The Cougars are a shell of what they used to be. And that’s a big problem against surging Syracuse. The Orange won their final three games and have their sights set on a 10-win season. Syracuse has only won 10 games twice in the past quarter-century, and getting there in Fran Brown’s first year would represent a major shift for the Orange.

This is the rare bowl game these days where both sides have some motivation. Oklahoma’s motivation mostly lies with its coach, but it’s motivation nonetheless. A loss here would leave the Sooners under .500 for the second time in Brent Venables’ three years in Norman.

Rutgers 2.0 might not be ready to compete with Kansas State 2.0. Of course, that depends on which version of Kansas State 2.0 actually shows up. The Wildcats have been maddeningly inconsistent, which is why they weren’t able to win the Big 12.

Has San Jose State learned its lesson from a year ago? Last year, the Spartans made it to the Hawai’i Bowl for a homecoming for then-quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, but the rest of the team neglected to show up. San Jose State got caught napping in a 24-14 loss to Coastal Carolina, and the result was never really in doubt.