people care about. I don't think many of these bowl games will attract much betting because you never know which players have opted out or who's playing, so there's no way of knowing much before the game starts. 

Here's the schedule lineup of this year's whopping 43 bowl games - the most ever - courtesy of Fan Duel:




In the past, I would try to write-up a little summary about each game and include some 2023 Draft prospects to watch for each one, but it's so difficult to find information on who's playing and who isn't that I've sorta thrown my hands up a bit at trying to determine that. 

As the games get a bit closer to kick-off, we'll have a better idea who's playing and perhaps we can weed out some prospects to keep an eye on. 

Here are a few games worth considering in the first weekend:

Saturday, 12/17 

Cincinnati vs Louisville - Wasabi Fenway Bowl - 11AM ET (ESPN)
Wasabi Fenway Bowl? Oh boy. Regardless of the name of this bowl game, this game might have a decent storyline involved. When Luke Fickell left Cincinnati and took the Head Coaching job at Wisconsin, Louisville Head Coach Scott Satterfield jumped at the chance to move from from Louisville to Cincinnati. Why? Well, the Louisville fanbase soured on Satterfield after his first season in which he won ACC Coach of the Year and led the Cardinals to an unexpected 8-5 season, including a bowl win over Miss St - Satterfield went 3-7 and 6-7 in the 2020/2021 seasons and when the 2022 season started off poorly, the fans and media alike were calling for Satterfield's dismissal. It was somewhat surprising later to have Louisville claw their way back into bowl contention, including wins over ranks opponents in Wake Forest and NC State, but when the opportunity came for Satterfield to jump ship, he took it. Cardinal Nation isn't worried because Louisville hired the Coach the fans wanted when Satterfield was first hired: former QB Jeff Brohm, who has been coaching Purdue and just won the BIG10 West title. Neither Satterfield nor Brohm will be coaching their respective teams, but there is some "bad blood" between these schools from an old rivalry in the AAC and their close proximity to each other (both cities are just 1.5 hrs from each other).
2023 Draft Prospects to watch (can't confirm if they are playing or not, though): Louisville LB Yasir Abdullah, Cincinnati LB Ivan Pace, Jr
Both of these LB prospects are probably mid-Day 3 prospects, although Abdullah does have some pass-rushing upside and Ivan Pace, Jr dominated at Miami (OH) and then had a great season statisically for Cincinnati playing in the AAC. Another interesting thing to note is PFF has Pace, Jr as the nation's highest grade LB at 92.8, and he's at the top of the leaderboard on several defensive statistics: 9th in tackles (104), 6th in sacks (9.0) and leads the country in TFL (19.0). I would comp Ivan Pace, Jr somewhat to Bobby Wagner as Pace, Jr is about the same size at just 6'0" and around 230-240 lbs. Pace has accepted an invitation to the Shrine Bowl. 

Washington St vs Fresno St - Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl - 3:30PM ET (ABC)
I feel silly already after typing out just two bowl games. Anyway, the only reason I point out this game is Fresno St. QB Jake Haener, who I've been watching for the past few seasons. He's probably not a starting QB in the NFL, but he's definitely a QB2 and spot-starter in the mold of Taylor Heinicke and the Vikings certainly do need a consistent and reliable QB2.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Fresno St QB Jake Haener

SMU vs BYU - New Mexico Bowl - 7:30PM (ABC)
Similar to the LA Bowl, the only reason to watch this is the possibility of watching BYU QB Jaren Hall, who may or may not play in this. If he does, I would watch because he's another QB the Vikings should possibly be targeting for QB2/spot-starter purposes. If Hall doesn't play, then keep an eye on WR Puka Nacua who might be worthy of the Day 3 selection. I haven't watched much of SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (transfer from Oklahoma), but he could be a late Day 3 or UDFA possibility for a QB3.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: BYU QB Jaren Hall (if he plays), BYU WR Puka Nacua, SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (if he plays)

[legendsofthenorth]

Pace is a guy I am really intrigued by. Watched him a couple times this year. Some dudes are just football players and I think he is one of them

[Uncle]

I did watch a good majority of the Wasabi Fenway Bowl between Louisville and Cincinnati (courtesy the Viking's poor 1st half againt Indianapolis) and I did like what I saw from Cincinnati's LB Ivan Pace, Jr. Yes, he's undersized and looked like it (he's listed at 6'0" but I get the feeling he's under that mark) but he was constantly in the Louisville backfield all day long. His box score told the story as he was the Bearcats leading tackler with 16 total, 7 solo and 1 Sack/TFL when he blew up Louisville OC Bryan Hudson and had that Sack/TFL: he just batted down the arms and threw him to the side to blow up the play which was impressive. The one thing that will probably drag him down to the mid-rounds is speed and in his case, the lack of it. He's not slow by any means, but when you're undersized and you want to get drafted early, you have to make it up for it with physical attributes and stand-out at the Combine and I don't think Pace will. There were several plays where the Louisville RB got to the 2nd level and while Pace got the sidelines to push him out of bounds, it wasn't until it was a chunk play and Pace didn't have the speed to get to a spot to shut it down before it was a long gainer. Really looking forward to what Pace does at the East West Shrine Bowl in late January.

As far as today's bowl game (12/19), I can't say I'm going to duck out of work early to go watch it, but there is one player to watch the box score afterwards for and it's worth noting one team's "Cinderella" season in 2022.

Monday, 12/19

Marshall vs UConn - Myrtle Beach Bowl - 2:30PM ET (ESPN)
Congrats to UConn and HC Jim Mora, Jr. for taking the Huskies to their first bowl game since 2015. UConn has often times been a laughing stock of the FBS level for a while and they deserve some credit for having a strong season. No offense to the Thundering Herd, but I'm sure that if anyone watches this, they'll be rooting for the "underdog" Huskies team in this one. In terms of 2023 Draft prospects, the only one I know of is Marshall RB Khalan Laborn, a former 5-star recruit who was dismissed from the FSU program and reinvented himself at Marshall (hmmm, does that sound familiar to Viking fans? Randy Moss anyone?). No, Laborn isn't as talented as Moss was, but he had a terrific season (1,423 yds, 16 TD's, 5.1 YPC which is close to his 4.7 YPC mark at FSU in 2019, while also catching 15 passes for 107 yds) and will likely be a late Day 3 or UDFA target to fill-out Training Camps in 2023, so Laborn could play the AJ Rose/Bryant Koback role for the Vikes in the 2023 preseason. I'm not sure you should spend your time watching this game for Laborn, but just check out the box score later tonight and perhaps the highlights to see if you like what you see.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Marshall RB Khalan Laborn

[Uncle]

Two bowls on-tap for Tuesday: one in cold weather and the other in beautiful weather...and both games feature DE/EDGE Day 3 propects.

Tuesday, 12/20

Eastern Michigan vs San Jose St - Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - 3:30PM ET (ESPN)
This is the annual bowl game on the blue "smurf turf" field that Boise St plays on and it's one of the few bowl games played in cold weather. I don't know much about either team so I have no idea about the game. The only thing I do know is that the two 2023 Draft prospects to watch here are both Defensive Players of the Year for their respective conferences: San Jose St DE/EDGE Viliami “Junior” Fehoko (6'4", 274 lbs) is the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, and Eastern Michigan DE/EDGE Jose Ramirez (6'2", 254 lbs)is the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Both are Day 3 prospects and both will be at the East West Shrine Bowl in late January. Fehoko ranks in the Top 10 nationally in TFL and Ramirez #2 in Sacks and #3 in TFL - I've posted their college stats below from Sports Reference.com so you can see the progression both have made during their time in college.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: San Jose St DE/EDGE Viliami “Junior” Fehoko, Eastern Michigan DE/EDGE Jose Ramirez

Fehoko's College Stats:



Ramirez's College Stats:



Liberty vs Toledo - RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl - 7:30PM ET (ESPN)
One year removed from Malik Willis, Liberty actually enjoyed a better 2022 season than 2021: they beat Power 5 programs BYU and Arkansas, took Wake Forest to within 1 pt and beat Southern Miss, who won the Lending Tree Bowl over Rice this past weekend. Toledo on the other hand didn't have as good of a season at 7-5, but the MAC as a whole was down this year and they ended up beating Ohio U. in the MAC Championship game in Detroit. Similar to the prior bowl game, this one features a Day 3 DE/EDGE prospect, this time from Liberty, Durrell Johnson, who's 6'3" 230/240 lbs with 34" arms (long arms). Johnson has 22.5 TFL, 8 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF and 4 PBU's (ie, he uses those long arms for something other than getting around the edge). I don't think Johnson is currently committed to a College All-Star Game so he'll need a standout performance here to possibly get an invite and/or get into the Combine.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Liberty DE/EDGE Durrell Johnson

Johnson's College Stats:

[Uncle]

One bowl game set for Wednesday evening that does offer a decent little storyline...

Wednesday, 12/21

Western Kentucky vs South Alabama - R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - 9PM ET (ESPN)
This bowl game pits strong teams from Conference USA and the Sun Belt and this year is no different. South Alabama is a bit underrated as they come into the game 10-2, having only lost a close road game @ UCLA 32-31 (they led late in the game, too) and vs Troy 10-6 (who beat UTSA in a bowl game this past weekend). Western Kentucky is seemingly always bowl eligible and always has an explosive/high-scoring offense and this year is no different under QB Austin Reed (who entered the transfer portal but decided to come back to W Kentucky and will play in this game). The Jaguars of South Alabama are 0-2 all-time in Bowl games and haven't appeared in one since 2016 and they are closer to being the "home" team here and should have many people rooting for them. South Alabama also has the game's two 2023 Draft prospects to watch: CB Darrell Luter Jr. (6'0", 190 lbs) and WR Jalen Wayne (nephew of NFL WR Reggie Wayne). Luter, Jr is a JUCO transfer and more of a mid-Day 3 prospect, and Wayne might be more of a late Day 3/UDFA target at this point as his #'s aren't exactly eye-popping. I'm thinking Wayne needs a bit of a breakout here to get his name a bit more on the NFL Scouts radar and Luter, Jr will have his hands full trying to defend the W Kentucky explosive offense. Both Luter, Jr. and Wayne will be at the Senior Bowl in January.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: South Alabama CB Darrell Luter Jr., South Alabama WR Jalen Wayne

[Uncle]

Another mid-December day, another bowl game, although the difference today is that we're finally starting to get into more "Power 5" Conference teams as Baylor (member of the BIG XII) takes on Air Force, and as such, the main 2023 Draft prospect is a solid Day 2 prospect.

Thursday, 12/22

Baylor vs Air Force - Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl - 7:30PM ET (ESPN)
Air Force has had a strong season at 9-3 and they only loss their 3 games by a combined score of 15 pts. Baylor was the defending BIG XII Champions coming into the 2022 season, but couldn't live up to the Top 25 preseason expecations and ended at 6-6 - they had a couple of nice Conference wins and nearly beat TCU in Waco (lost to a last second TCU FG), but they couldn't get a win over a Top 25 team. I've been very wrong on predicting bowl game winners so far (last night I thought South Alabama was the stronger team, but Western Kentucky dropped 24 pts on the Jaguars before I even blinked an eye) which just goes to show you how unpredictable the majority of these bowl games can be and I have no idea who will come out on top of this one. Both teams are known for playing the ball-control/ground-n-pound approach on offense so I'm fairly certain well see some good rushing yards in this one, but perhaps both teams will try and pull out all the stops and try some passing trickery to get ahead.

Regardless of the winner, the main attraction from a 2023 Draft standpoint should be Baylor DT/NT Siaki Ika, who really splashed onto the scene last season during Baylor's BIG XII Championship run. He's a true NT at 6'4" 350 lbs+, but has shown some flashes as a pass-rusher from time-to-time. Given Air Forces rushing attack, Ika should get plenty of chances to put some solid tape on film for scouts. It should be noted that Ika hasn't fully declared for the 2023 Draft yet, although he has accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl so I would expect him to officially declare soon. I've seen some Mock Drafts have him at late Rd 1, but I think he's more of a Day 2 player unless he blows up at the Combine or something (like Jordan Davis did last year).

Other names to watch out for: Baylor OT Connor Galvin has accepted in invite to the Shrine Bowla and Baylor DL Gabe Hall was listed at #17 on Feldman's 2022 "Freak's List" so he could declare if he has a breakout game.

2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Baylor DT Siaki Ika, Baylot OT Connor Galvin, Baylor DL Gabe Hall

[Uncle]

The current winter storm blasting through the majority of the US is having an effect on bowl games being played outdoors. We saw temperatures (and attendance) plunge during yesterday's Armed Forces Bowl game between Baylor and Air Force as players just wanted to get out of there by the time the final whistle blew.

On Friday, both Bowl games will be played in Southern cities, and one will be affected by the storm while the other probably won't be.

Friday, 12/23

Louisiana vs Houston - Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl - 3PM ET (ESPN)
This game is played in an outdoor venue: Independent Stadium in Shreveport, LA, which will be affected by the plunging temperatures affecting a good majority of the country. It's definitely a major storm if Arctic winds reach all the way down to Louisiana. As such, much like the Armed Forces Bowl, I would expect the team that rushes the ball, controls the line of scrimmage and is able to produce a shorter passing game to come out on top, and that might favor Houston - IF all of their players are suiting up. And speaking of players, the 2023 Draft prospects to watch in this one come from Houston: QB Clayton Tune, WR "Tank" Dell and S Gervarrius Owens. Tune is a likely Day 3 QB prospect who could have the opportunity to move into Day 2 territory with a strong showing here, as well as the Shrine/Senior Bowl (he's accepted invitations to both College All-Star games) and Dell is a speedy/undersized KR/PR/WR in the mold of Marcus Jones who was drafted by New England in the 2022 Draft in Round 3. Gervarrius Owens is a likely late Day 3 DB prospect who accepted an invite to the Shrine Bowl.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Houston QB Clayton Tune, Houston WR "Tank" Dell, Houston S Gervarrius Owens

Wake Forest vs Missouri - Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl - 6:30PM ET (ESPN)
This one will be played in Tampa Bay (Bucs stadium) and shouldn't be affected by the winter storm. The story here is both Wake Forest 2023 Draft prospects: QB Sam Hartman and WR AT Perry, both of whom will be playing their final games for the Demon Deacons and would like nothing better than to go out on a high note. Hartman was trending towards a possible Day 2 area during the 2021 season until he completely collapsed in the 2021 ACC Championshp vs Kenny Pickett and Pitt, and he came into 2022 needing to redeem himself, which he started to do (nearly upsetting a Top 5 Clemson team), but his play declined a bit as the season wore on and he had a horrific game at Louisville which sunk chances at going on Day 2. Perry is a likely early Day 3 WR - rangey without top-end speed but has good ability to high-point and come down with contested catches. Missouri has had most of their top players either enter the transfer portal or opt-out so they will be down to the FR/SO players to win this one. Missouri QB Brady Cook has looked "Ok" this season (really strong game vs Georgia in which the Tigers nearly pulled off the big upset) and he has the possibility of sneaking into Day 2 in the 2024 Draft - if he can lead a depleted Missouri team to a victory over the stronger Wake Forest team in this Bowl game, he'll really carry momentum into the 2023 season.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman, Wake Forest WR AT Perry

[Uncle]

We get one bowl game on Christmas Eve, which also happens to have a full slate of NFL action, so this one might actually be the least watched bowl game all season. The Saturday Night NFL matchup is the Raiders at Steelers which will be an emotional game as the Steelers pay tribute to the late Franco Harris, so if that game turns into a "clunker" one way or the other, I guess you could flip over to the Hawai'i Bowl...

...or have some eggnog with family and watch "A Christmas Story" or "Christmas Vacation"...

Saturday, 12/24 "Christmas Eve"

Middle Tennessee vs San Diego State - EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl - 8PM ET (ESPN)
This bowl game has been cancelled the past two years thanks to the COVID pandemic, but it's back and will probably not be watched by anyone outside of alumni or families of the players as it goes head-to-head with the Steelers/Raiders on primetime Christmas Eve - that's how much the people who make the bowl schedule (assuming the NCAA) think of this game. I can't say I know a great deal about these teams but the Aztecs always seem to have a stout defense and Middle Tennessee has a non-Power 5 attacking offense so something will have to give here, and so far the bowl games seem to favor teams that come out swinging so perhaps Middle Tennessee has the advantage. Middle Tennessee also had a big upset during the season; beating the Hurricanes in Miami 45-31, so perhaps the Blue Raiders will pull off a bowl victory. In terms of 2023 Draft prospects, each team offers one: Middle Tennessee DE/EDGE Jordan Ferguson (6'2", 270 lbs) who is a late Day 3 depth EDGE prospect (33.5 TFL and 8.0 sacks over the past 2 yrs; he also took a fake punt 49 yds during the '22 season, too, so he can do it all), and San Diego St S Patrick McMorris who is a good all-around S prospect at 6'0" 210 lbs (2nd on team in tackles and has good coverage skills). Ferguson is the only one who's currently accepted an All Star Game invite - to the less-coveted HULA Bowl on January 14th.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Middle Tennessee DE/EDGE Jordan Ferguson, San Diego St S Patrick McMorris

[Uncle]

It's "Boxing Day" in the UK (day after Christmas in the US) and while soccer/futbol fans in the UK celebrate with a full slate of Premier League soccer/futbol fixtures, fans in the US will be celebrating with a College Football Bowl game...

We're almost through the bowl games between non-Power 5 schools and we just need to get through today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) and then the fun starts on Wednesday as we start getting a bit more "serious" bowl games, no offense to today's players/teams...

Monday, 12/26 "Boxing Day"

New Mexico St vs Bowling Green - Quick Lane Bowl - 2:30PM ET (ESPN)
I don't know much about these teams, but from what I've read, both of these teams were expected to be finish near the basement in their Conferences so the fact that both are now playing in a Bowl Game is a surprise and as such, both teams should be playing hard for a bowl victory to cap off their surprising seasons. The game will be played inside Detroit's Ford Field so weather will not be a factor and I would expect both teams to put up some points. In terms of 2023 Draft prospects, Bowling Green has a legit DL prospect in Karl Brooks, a 5th-yr Sr who's 6'4", 300 lbs and has steadily become a force for the Falcons, putting up 10.0 sacks (which is tied with Alabama's Will Anderson), 18.0 TFL, 3 PD and 2 FF; Brooks will be at the Hula Bowl on January 14th. On the other side, New Mexico St LB Chris Ojah is probably a late Day 3/UDFA prospect that will need to be make his bones on ST to make a team; he leads the Aggies in tackles (101) and TFL (10.5).
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Bowling Green DE/EDGE Karl Brooks, New Mexico St LB Chris Ojah

[Uncle]

With Christmas weekend behind us and everyone looking ahead to the New Year, the bowl games are starting to "heat up". For 6 of the next 7 seven days (excluding NFL Sunday), College Football fans get at least 3 bowl games per day, with most days having 4 (the only exception being Thursday, 12/29). And after today, there will be no more bowl games between non-Power 5 schools - it's mostly Power 5 programs from here on out, starting with tonight's late night matchup in Arizona.

Tuesday, 12/27

Georgia Southern vs Buffalo - Camelia Bowl - Noon ET (ESPN)
The Eagles of Georgia Southern had an interesting season: they won @ Nebraska early (which may have been the final nail in Scott Frost's coffin there), beat a Top 25 James Madison team and then beat App St in a wild game, but then lost to a bunch of other Sun Belt teams to go 3-5 in their Conference and 6-6 overall. They are coached by former USC Head Coach Clay Helton, who steered the team away from the old school triple-option offense to more "modern" attack and obviously the first season reflects the roller coaster turnover. Helton recruited former Buffalo QB Kyle Vantrease for 2022 who had a very solid year and this bowl game will have a bit of extra "juice" to it with Vantrease facing-off against his former team from the MAC. The Bulls had the oppposite season; losing non-conference games against Maryland, FCS opponent Holy Cross and Coastal Carolina (from the Sun Belt) before going 5-3 in the MAC on-roue to a 6-6 season. The winter storm that put much of the country in a deep freeze over Christmas Weekend has started to subside and the outdoor bowl games will have much more favorable conditions than the games that occured outside this past weekend. In terms of 2023 Draft prospects, watch for Buffalo LB James Patterson who is an undersized MLB at 6'0", 230 lbs and for the Eagles it's probably QB Kyle Vantrease who's a UDFA prospect hoping to land on an NFL Practice Squad. The only prospect on either team to get invited to a College All-Star game was Georgia Southern WR Amare Jones who was invited to the Hula Bowl on Jan 14th, but he's sidelined with an injury so you won't get to see him in this one.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Buffalo LB James Patterson, Georgia Southern QB Kyle Vantrease

Memphis vs Utah State - SERVPRO First Responder Bowl - 3:15PM ET (ESPN)
Both of these teams expected a bit more out of their 2022 seasons with both going 6-6; while the winner of this game will walk away with a winning record overall at 7-6, the loser will end up with a sub .500 record and limp into 2023. Memphis has been a perennial contender in the AAC for the past decade and while they started off 4-1, the 4-game losing streak in the middle of their season against the AAC contenders really sunk them. They basically beat the teams they were supposed to and lost against the better Conference teams. On the other side, the Aggies of Utah St were the Mountain West champs in 2021 but started off poorly at 1-4 to open 2022, but turned it completely around and went 5-1 before a blowout loss to 2022 Mountain West Champs Boise St to close the season. Another interesting storyline is the fact that Memphis has had at least 1 Tiger drafted in the past 9 NFL Drafts and they hope to make it an even 10 in 2023 with their Day 3 prospect S Quindell Johnson, who's scheduled to participate in the NFLPA Bowl on Jan 28th. Johnson is 6'1" and 195 lbs and has been a playmaker for Memphis his entire career with 10 INT's and 24 PD in this career and he's had a career high 4 INT's in 2022 to go with 2 FF.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch: Memphis S Quindell Johnson

Coastal Carolina vs East Carolina - TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl - 6:45PM ET (ESPN)
Not only is this bowl game the "Battle of the Carolinas", it's also the "Battle of Pirates" as the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina take on the Pirates of East Carolina. The Chanticleers were on their way to having a great year after starting out 6-0, but were rocked by Old Dominion in mid-Oct, and then lost their last 2 to James Madison and the Sun Belt Championship game to Troy. Coastal Carolina has been lead the past few years by QB Grayson McCall, who became a solid 2023 Draft prospect during the pandemic and in 2022: he's been highly efficient, too, having a career 70% COMP % to go along with 78 TD's to just 8 INT's with 16 rushing TD's (he has some mobility). Even though McCall is the main attraction to this bowl game, he announced on Dec 12th that he's entering the NCAA Transfer Portal to try his hand at a bigger school (possibly Florida or Auburn) before the 2024 Draft. As far as East Carolina goes, they nearly pulled off a big upset vs then #13 NC State during Wk 1 and had an up-and-down year ever since: winning at BYU but then losing to Navy and then getting blown-out by Houston after only scoring 3 pts. East Carolina has a very good offense lead by QB Holton Ahlers (who will be at the HULA Bowl on Jan 14th), RB Keaton Mitchell and WR Isaiah Winstead, and they will be going up against a solid Coastal Carolina defense bolstered by 2023 Draft prospects DT Jerrod Clark (6'4", 340 lbs) and CB's Lance Boykin and D'Jordan Strong. Both Clark and Boykin will be at the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Coastal Carolina DT Jerrod Clark (East-West Shrine Bowl)
Coastal Carolina CB Lance Boykin (East-West Shrine Bowl)
East Carolina QB Holton Ahlers (HULA Bowl)
East Carolina RB Keaton Mitchell (#95 on Feldman's 2022 "Freaks List")
East Carolina WR Isaiah Winstead

Wisconsin vs Oklahoma St - Guaranteed Rate Bowl - 10:15PM ET (ESPN)
Much like the teams in the First Responder Bowl above (Memphis and Utah St), both of these teams entered 2022 with higher aspirations than playing in a 12/27 Bowl Game. Wisconsin was expected to win the BIG10 West Division and compete for the BIG10 Championship, but it was obvious early-on that the Badgers wouldn't be going anywhere in 2022 and fired Head Coach Paul Chryst on Oct 2nd (they have since hired former Cincinnati HC Luke Fickell). The Badgers were lucky to even get to 6 wins and a bowl game at all - they barely beat Nebraska 15-14 at Camp Randall in late November to get that 6th win and become bowl eligible. On the other side, the Cowboys had aspirations of not only getting back to the BIG XII Championship Game after barely losing to Baylor in 2021, but winning it this time. They started off 5-0 and were ranked inside the Top 10 before their big game at TCU in which they lost in a 2OT thriller, and since then, their season nosedived to a 2-4 finish as they tumbled out of the Top 25. Oklahoma St QB Spencer Sanders has announced his intention to enter the Transfer Portal on Dec 2nd after having a solid career with the Cowboys and both teams had several 2023 Draft prospects opt-out for this one, mostly because the bowl game isn't "big enough" for them to risk getting injured before the 2023 Draft process starts in January. You'll see several Badgers and Cowboys at College All-Star games next month, but there are a few players that I believe will be playing that should get 2023 Day 3 consideration, mainly Oklahoma St S Jason Taylor II, who's 6'0", 215 lbs, who leads the BIG XII in INT's with 6. Oklahoma St DE/EDGE Brock Martin is another late Day 3 prospect that I believe will play, along with Wisconsin P Andy Vujnovich, who will be at the HULA Bowl on Jan 14th and was also listed at #80 on Feldman's 2022 "Freaks List". 
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Oklahoma St S Jason Taylor II
Oklahoma St DE/EDGE Brock Martin (HULA Bowl)
Wisconsin P Andy Vujnovich (HULA Bowl)

[Uncle]

We've played 21 bowl games so we're pretty much halfway through the 43 games in this 2022 Bowl season. And now that we're halfway through, there will be no more non-Power 5 vs non-Power 5 matchups; from here on out, every bowl game has at least one Power 5 school and most games feature two Power 5 teams going head-to-head.

The trouble is - especially with today's games - there's so many opt-outs in many of them, that these games can feel like a bunch of non-Power 5 teams at times. Unless your team is playing in a New Year's Six or College Football Playoff game, you can bet that most 2023 Draft players will be sitting them out, which can make for a rather "dull" College Football game and have it feel more like watching NFL preseason.

That being said, the latter two games - both of which will be overlapping each other - is the first time it'll feel like College Football Saturday with some channel-flipping going on because both (hopefully) should be entertainnig games with some 2023 Draft prospects playing, to boot.

Wednesday, 12/28

UCF vs Duke - Military Bowl - 2PM ET (ESPN)
Duke had a very solid year in the ACC Coastal division, going 8-4 and only losing those 4 games by a combined 16 pts. Their arrow is pointing "up" for 2023 and they could very well contend for the ACC Coastal Title and play in the ACC Championship. They are lead by Sophomore QB Riley Leonard who does remind me a bit of former Duke (and current NYG) QB Daniel Jones. Leonard has a chance to get into the Day 2 mix in a suddenly very crowded 2024 QB class with a solid 2023 season. UCF had a solid year, too, and played in the AAC Championship game, but were ultimately beaten by this year's "Cinderella" story, Tulane. The problem for UCF in this game is that most of their passing attack has opted-out of this one, so Duke should have the advantage (and yes, I'm writing this late - after the game has started, and Duke is up late in the 2nd half, so I'm fulfilling my own prophecy). In terms of 2023 Draft prospects, this game doesn't offer too many high profile ones and most everyone will be a late Day 3/UDFA prospect that I'll list below.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
UCF RB Isaiah Bowser (HULA Bowl)
UCF TE Kemore Gamble (HULA Bowl)
Duke LB Shaka Heyward (Shrine Bowl)
Duke S Darius Joiner (HULA Bowl)
Duke DE/EDGE RJ Oben (gave Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski trouble)

Kansas vs Arkansas - AutoZone Liberty Bowl - 5:30PM ET (ESPN)
The Jayhawks were the story in the first half of the year, going undefeated for a while and gaining some respect for a team that is often referred to as one of the worst Power 5 "bottom-feeding" teams in the country (along w/ the likes of Vanderbilt in the SEC). Kansas HC Lance Leipold got the team to the most wins it's had in 14 years and the Jayhawk football program would like nothing better than to top off a great season for them than a bowl game victory over an SEC opponent. And they will have less trouble getting that victory since the majority of Arkansas 2023 Draft prospects have opted out of this one. This game should be a matchup of ground games and both teams do like to rush more than pass. Watch out for Arkansas OT Dalton Wagner at 6'9", 330 lbs - there aren't too many 6'9" OT's in the NFL so it will be interesting to see him vs Kansas DE/EDGE player Lonnie Phelps (transfer from Miami-OH) if they get any 1-on-1 reps.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Kansas DE/EDGE Lonnie Phelps
Kansas S Kenny Logan, Jr
Arkansas OT Dalton Wagner (Shrine Bowl)
Arkansas IOL Beaux Limmer (hasn't 100% decided to enter 2023 Draft yet)

#15 Oregon vs North Carolina - San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl - 8PM ET (FOX)
This should be a fun matchup as we get to see 2024 QB prospects go head-to-head with Oregon's Bo Nix (who I can't believe decided to stay in College for another season) against North Carolina's Drake Maye. Both teams lost a ton talent around them as many players have either opted-out or entered the transfer portal. There's really not much to write there other than both offenses should click on all cylinders with their star QB's playing and this bowl game has been know for high-scoring affairs in the past, so we should be set for an entertaining bowl game here. Oregon does have a couple of other 2023 prospects to keep an eye on though: DL DJ Johnson (#4 on Feldman's 2022 "Freaks List") and IOL Alex Forsyth (a OC prospect if we move on from Bradbury after 2022) and although the last North Carolina LB we drafted (Surratt) didn't work out, we should pay attention to North Carolina LB Cedric Gray, who led the ACC in total tackles and also has 10 TFL, 3 FF and a pair of INT's.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Oregon IOL/OC Alex Forsyth (Senior Bowl)
Oregon DL DJ Johnson (Senior Bowl; #4 on Feldman's 2022 "Freaks List")
North Carolina WR Antoine Green (Shrine Bowl)
North Carolina LB Cedric Gray

Texas Tech vs Ole Miss - TaxAct Texas Bowl - 9PM ET (ESPN)
This one should be another good matchup as both teams have the needle pointing "up" for the 2023 season. Ole Miss was a Top 10 team at one point and went undefeated for a while, until it ran into the tougher part of their SEC West schedule and then lost a nailbiter of a game in the Egg Bowl to archrival Miss St. Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin was the talk of the sports world leading up to that game because rumors were swirling he was leaving for the Auburn job, but he's back with the Rebels and they have one of the most potent rushing attacks in the country, along with a 2024 QB prospect in Jaxson Dart (who can also run). Texas Tech will counter with a strong passing attack, led by QB Tyler Shough. I would have liked to see Texas Tech DE/EDGE prospect Tyree Wilson in this one since he's currently being mocked in Round 1 on most all 2023 Mock Drafts you see out there, but he's opted out of this one. Even so, the Rebels will have RB Zach Evans and WR Jonathan Mingo for this one as the look to extract revenge for their poor Sugar Bowl outing when then QB Matt Coral was injured.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Texas Tech RB SaRodorick Thompson
Texas Tech LB Krishon Merriweather (NFLPA Bowl)
Texas Tech CB Malik Dunlap
Ole Miss RB Zach Evans
Ole Miss WR Jonathan Mingo (Senior Bowl)
Ole Miss IOL Nick Broeker (Senior Bowl)
Ole Miss DE/EDGE Tavius Robinson (NFLPA Bowl)
Ole Miss K Jonathan Cruz (NFLPA Bowl)

[Uncle]

Really heck of a Bowl game between Kansas and Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl in which the Razorbacks emerged victorious 55-53 in 3OT. Arkansas jumped out to a big 24-7 lead after the 1st qtr, led 31-13 at the half and were up 25 pts in the 3rd qtr and 18 pts in the 4th before Kansas battled back to make it a game in the 4th...

The Jayhawks scored a TD with about a 1 min left to get within 8 pts and then recovered on onside kick and drove down for a TD and game-tying 2-pt conversion to get it to OT. And the teams traded TD's and 2-pt conversions for 2 OT's before Kansas ran a trick play in the 3rd OT that didn't work. It's a shame because Jalon Daniels, the Kansas QB, really played hard to get them all the way back and deserved to have the ball in his hands in that situation...

Credit to Kansas for not giving up and making it great game and congrats to Arkansas for the win. There were many players who opted out of this one for Arkansas but their reserves and underclassman played hard.

That game epitomized what Bowl season is all about and what we've been missing so far this particular bowl season. The Oregon/North Carolina looks like it should be close and hopefully this is a good sign for things to come for the remainder of Bowl season...

[Uncle]

In a battle of 2024 QB prospects, Oregon's Bo Nix had the game-winning TD drive late in the 4th with 19 seconds left to put Oregon ahead 28-27 - the Oregon K doinked the go-ahead extra point through...

North Carolina QB Drake Maye actually put the Tarheels into long FG range at the Oregon 40, using only 14 seconds to do it, but Mack Brown elected to go for the Hail Mary vs a long FG attempt and Maye's Hail Mary was batted down...

You really saw the differnce in the QB's: Maye has a very "live" NFL arm and is likely to be a Rd 1 prospect in 2024 and it seemed like Nix didn't push the ball down the field at all and just passed shorter flare/bubble routes near the line of scrimmage.

Two really good games tonight and perhaps the Texas Tech/Ole Miss could be a 1-score game, as well, with the Red Raiders dominating the 1st half going up 26-7, but the Rebels have battled in the 2nd half and are trying to make it a 1-score game late in the 3rd...

[Uncle]

There have been a total of 25 Bowl games played so far, and I thought I'd do a recap of how each Conference is doing:



Some notes so far:
- Thanks to Wisconsin's victory over Oklahoma St in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday, the BIG10 is the only Conference with a perfect Bowl record so far, and they are the only Conference to have only 1 team play so far - that changes starting today with Minnesota playing Syracuse at Yankee Stadium in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. With 2 teams representing the BIG10 in the CFP (Michigan & Ohio St) and with there only being 1 champion, it's guaranteed that the BIG10 will not stay perfect after this weekend.
- The ACC is doing really well and if Oregon didn't have a late TD in the 4th in last night's Holiday Bowl to beat North Carolina, they would be perfect.
- Only 4 of the 11 Conferences (I consider the Independent teams like Notre Dame and BYU all part of an "Independent" Conference), or 36%, have a a record above .500, and only 3 of the 11 (27%) have a sub-.500 record, which means there's a whole bunch of parity in College Football. That seems right - with all the opt-outs and coaching changes that occur before Bowl season, it seems like anyone can beat anyone, regardless of what happened in the regular season.
- It will be interesting to see this table after all the Bowl games have been played to see if this can be a precursor to the following College Football season. With all the opt-outs and coaching changes, often times you'll see the FR and SO players that will star in the following year so teams that do well now in the Bowl games often carry over into the following year - for example, last year we saw teams like Kansas St, Houston, Texas Tech, Purdue and Arkansas all do well in their bowl games over teams that were probably favored to beat them, and that success carried over into the 2022 season.

In terms of this year's games, Wednesday evening's Bowl games delivered with a fantastic Liberty Bowl matchup between Kansas/Arkansas and it was followed-up by a great QB battle between Bo Nix (Oregon) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) in the Holiday Bowl, and the nightcap concluded the day's games with an emotional tribute to the late Mike Leach when Texas Tech beat Ole Miss. Even with plenty of 2023 Draft-eligible players opting out, those games epitomized College Football and the craziness than can happen when the players really put all of their energy to try and cap-off their seasons with a Bowl victory...

...here's to hoping the rest of the Bowl games follow-suit and we get some great games today, tomorrow and the entire New Year's holiday weekend...

Thursday, 12/29

Syracuse vs Minnesota - Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl - 2PM ET (ESPN)
I could have just typed "Pinstripe Bowl", but it's more fun to say/type "Bad Boy Mowers". This is another game in which both teams started great (Syracuse started 6-0 and Minnesota was 4-0), then hit skids once the tougher parts of their Conference schedules kicked-in, and then won late to set up this ACC vs BIG10 matchup - the Golden Gophers won the Paul Bunyan Axe game vs Wisconsin and Syracuse won a road game at Boston College. Minnesota doesn't have many opt-outs for this one and HC PJ Fleck is treating this like an extension of the regular season while Syracuse will be missing star RB Sean Tucker (2023 Draft prospect), along with a few pieces of their secondary. In fact, PJ Fleck is a perfect 3-0 in Bowl games since arriving in Minnesota and will be putting that perfect record on the line in "enemy territory" as Syracuse will have some home field advantage since the game will be in New York State. The stars here will be Minnesota OC John Michael Schmitz - possibly the best OC prospect in the 2023 Draft and someone the Vikings might want to look into if they move on from Bradbury in the '23 offseason - and Minnesota RB Mo Ibrahim. The Golden Gophers will likely want to keep this game on the ground, and with Tucker out for the Orangeman, I expect QB Garrett Shrader to want to air-it-out a bit more.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Minnesota OC John Michael Schmitz (Senior Bowl)
Minnesota RB Mo Ibrahim (Shrine Bowl)
Syracuse K Andre Szmyt (HULA & Shrine Bowl)
Syracuse OT Matthew Bergeron (Senior Bowl)
Syracuse LB Mikel Jones

Oklahoma vs #13 Florida St - Cheez-It Bowl - 5:30PM ET (ESPN)
If Syracuse will have some home-field advantage in the Pinstripe Bowl, then FSU will have the homefield advantage in the Cheez-It Bowl as it's played in Orlando, which isn't too far for Seminole fans in Tallahassee to travel. This should be an interesting matchup between two "storied" football programs - Florida St. has been trying to find that winning formula since the end of the Jimbo Fisher era in 2017 and HC Mike Norvell seems to have found something and has the Seminoles on the verge of their first 10-win season since 2016. Meanwhile, Oklahoma HC Brent Venables found out the hard way from Sooner nation that a 6-6 season just doesn't cut-it in Norman, especially after the 49-0 drubbing Texas handed them in the "Red River Rivalry" game. And with Oklahoma missing a chunk of their 2023 Draft prospects who opted out and Florida St having most of their players on-hand (including QB Jordan Travis who will be returning in 2023), this one could get ugly for Venables and the Sooners. Unlike last night's Texas Bowl in which Texas Tech 2023 DE/EDGE RD 1 prospect Tyree Wilson opted-out, FSU will have their 2023 Rd 1 DE/EDGE prospect playing in Jared Verse, a transfer from Albany who produced since Week 1 vs LSU, despite a knee injury that plagued him for a good chunk of 2022 - I don't expect the Vikings to have a shot at drafting Verse, especiallly if he stars in this game. Other 2023 Draft prospects for the Seminoles include S Jammie Robinson, some RB's (Treshaun Ward & Trey Benson - they use a RB-by-committee approach) and DT Fabien Lovett. The only Sooner 2023 prospects worth watching are FB/TE hybrid player Brayden Willis - he's a bit of a "tweener-type", but if we move-on from CJ Ham in the '23 offseason, perhaps picking up someone like him in the later rounds in a hybrid blocking TE/FB role could be useful - and WR Marvin Mims, who hasn't decided what he wants to do yet and might make it after what happens in this game.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
FSU DE/EDGE Jared Verse (Top 15-20 prospect)
FSU S Jammie Robinson (Senior Bowl)
FSU DT Fabien Lovett (Senior Bowl)
Oklahoma FB/TE Brayden Willis (Senior Bowl)
Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims (hasn't declared yet)

#20 Texas vs #12 Washington - Valero Alamo Bowl - 9PM ET (ESPN)
The nightcap game should be a good one and it's a first game between two ranked teams. No doubt Texas will have homefield advantage since the game is in San Antonio, but Washington has one of the most potented offenses in the country led by QB Michael Penix, Jr (who will be returning to Washington in 2023) that they can silence a home crowd with relative ease and Texas will be missing their top offensive (RB Bijon Robinson, along with his backup Roschon Johnson) and defensive (OLB DeMarvion Overshown) stars and Washington will have several of their stars on-hand, most of which have decided to return for 2023. The Longhorns will try to win through 2024 QB prospect Quinn Ewers and their stout DL which will have 2023 Draft prospects, including NT Keondre Coburn and DL Moro Ojomo, along with CB D’Shawn Jamison. Washington WR Rome Odunze is the name to watch for the Huskies and could be Penix's main target - the 6'3" 200 lb weapon hasn't declared yet (similar to Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims), but if he does, he might get some Day 2 or late Rd 1 discussion. The Huskies also have a pair of Senior OL prospects that in Jason Kirkland and Henry Bainvialu that will try to protect Penix, Jr from the stout Texas DL.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Texas NT Keondre Coburn (Shrine Bowl)
Texas DL Moro Ojomo (Shrine Bowl)
Texas CB D’Shawn Jamison (Shrine Bowl)
Washington OT Jason Kirland (Shrine Bowl)
Washington IOL Henry Bainvialu (Shrine Bowl)
Washington WR Rome Odunze (hasn't declared yet)

[Uncle]

Congratulations to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, FSU Seminoles and the Washington Huskies for their bowl wins yesterday. By far, the standout game was the Cheez-It Bowl between Oklahoma and Florida St - I honestly thought the Sooners were outmanned heading into that matchup with most of their 2023 Draft talent opting out, including their two starting OT's, but QB Dillon Gabriel had one of his better performances (especially early) and they really fought hard in that game and took the Seminoles down to the wire. It took a late drive by the Seminoles - including a nice one-handed grab by WR Johnny Wilson (who had a monster game, probably the best I've seen him look) - to get into position for the game-winning FG, and DE/EDGE Jared Verse sealed the game w/ a sack of Gabriel afterwards. While Verse was the Rd 1 talent on the field in that game, the "star" to me was FSU S Jammie Robinson who was everything it seemed. One thing FSU needs to do heading into 2023 is shore-up that defensive Front 7 - Oklahoma ran through them like a hot knife through butter all night long.

The storyline for the Pinstripe Bowl was PJ Fleck winning another Bowl game for the Gophers; Fleck is now 4-0 in Bowl Games in Minnesota, and the Gophers have won 6 Bowl games in a row dating back to the era before Fleck arrived. If only Fleck could get them into another New Year's Day or even the CFP - he could really put that undefeated streak on-the-line.

I was really looking forward to the nightcap game between Texas/Washington, but I thought the game was somewhat sloppy and Penix, Jr was "wild" and seemed like he wanted to show-off his stuff in front of a National TV audience - forcing deep shots that he overthrew by a mile. I like some of the Washington DL prospects for the 2024 Draft (seeing as how many of them are returning for the 2023 season) but I just couldn't get behind anyone else. I don't like Texas QB Quinn Ewers that much from what I've seen this season - the announcers kept talking about his talent but he sorta "pushes" the ball morso than throws it with NFL-level velocity, and the top Texas playmaker, WR Xavier Worthy, dropped so many balls that there's no way I'm taking him in the early Rds in 2024. The Huskies won by virtue of having a better all-around team (many of there 2023 Draft prospects announced they would return to Washington in 2023), but it wasn't a great Bowl game by any measure.

As we inch closer to the CFP semi-finals on Saturday, we get our first "major" Bowl game of the weekend on Friday night when #7 Clemson takes on #6 Tennessee in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Outside of that, Friday offers 4 other games throughout the day, including the Arizona Bowl between Ohio and Wyoming which will be streamed on Barstool Sports.

Friday, 12/30

Maryland vs #23 NC State - Duke's Mayo Bowl - Noon ET (ESPN)
I'm sure glad the trophy for this game doesn't have mayo in it, like the other games affiliated with food (Orange Bowl Trophy has oranges in it, the Idaho Potato Bowl trophy has potatoes and the Cheez-It Bowl has Cheez-Its). While Maryland sorta did what it was expected to do (beat the mediocre teams and push Ohio St/Michigan to the brink, but eventually lose) NC State is the team that had aspirations of getting to the ACC Championship and possibly even pushing for a CFP spot. You knew that wasn't going to happen after they struggled to beat East Carolina in Week 1 and QB Devin Leary, who was lost to a season-ending injury midway through, didn't look that sharp. While the Wolfpack surprised many by winning their rivalry game vs North Carolina late, the late loss to a bad Boston College team tells the true story of their season. Unfortunately, this game won't feature many of the 2023 Draft prospects we want to see because most of them have opted-out, and the one early Rd prospect that will play, Maryland LT Jaelyn Duncan, isn't someone we'd be interested in given that we're set at both starting OT spots. Veteran Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa should play in this one and will be the best QB on the field, so even without his weapons, he should have the Maryland offense moving and NC State K Christopher Dunn has the best FG% in the country of anyone attempting at least 20 FG's at .960% (he went 24-25, including 10 from 40+ and won the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best K). Dunn was also perfect in Xtra-pts in his career going 200-200, so perhaps the Vikings could look to him in the later Rounds or as a high-priced UDFA for competition to Joseph in the '23 Training Camp.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
NC State DL Cory Durden (HULA Bowl)
NC State IOL Chandler Zavala (NFLPA Bowl & Shrine Bowl)
NC State LB Isaiah Moore (Shrine Bowl)
NC State K Christopher Dunn (HULA Bowl)
NC State LB Payton Wilson (#48 on Feldman's 2022 "Freak's List")
Maryland CB Jakorian Bennett (Senior Bowl, #60 on Feldman's 2022 "Freak's List")
Maryland LT Jaelyn Duncan (Senior Bowl)
Maryland K Chad Ryland (Senior Bowl)

Pittsburgh vs #18 UCLA - Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl - 2PM ET (CBS)
Unlike the Mayo Bowl, I don't think the winning coach would mind being dumped with the corporate sponsor's food product after the game. One similarity this game does share with the Mayo Bowl is one team will be missing plenty of their 2023 Draft talent - that would be Pitt. I really wanted to see some of them against UCLA in this game, too, because the Bruins won't be missing many players and looks to clearly be the better team "on paper". The only saving grace here, from an game-entertainment standpoint, is that often times the team that's missing its 2023 Draft talent has really played hard, so it's possible the Pitt underclassman players really bring it and push UCLA to the brink (the Oklahoma/FSU game being a prime example). The Bruins will have their stars in this one and many of them are worth paying close attention to: RB Zach Charbonnet, QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, WR Jake Bobo and DE/EDGE Laiatu Latu - all positions that could interest the Vikings in 2023.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Pitt DB Erick Hallett II (HULA Bowl)
Pitt DE/EDGE Habakkuk Baldonado (Shrine Bowl)
UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Shrine Bowl)
UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet
UCLA WR Jake Bobo
UCLA DE/EDGE Laiatu Latu

#21 Notre Dame vs #19 South Carolina - TaxSlayer Gator Bowl - 3:30PM ET (ESPN)
Both of these teams finished their regular seasons at 8-4 after "solid" seasons. I think Notre Dame was thinking 10 wins this year under 1st yr HC Marcus Freeman, but they had bad losses at home to Marshall and Stanford that them a shot at that, but to the credit of Freeman and the Fighting Irish, they bounced back with that impressive home win vs Clemson in November. South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler basically told the story of the Gamecocks season: he was having a mediocre/middling season (and so were the Gamecocks) until the last two games when he/they won two games vs Top 10 opponents (vs Tennessee, @ Clemson during Rivalry Week) and in both games, Rattler broke-out and played the best football he's ever played. Ratter hasn't decided if he'll declare for the 2023 Draft and if he picks off where he left off after the Clemson game, he should - the 2024 QB Class is already stacked and the Round 1 ship has sailed for Rattler in 2023 and 2024, so if he has another great game vs the Fighting Irish in a Bowl game, he's a lock for Day 3 at the very least, and depending on how his pre-Draft process goes, it's possible he could get into Day 2. Rattler has had the "hype" for a while going back to when Lincoln Riley recruited him at Oklahoma, but he was benched for Caleb Williams and Rattler didn't break out of that "funk" until the final two games of the 2022 regular season. Notre Dame will be missing their main 2023 Draft stars so the spotlight will mostly be on Rattler here and it will be interesting to see if he can rise up to the moment.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler (hasn't declared yet)
Notre Dame DL Jayson Ademilola
Notre Dame IOL Jarrett Paterson (Senior Bowl)
Notre Dame S Brandon Joseph

Ohio vs Wyoming - Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl - 4:30PM ET (Barstool)
Barstool Sports not only will be sponsoring this Bowl game, but they will be streaming this game online, as well. They probably wished for a better matchup and better teams because this one could be somewhat of a "clunker" as both teams will want to keep the score low and win through controlling the ball and tough defense. Ohio started poorly, but then went on a winning streak all the way to the MAC Championship where they eventually lost to Toledo in a sloppy 17-7 game. Wyoming has a relatively disappointing season finishing at 7-5 and the only "good" team they beat was Air Force (who beat Baylor earlier this Bowl season in the Armed Forces Bowl in frigid temperatures during that Christmas weekend winter storm). And from a 2023 Draft standpoint, I don't think either team has hardly anyone worth mentioning outside of Wyoming LB Easton Gibbs who's hoping to follow in the Wyoming LB footsteps of Logan Wilsona and Chad Muma, although he wasn't invited to any All-Star games which doesn't bode well for his potential to be a late Day 3 pick.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Wyoming LB Easton Gibbs

#6 Tennessee vs #7 Clemson - Capital One Orange Bowl - 8PM ET (ESPN)
We finally made it to our first "major" Bowl game of the 2022 Bowl season and although many of these team's 2022 "stars" won't be playing (you won't see Hendon Hooker or the top Tennessee WR's, or some of Clemson's top DL prospects), this game does offer some interesting players to watch and pits Josh Heupel's high-powered offense vs Clemson's solid defense. The other interesting to watch is Clemson QB Cade Klubnik who has already started to appear on 2023 Heisman lists after taking over for DJ Uiagalelei (who transferred to Oregon St). I haven't seen Clubnik play and was surprised to see his name appear on the 2023 Heisman list when I was watching the Alamo Bowl game when they were discussing Washington QB Michael Penix, Jr - so I'll be interested to see just how much "hype" is deserved for Klubnik in this one. Also, even if some of Clemon's top DL talent won't be playing (mainly DE/EDGE Myles Murphy and LB Trenton Simpson), we'll still get to see everyone else, including DE/EDGE KJ Henry and DT's Bryan Breese, Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro. Tennessee has a solid OT prospect in Darnell Wright so any matchup between Wright and a Clemson DL will be worth watching.
2023 Draft Prospects to watch:
Tennessee OT Darnell Wright (Senior Bowl)
Tennessee DE/EDGE Byron Young (Senior Bowl)
Tennessee LB Jeremy Banks (Shrine Bowl)
Tennessee S Trevon Flowers
Clemson DT Bryan Bresee (#14 on Feldman's 2022 Freak's List)
Clemson DE/EDGE KJ Henry (Senior Bowl)
Clemson DT Tyler Davis (Senior Bowl)
Clemson DT Ruke Orhorhoro (Senior Bowl)
Clemson CB Sheridan Jones (Shrine Bowl)