Geno Smith is one of those players. If the Seahawks make the playoffs, he earns a two-million-dollar bonus. He faces a familiar foe in the Cardinals that is not great against quarterbacks.
Alabama isn’t supposed to be here. The Crimson Tide didn’t earn their way in; they got gifted their spot by Florida State losing Jordan Travis to injury. But they’re here now, and they’re dangerous as a result. That’s especially true for Michigan, as the Wolverines haven’t exactly faced much of a challenge this year.
The Longhorns might have the wrong matchup for this game in Washington’s pass attack. If the Longhorns can’t stop the pass, the Huskies likely have another upset win on their hands.
How will LSU handle life without Jayden Daniels? The Tigers built so much of their offense around the Heisman winner, and now they’ve got to play without him with Daniels opting out of the bowl game. That means Garrett Nussmeier becomes the quarterback, and his first start is against a middling Wisconsin squad.
The Brian Ferentz era ends with a game against a Tennessee team that was just kind of there this season. The Volunteers had one pratfall against a bad Florida team, but otherwise managed to beat the teams they should while losing to the teams stronger than they were.
After skating through 2023 without playing anyone of substance, Liberty gets its shot at the big boys in facing Oregon. This might be a little more than the Flames bargained for, however, as they played one of the weakest schedules in the nation. This might be reminiscent of when Georgia met Hawai’i in the Sugar Bowl 15 years ago.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7) travel out west to take on the Seattle Seahawks (8-7) in a matchup that has playoff implications for both teams.
In another time, this would be one of the most anticipated bowl games of the season. In another time, Florida State might even be playing for a share of the national championship with a win over Georgia.
But those days are over now, and what we have is one of the biggest messes we’ve seen in a bowl game.