The script couldn’t be more perfect for SMU as it prepares to enter life in the ACC. The Mustangs get to end the most successful season they’ve had in four decades with a winnable game against a future conference opponent — and one that really doesn’t have much motivation to be here.
The Mountaineers were expected to be lucky to win four games. They won eight, and it should have been nine if not for a last-second screw-up at Houston. But it’s been a tale of two seasons for North Carolina, which looked excellent up until Week 8 with a 6-0 start. And then the old Carolina success allergy reared its head
It’s hard to find a more disrespected team than Tulane. The Green Wave put together a great season, going 11-2. They played for the American Athletic Conference championship, and their only losses have been to Mississippi and SMU. And they come in as a 10.5-point underdog to Virginia Tech after getting decimated in the transfer portal.
This might be one of the worst matchups of the bowl season. Its lone saving grace is that it’s got the benefit of a lower-level team getting to take a shot at a Power 5 squad.
It’s homecoming for San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, who closes out his college football career in his hometown of Honolulu. Unfortunately, the matchup of top quarterbacks won’t materialize. Grayson McCall’s injured again and hopped into the transfer portal, so Coastal Carolina will go with Ethan Vasko under center.
The past six editions of this bowl have all been decided by double digits. In the 24-year history of bowl games in Mobile, Ala., only five have been decided by one score. This one looks like another dud, as Eastern Michigan really did not do enough to deserve a bowl game.
On paper, the unstoppable force meets immovable object in Fort Worth, as the nation’s No. 2 rushing offense faces the top run defense. Air Force has made the triple option its identity for years (as have the other service academies), to the point where the Falcons barely bother to pass. But this marks the best run defense Air Force has seen all season, and it comes with the Falcons on a four-game losing streak.
A 7-5 season certainly isn’t bad by the Blue Devils’ standards, but Duke’s gotten one bad thing after another since September.
The biggest question with this game is simple: which team really wants to be here? UCLA clearly didn’t look like a team that wanted anything to do with its season finale, and things aren’t a lot better in Boise.