College Football Bowls – Syndication Server

December 26-29 college football bowl game opt-out tracker

Get information on who is playing and who is not.

We focus on USC and Pac-12 football here, but it’s Christmas and it’s bowl season. If you have been busy with Christmas preparations with your families and have been wrapping presents or shopping or doing other things to get ready for December 25, you’re probably ready to sit down and watch some bowl games this next week. You probably want to know which high-profile players are playing in the next week of bowls, and which players are opting out for the NFL draft. You also want to know which players have entered the transfer portal and won’t be playing in their team’s bowl game.

We’re here to help you!

Here’s a list of players who have either opted out or have hit the transfer portal and won’t play in their bowl games. We’re looking at the next four days of bowls, from December 26 through 29.

Here you go:

100 Best Players of the College Football Bowl Season 2022-2023

CFN 100 best players of the 2022-2023 college football bowl season.

Who were the best and brightest stars of the 2022-2023 bowl season? Here are CFN’s 100 best players who stood out from the pack.

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100 Best Players of the Bowl Season

Who were the best and brightest stars of the bowl season? Stats are nice, big moments are better, and overall level of play matters the most. Okay, that’s a lie – do something massive in the bowls and you get ranked higher.

There’s one more game to go – and it’s sort of a biggie – so a few more names will be added to this. Go ahead and add another 100 names that could be on this list, but before the College Football Playoff National Championship, here are the 100 best players of the bowl season.

100 Best Players of the Bowl Season
76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
Ranking all the Bowl Games | Bowl Scoreboard

100. Braden Siders, DE Wyoming

Wyoming’s defense made a whole slew of big plays in the 30-27 overtime loss to Ohio in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. Siders made six tackles – all six solo stops – with two sacks and three tackles for loss.

99. Nicholas Singleton, RB Penn State

He wasn’t used much, but he made his touches count running seven times for 120 yards and two touchdowns – including an 87-yarder – and returned two kicks for 39 yards in the 35-21 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

98. Bralen Trice, DE Washington

This was supposed to be a wild shootout, but the defenses weren’t all that bad. Neither team generated much of a pass rush, but Trice did his part with a game-high two sacks and a team-tying six tackles in the 27-20 Valero Alamo Bowl win over Texas.

97. Cam Dillon, LB Duke

The Blue Devil defense was terrific in the 30-13 win over UCF in the Military Bowl, led by Dillon, who came up with a team-high nine tackles – six solo stops – with two sacks.

96. Chad Bailey, LB Missouri

The senior did everything possible to keep Missouri in the game. Seven of his nine tackles were solo stops with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in the 27-17 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl loss to Wake Forest.

95. Joshua Scott, CB Eastern Michigan

He lost a few battles, but he was a big part in the game’s momentum swing. He made two tackles with a key interception with four broken up passes in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win over San Jose State.

94. Wayne Taluapapa, RB Washington

Star QB Michael Penix Jr. didn’t have hist best performance – even with 287 yards – but he was helped by a running game that wasn’t there for the other side. Taulapapa ran 14 times for 108 yards with a 42-yard touchdown dash in the 27-20 Valero Alamo Bowl win over Texas.

93. KJ Robertson, LB Troy

He made nine tackles with an interception in the 18-12 Duluth Trading Cure Bowl win over UTSA.

92. Garrett Shrader, QB Syracuse

While he didn’t have top running Sean Tucker around, he was able to keep the offense moving through the air. There was a rough pick-six given up, but he completed 32-of-51 passes for 330 yards with that interception, and ran for 38 yards and two touchdowns in the 28-20 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl loss to Minnesota.

91. AT Perry, WR Wake Forest

Other Demon Deacons got into the end zone – Taylor Morin scored twice, but Perry led the way with 11 catches for 116 yards in the 27-17 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl win over Missouri.

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90. Braelon Allen, RB Wisconsin

Was he going to play? Was he heathy enough? He turned out to be just fine, running 22 times for 116 yards and a score in the 24-17 win over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

89. Rashod Dubinion, RB Arkansas

The quarterbacks might have been the stars of the show, but Dubinion did his part – as did AJ Green with 99 yards and a score – for a Hog running game that came close to running for 400 yards. He carried it 20 times for 112 yards and two scores and caught three passes for 19 yards in the 55-53 triple-overtime win over Kansas.

88. Malik Nabers, WR LSU

The game was effectively over by the time he went to work, but he still played a big role. He caught nine passes for 163 yards and a score, and he completed both of his passes for 50 yards and a score in the 63-7 win over Purdue in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

87. Sean Clifford, QB Penn State

Very, very efficient, he did everything he was supposed to hitting 16-of-21 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns – averaging over 13 yards per pass – in the 35-21 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

86. Arian Smith, WR Georgia

He only caught three passes, but they went for 129 yards with his 76-yard touchdown bringing Georgia close late in the 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

85. Sherrod Greene, LB South Carolina

No, he didn’t make the splashiest defensive plays like some of his teammates did, but he came up with a game-high 11 tackles with a sack and five solo stops in the 45-38 loss to Notre Dame in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

84. Jack Campbell, LB Iowa

There wasn’t anything fun about the game, but that’s partly because the Iowa defense was so dominant. Campbell had a game-high ten stop with a sack and two tackles for loss in the 21-0 TransPerfect Music City Bowl win over Kentucky.

83. Bucky Irving, RB Oregon

The quarterbacks were the headliners, but the running back took over. Irving ran 13 times for 149 yards and two scores in the 28-27 win over North Carolina in the San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl.

82. Keaton Mitchell, RB East Carolina

QB Holton Ahlers and the passing game were the stars in the 53-29 win over Coastal Carolina in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, but Mitchell was a steady force running 22 times for 127 yards and a score.

81. Justin Marshall, WR Buffalo

The Georgia Southern offense was supposed to explode, but it was the Buffalo passing attack that brought it home. Marshall caught 11 passes for 127 yards and a score, setting the tone early with his 32-yard touchdown grab in UB’s 23-21 win in the Camellia Bowl.

80. Zeke Rankin, PK Middle Tennessee

He missed one, but he hit a 49-yarder to go along with the game-winning 37-yarder with just over two minutes to play. He saved the offense making four of five field goal tries in the 25-23 win over San Diego State in the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl.

– How good were the bowls? Ranking bowls so far from best to worst

79. Chevan Cordeiro, QB San Jose State

In a losing cause, Cordeiro threw two big picks, but he connected on 26-of-44 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns and ran nine times for 50 yards and a score in the 41-27 loss to Eastern Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

78. Cooper DeJean, CB Iowa

A key part of the dominant Hawkeye defensive performance, he made seven tackles with a tackle for loss, a 14-yard pick six, and returned three punts for 34 yards in the 21-0 TransPerfect Music City Bowl win over Kentucky.

77. Jayden Daniels, QB LSU

The Tigers put this away fast thanks to Daniels. He completed 12-of-17 passes for 139 yards and a score, ran six times for a team-high 67 yards, and caught a five-yard touchdown pass in the 63-7 win over Purdue in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

76. Loic Fouonji, WR Texas Tech

The big receiver had a big night, leading the team with 100 yards on seven catches – and iced the game taking an onside kick 44 yards for a score – in the 42-25 TaxAct Texas Bowl win over Ole Miss.

100 Best Players of the Bowl Season
76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
Ranking all the Bowl Games | Bowl Scoreboard

NEXT: 100 Best Player of the Bowl Season Top 75

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TCU Wins Fiesta Bowl Over Michigan: Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts

5 Things That Matter: TCU shocked Michigan 51-45 to win the College Football Playoff semifinal Fiesta Bowl.

TCU beat Michigan to win the Fiesta Bowl. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.

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TCU beat Michigan 51-45: Fiesta Bowl 5 Things That Matter

Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff 5 Thoughts
4. Michigan got hosed on 2 calls, but …
3. TCU’s defensive front held up
2. The first College Football Playoff shocker
1. TC-freaking-U is in CFP National Championship
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5. Michigan was off from the start

Donovan Edwards ripped off a 54-yard run, and it looked like it was over eight seconds in.

The Michigan offensive line was going to dominate, the defense that held up all season long would take care of business, and yawn, it was going to be another methodical win by the undefeated Big Ten champion.

And then Michigan got cute.

Run, penalty, run, run, fourth and goal from the 2 – the reasonably worst thing that could happen was to get stuffed and pin TCU deep. Instead, the offense tried a Philly Special that was sniffed out immediately, went nowhere, and TCU got the ball on its ten.

The Horned Frogs didn’t do anything and had to punt, but the stop set the tone. Michigan didn’t have the ability to power away on the TCU defensive front, and the the tough guy ability that was there all season long never took over.

Michigan came into this No. 3 in the nation against the run. It gave up 263 yards.

It was third in the nation in total defense allowing 277 yards per game. It gave up 488.

It led the Big Ten and was fourth in the nation in rushing averaging 243 yards per game. It came up with 186, threw the ball 35 times, and was just … off.

It’s like the time off hurt the team – it disturbed the groove it was in.

Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff 5 Thoughts
5; Michigan was off from the start
4. Michigan got hosed on 2 calls, but …
3. TCU’s defensive front held up
2. The first College Football Playoff shocker
1. TC-freaking-U is in CFP National Championship

NEXT: Michigan got hosed on two huge calls, but …

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Sporting News sends the Iowa Hawkeyes bowling against N.C. State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Sporting News put out a preseason bowl projection and has the Iowa Hawkeyes going bowling with the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

It’s early and the season hasn’t even kicked off yet, but we do have postseason bowl predictions already underway! It is never too early to start wondering how much time will be needed to be blocked off over Christmas break to watch or travel south for a winter vacation in order to see the Iowa Hawkeyes’ bowl game.

Sporting News’ Bill Bender recently came out with his preseason bowl predictions and he has Iowa appearing in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on December 30.

This says one of two things. Iowa is going to outperform expectations this year or North Carolina State is going to underperform. I say this because Iowa was not ranked in the top 25 while the Wolfpack came in at No. 13.

The Hawkeyes have never appeared in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl or any of its previous names (Belk Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, or the Continental Tire Bowl). The Wolfpack have appeared in the game three times under the different bowl names and have a 2-1 record.

This wouldn’t be the first matchup of the schools as they have met three previous times, the most recent being in 1992. North Carolina State holds a 3-0 record over the Hawkeyes.

It’s early and Iowa Hawkeyes coaches, players, and fans are all setting their expectations on a higher bowl destination, but should this come to fruition, there is some solace in the possibility of Kirk Ferentz receiving a mayo bath.

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Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

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Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Big Ten bowl destinations: College Football News’ landing spots for each league member

College Football News has Iowa set to face Wake Forest in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Where are the rest of the Big Ten teams headed?

With the 2022 college football season right around the corner, it’s time for final preseason rankings. Phil Steele released his top 40 where the Iowa Hawkeyes check in as the nation’s preseason No. 20 team.

In all, Phil Steele had six Big Ten squads ranked within his preseason top 25. Elsewhere, Iowa was ranked No. 25 in ESPN’s way-too-early rankings and No. 32 nationally according to Athlon Sports’ most recent top 25 rankings.

Along with final preseason rankings, it’s also time to get those final batches of preseason bowl predictions out and hot off the press before the 2022 college football season commences. Naturally, there will be plenty of shuffling with these predictions week to week.

And, actually, there already has been some. College Football News’ initial bowl projection for Iowa had the Hawkeyes meeting up with Ole Miss in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

Now, that’s no longer the case. Who are the Hawkeyes slated to match up with and what about the rest of the Big Ten? Here’s a look at all of College Football News’ preseason Big Ten bowl projections.

It’s not the 2024 college football season yet, but, just for kicks, UCLA and USC are included below as well. All times are CST.

College Football Bowl Ties, Affiliations For Each Conference 2022-2023

Bowl affiliations and ties for every conference this 2022 college football season

College football bowl tie-ins and bowl affiliations for every conference going into the 2022 season.

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College Football Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations 2023-2023

– The College Football Playoff hasn’t expanded yet, so just as before, the top four teams according to the final College Football Playoff rankings will make the mini-tournament. This year, the two CFP semifinal bowls are the Fiesta and Peach on Saturday, December 31st.

– The two CFP semifinal winners will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Los Angeles on Monday, January 9th, 2023.

– The highest-ranked conference champion from the American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt will automatically get one spot in Cotton Bowl if it’s not in the College Football Playoff.

– The Rose Bowl will be the Big Ten and Pac-12, the Orange Bowl will be ACC vs a team from the Big Ten or SEC – Notre Dame could go to the Orange, but not as an ACC team – and the Sugar Bowl will be Big 12 vs SEC.

Again, the Fiesta and Peach are College Football Playoff games, leaving one spot open in the Cotton for a team to likely play a Group of Five team.

ACC Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

Notre Dame is eligible for any ACC bowl tie-in as long as it’s within one game of the team eligible for the slot. However, it’s not eligible to go to the Orange Bowl as an ACC team.

The ACC Champion will automatically go to the Orange Bowl if it’s not selected for the College Football Playoff. If the top ACC team is in the CFP, the highest-ranked available team is in the Orange.

Like last year, the ACC bowl slots will mostly be based on the matchups that make the most sense and will potentially generate the most interest.

1. College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

Capital One Orange Bowl
Highest-ranked available ACC team, if it’s not the ACC Champion.

First Tier

– Cheez-It Bowl vs Big 12
– Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs Big Ten
– Fenway Bowl vs American Athletic
– Military Bowl Presented by Peraton vs American Athletic
– New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs Big Ten
– Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs Army
– San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs Pac-12
– TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs SEC
– Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl vs Pac-12

Second Tier

– Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs AAC, Pac-12 or SEC
– TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs SEC or AAC
– SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs SEC or AAC or Pac-12

NEXT: American Athletic Conference Bowl Tie-Ins, Affiliations

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Georgia Was THE Team, Stetson Bennett: 5 National Championship Thoughts

5 thoughts from Georgia’s win over Alabama in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship

Stetson Bennett’s big drive, to the loss of Jameson Williams, to Georgia being THE team of 2021, here are 5 National Championship thoughts from the terrific game.

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Georgia 33, Alabama 18: College Football Playoff National Championship 5 Things That Matter

Prediction: Georgia 26, Alabama 23
Line: Georgia -2.5, o/u: 52.5
– CFN Georgia vs Alabama Preview

Now that the dust has settled after Georgia beat Alabama for the College Football Playoff National Championship – and after getting a shot to watch the game again after spending a fun night in a raucous and very cold Lucas Oil Stadium – here are the 5 main takeaways with 24 hours to let it all sink in.

5. Georgia was the team of 2021

Yeah, of course – it won the national championship. Losing the SEC Championship – as it turned out – didn’t matter, and it might have been just what the Dawgs needed.

You want focus? LB Nakobe Dean was so locked in on Alabama that he ended up wearing a Tide national championship hat after it was all over.

Obviously that was a mistake, but the loss in Atlanta refocused the effort. Any possibility of overconfidence was gone, the mission was to take down Bama – of course it was going to be Georgia-Alabama in the national championship – and this veteran team full of superstar talent had the laser focus needed to pull this off.

2021 Georgia was the team of the year, just like 2020 Alabama was the team of the year, just like LSU owned the 2019 season.

Georgia’s defense stopped Clemson to start the season – getting the only touchdown of the game on a pick six – and it ended the season with a dramatic pick six.

2021 Alabama might have rented the top spot for several weeks, but it was Georgia’s turn thanks to that D that helped bail out …

Georgia – Alabama National Championship 5 Thoughts
4. Stetson Bennett’s one big drive
3. Jameson William’s injury mattered
2. Bill O’Brien was fine
1. The talent level, oh, the talent level
National Championship Game Thoughts

NEXT: Stetson Bennett wasn’t good until he absolutely had to be

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Ohio State Wins Rose Bowl Over Utah: Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts

Rose Bowl Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts on Ohio State’s win over Utah

Ohio State beat Utah to win the Rose Bowl. 5 thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.

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Ohio State beat Utah 48-45: Rose Bowl 5 Things That Matter

Prediction: Ohio State 36, Utah 30
Line: Ohio State -4, o/u: 64
Final Score: Ohio State 48, Utah 45

5. Ohio State still had guys

The narrative before this was all about the opt-outs.

Ohio State lost a few key defensive players, and not having NFL-caliber WRs Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson was supposed to be a problem, but …

It’s Ohio State. There are more stars waiting for a turn.

That’s the difference between an Ohio State and just about everyone outside of the Alabamas and Georgias of the world. Of course the opt-outs matter to a certain extent, but the Next Man Up is often the Next Five-Star Talent Up.

The defense finally meshed in the second half, the underused star parts like WR Marvin Harrison Jr. – 6 catches, 71 yards, 3 touchdowns – and Emeka Egbuka made a whole slew of big plays, and when it came down to it, Ohio State had the talent to overcome the energy, toughness, and fight of Utah.

Oh, and then there’s this …

Rose Bowl 5 Thoughts
4. The Jaxon Smith-Njigba performance
3. Utah couldn’t deliver the knockout punch
2. It might not have been a CFP game, but …
1. The Rose Bowl is still the Rose Bowl

NEXT: The Jaxon Smith-Njigba performance

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Georgia Wins Orange Bowl Over Michigan: Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts

Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts on Georgia’s Orange Bowl win over Michigan

Georgia beat Michigan to win the Orange Bowl. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.

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Georgia beat Michigan 34-11: Orange Bowl 5 Things That Matter

Final Score: Georgia 34, Michigan 11
CFN Prediction: Georgia 30, Michigan 20
Line: Georgia -7.5, o/u: 45.5

5. Georgia returned to 2021 form

Oh were the post-SEC Championship narratives were rich. One rough loss to Alabama, and …

Georgia’s secondary was a weakness.

Georgia was exposed.

Georgia didn’t beat anyone who was all that amazing.

Georgia was playing the wrong quarterback.

Okay, so maybe that last one still sort of holds – more on that in a moment – but it was as if everyone had forgotten just how dominant this team was throughout the regular season.

The offense didn’t get a touchdown in the 10-3 opener against Clemson. No one else came even remotely close to touching this team up until Alabama pulled off the win, and even then the loss could partly be explained away that the Dawgs sort of played like it didn’t need the win – which it didn’t.

So was this a bad performance by Michigan? Yeah, sort of, but Georgia did that to Arkansas, and Florida, and Tennessee, and Kentucky, and everyone else on the slate except for that one team that’s coming up in a rematch a few days from now.

Oh, and …

Orange Bowl College Football Playoff 5 Thoughts
5; Georgia returned to 2021 form
4. Georgia had more talent. Duh.
3. Stetson Bennett was terrific
2. Nothing takes away from Michigan’s great season
1. Now Georgia gets its chance
– 5 Thoughts: Alabama 27-6 over Cincinnati

NEXT: Georgia had more talent. Duh.

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Alabama Wins Orange Bowl Over Cincinnati: Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts

Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts on Alabama’s Capital One Orange Bowl win over Cincinnati

Alabama beat Cincinnati to win the Capital One Orange Bowl. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.

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Alabama beat Cincinnati 27-6: Capital One Orange Bowl 5 Things That Matter

Final Score: Alabama 27, Cincinnati 6
CFN Prediction: Alabama 37, Cincinnati 20
Line: Alabama -13, o/u: 57.5

5. Alabama played like it knew Cincinnati wasn’t going to score

Bryce Young overshot his guy on one throw, but he didn’t take a whole lot of chances.

Alabama kept running the ball because it worked, but also because it didn’t want to do anything crazy.

Alabama was able to come up with a business-like, safe performance on offense, because the defense that had its rocky moments this season stepped up its play to the College Football Playoff level – and it seemed to know that Cincinnati didn’t have a prayer of doing anything big offensively.

That’s not Cincinnati’s fault. Desmond Ridder didn’t have any time to work, Jerome Ford didn’t get free to run, and that’s all because the Bama defensive front took over and held from late in the first Bearcat drive on.

From jump, this looked like an Alabama team that was comfortable in its position and surroundings.

That was Alabama knowing it was Alabama and Cincinnati wasn’t.

However …

Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff 5 Thoughts
4. Bryce Young was fine, but …
3. That’s the Brian Robinson Bama needed
2. Cincinnati lost, but it was just fine
1. Alabama is still great, and it’s okay

NEXT: Bryce Young was fine, but …

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