New Year's Six bowl preview: Alabama in unfamiliar territory

All eyes will be on the College Football Playoff in one of the final years of just four teams making the cut before the NCAA's season-ending tournament expands to 12 teams in the 2024 season.

While Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State will be looking to play their way into the national title game, four other bowl games will be taking place on New Year’s Day.

The remaining best teams in the nation will face off in the Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Goodyear Cotton Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game.

Here’s a look at the New Year’s Six bowl games happening this season.

Capital One Orange Bowl – No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Clemson, Friday, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker’s Heisman campaign seemingly ended after the Vols’ loss to Georgia, but Tennessee had a season for the ages being ranked as high as No.1  in the country.

As for Clemson, Dabo Swinney’s era of dominance has seemingly come to a close – quarterback DJ Uiagalelei announced he will be taking his talents to Corvallis to play for the Oregon State Beavers next season.

Swinney has announced that freshman Cade Klubnik will start the Orange Bowl. He replaced Uiagalelei for good in a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels with the ACC title on the line.

Though the two quarterbacks will have all eyes on them, each team brings more to the table than just the two backups.

Tennessee’s keys to win

Hooker’s season ended after Tennessee’s loss to South Carolina as he sustained a torn ACL in his left knee, meaning that the Vols will be leaning on Joe Milton under centre.

Hooker threw for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season, which will surely be missed against Clemson, but will also be without Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt, who recorded 67 receptions for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns.

So who do the Vols have to rely on? Their defence. Their secondary ranked dead last in the SEC giving up passes of 10 yards or longer, so their pass rush will need to be pristine to put pressure on Klubnik before he even gets to make a play.

Tennessee had 27 sacks in 12 games with edge rusher Byron Young leading the team with five sacks and 14 quarterback pressures. Though his production was slow near the end of the season, he will be needed for Tennessee to succeed.

Clemson’s keys to win

With both teams having their second-choice quarterbacks, the Tigers will rely on their run-game star Will Shipley, who has tallied 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The sophomore has recorded at least one touchdown in all but two games for Clemson this season, including a score when recording just 18 yards in the ACC Championship against UNC.

Furthermore, the Tigers will need their defence to step up after it was exposed on more than one occasion this season, including when South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler tossed two touchdowns and had 360 passing yards against them. Cornerback Nate Wiggins had a stellar performance against UNC and will be needed in the secondary once again.

But at the end of the day, Swinney knows how to pull out a win in bowl games – he has an 11-7 record, including bowl wins in the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Cheez-It Bowl in the last four years.

Allstate Sugar Bowl – Alabama vs. Kansas State, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT in New Orleans

Many Alabama players and personnel alike feel like they were deserving as the fourth and final team in the College Football Playoff due to their two close losses, but the Playoff Committee felt otherwise. 

Now, they will take on the Big 12 champion Kansas State, which upset TCU in overtime to claim its first Big 12 title since 2012 and just its third Big 12 title in school history.

TCU still claimed a playoff spot after being the first Big 12 team to have an undefeated regular season since Texas in 2009 under first-year head coach Sonny Dykes, but Kansas State proved that running back Deuce Vaughn can run this team to success.

Alabama’s keys to win

The Crimson Tide still have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2021 Heisman winner Bryce Young, who had another great season in 2022 with 3,007 passing yards for 27 touchdowns and five interceptions as Alabama averaged 40 points per game.

Linebacker Will Anderson, who recorded 51 total tackles including 24 solo tackles, 10 sacks and an interception this year for the Crimson Tide, also announced he would suit up for the Sugar Bowl.

Alabama’s defence averaged less than 20 points against per game thanks to stars like Byron Young, DeMarcco Hellams, Henry To’oTo’o and Kool-Aid McKinstry, who are just a small sample size of the defensive talent Nick Saban has lined up this season.

Kansas State’s keys to win

The Wildcats have a problem that a team like Clemson or Tennessee would wish for -- having two quarterbacks who are more than capable of throwing or running the ball themselves.

Vaughn leads K-State in rushing yards with 1,425 but Nebraska transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez leads the team in rushing touchdowns with 10 – he recorded 13 rushing touchdowns last season under Scott Frost.

While Martinez suffered an injury in October, Will Howard started to thrive and threw for 1,423 yards with 15 touchdowns and two interceptions for the Wildcats. Their passing offence also complements a run game that is averaging 209.6 rushing yards per game.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl – Tulane vs. USC, Monday, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT in Arlington, Texas

The Tulane Green Wave have been one of the best stories this season, going from 2-10 in 2021 to 11-2 in 2022, winning the American Athletic Conference. Willie Fritz is having his best season as the team’s head coach yet.

As for USC, the team had a promising season under Lincoln Riley. Quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy as the Trojans went 11-1, before losing a third-consecutive Pac-12 title game as the Utah Utes scored 23 fourth-quarter points to seal a 47-24 win.

USC is looking for redemption after its playoff fate was in its own hands, while Tulane is out to show everyone that its season isn’t just a one-off fairy tale.

Tulane’s keys to win

Tulane deserves its flowers this season, taking down Cincinnati and UCF in back-to-back games on the way to its first conference championship since 1998.

Quarterback Michael Pratt has recorded 2,776 passing yards with 25 touchdowns as well as 395 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns this season. Running back Tyjae Spears also attracted eyes on the ground with 1,376 rushing yards for 15 touchdowns.

The receiving duo of Shae Wyatt and Duece Watts have combined for 15 touchdowns and 1,266 yards this season as well, averaging 35.2 points per game while scoring 60 total touchdowns this season.

The Green Wave limited their opponents to just 20.5 points per game as well as players like Dorian Williams, Nick Anderson and Macon Clark bolstered the defence.

USC’s keys to win

USC needs to be better on defence point blank, and after Alex Grinch led a subpar defence in 2021, some of the same disasters struck in 2022. In the Pac-12 Championship, the Trojans had a season-high 24 missed tackles.

But they have Caleb Williams, who reassured Trojan fans that he would be playing in the Cotton Bowl even after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter of the Pac-12 Championship.

Williams tallied 4,075 passing yards, 442 rushing yards, 47 total touchdowns and just four interceptions at USC. Even without top receiver Jordan Addison, who will miss the Cotton Bowl, the Trojans have depth.

Addison led the way with 875 yards and eight touchdowns, but Tahj Washington grabbed six touchdowns of his own and tallied 676 yards. Mario Williams also recorded 596 yards and five touchdowns, and on the ground, Oregon transfer Travis Dye rushed for 884 yards and nine touchdowns.

Rose Bowl – Penn State vs. Utah, Monday, 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT in Pasadena, Calif.

Utah returns to the Rose Bowl after giving Ohio State a run for its money in the same game last year, and will face off against a different Big Ten team this time around.

The Utes have secured back-to-back Pac-12 titles with wins over USC, while Penn State has moved back to being a solid competitor in the Big Ten and had a 10-win season for the first time in three seasons.

The Nittany Lions have appeared in the Rose Bowl just once under head coach James Franklin in what was a thriller against USC in the 2017 edition of the game and will also be looking for Rose Bowl redemption.

Penn State’s keys to win

Penn State’s only two losses this season were to two top-five ranked teams in Ohio State and Michigan. The team won its last four games by 19 points or more and won by that margin eight times this season.

Averaging 35.8 points per game, the Nittany Lions will look to give quarterback Sean Clifford a proper send-off as he threw for 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. 

Penn State also has an impressive run game with Nicholas Singleton, who ran for 941 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Utah is allowing 107 rushing yards per game, but Penn State is averaging 182.1 yards on the ground per contest.

Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. declared for the NFL Draft and will miss the game. He is one of their top players this season, but most of the Nittany Lions’ core will return, like safety Ji’Ayir Brown and linebacker Abdul Carter, who have a combined 9.5 sacks this season.

Utah’s keys to win

Cameron Rising threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns in Utah’s win over USC, and tight end Dalton Kincaid is a top target for the Utes, recording 890 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Three different players have six or more rushing touchdowns for the Utes this season, with Rising tallying six, and running back Ja’Quinden Jackson adding eight while ball carrier Tavion Thomas chipped in with seven.

The Nittany Lions have given up an average of only 212.8 passing yards and 18 points per game this season, so the Utes will need to use a combination of both the air and the ground game if they hope to gain some traction.

Averaging 40 points per game scoring 70 total touchdowns, the Utes are generating 472.7 offensive yards per game, and have a third-down efficiency of 49.69 per cent.

Other bowls to watch

Holiday Bowl – No. 15 Oregon vs. UNC, Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT in San Diego

Auburn transfer Bo Nix recorded a Pac-12-leading 71.5 per cent of his passes for 3,388 yards, 27 touchdowns and six interceptions this season. He also recorded 504 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns, and will return to Oregon in 2023.

As for UNC, Drake Maye ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing yards and passing touchdowns, throwing for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdowns.

This is set to be a high-scoring quarterback battle.

Cheez-it Bowl – No. 13 Florida State vs. Oklahoma, Thursday, 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT in Orlando

Twenty years ago, these two teams met for the BCS National Championship.

Now, both teams are looking to end their seasons on a high after hitting some rough patches.

Both of these teams have appeared in the College Football Playoff since its inception, but have run into some troubles in the last few years. Oklahoma lost six of its last nine games this season, including being shut out in the Red River Showdown against Texas, and Florida State saw a three-game losing streak of its own.

Oklahoma is 3-5 in its last eight bowl games, and Florida State missed out on bowls the last two years and is 2-3 in its last five. One of these two teams will finally get their redemption with a bowl win.

Alamo Bowl – No. 12 Washington vs. No. 20 Texas, Thursday, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT in San Antonio

In the first meeting between these two teams since 2001, which was a nailbiter 47-43 win for Texas in the 2011 Holiday Bowl, both teams are coming in off a win and have secured winning seasons.

Texas won three of its last four games after defeating Baylor in its season finale while Washington is riding a six-game win streak, including a 51-33 Apple Cup win over Washington State.

Two Big Ten transfer quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Quinn Ewers will headline this matchup, but Xavier Worthy leads Texas with 676 yards and nine touchdowns while Cameron Davis has 522 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns for the Huskies.

Gator Bowl – No. 19 South Carolina vs. No. 21 Notre Dame, Friday, 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT in Jacksonville

Another bowl game that is the story of two transfer quarterbacks.

Drew Pyne is leaving Notre Dame, leaving Marcus Freeman with a decision on who to start, while Spencer Rattler is thriving at South Carolina after leaving Oklahoma.

Notre Dame will be missing tight end Michael Mayer, but has freshman Jayden Thomas as a receiving option. As for South Carolina, Antwane Wells Jr. tallied 898 yards for six touchdowns this season, including 308 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson and Tennessee.

ReliaQuest Bowl – No. 22 Mississippi State vs. Illinois, Monday, 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT in Tampa

Mississippi State will be playing its bowl game in honour of head coach Mike Leach, who passed away on Dec. 13, with defensive co-ordinator Zach Arnett taking over team duties including coaching the bowl game. Will Rogers threw for 3,713 yards and 34 touchdowns this season, and the Bulldogs will continue to rely heavily on their passing game as Rogers has completed 68 per cent of passes this year.

As for Illinois, they'll rely heavily on quarterback Tommy DeVito as they will be without Canadian running back Chase Brown, who delcared for the NFL Draft.

Brown led the Fighting Illini with 1,643 rushing yards, good for second in FBS, along with 10 touchdowns and rushed for over 100 yards in all but two games this season. Brown will pass the torch to Reggie Love III, who ran for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 59 carries this season.