Washington St., Miami to meet in rematch of 2015 Sun Bowl
Washington State and Miami will meet in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31. It’s a rematch of the 2015 Sun Bowl that Washington State won 20-14. Washington State elevated Jake Dickert from interim coach after the Cougars pounded rival Washington 40-13 in the regular-season finale. Freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura leads the Cougars with 23 touchdown passes. Miami counters with freshman quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. He has passed for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in each of his last six games. The Hurricanes are 5-1 during that stretch.
No. 14 Oklahoma to face No. 15 Oregon in Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma will face Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. Oklahoma brought in former coach Bob Stoops as interim coach after Lincoln Riley left for USC. Freshman Caleb Williams leads the Sooners with 18 touchdown passes and six rushing scores. Oregon looked like a possible playoff team before losing to Utah in the regular season and again in the PAC-12 title game. Ducks defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux is projected to be an early first-round draft pick in 2022. Travis Dye leads Oregon’s offense with 17 total touchdowns.
Oregon State to face Utah State in first LA Bowl
Mountain West Conference champion Utah State will face Oregon State of the Pac-12 Conference in the inaugural LA Bowl on Dec. 18 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers of the NFL. Utah State routed then-No. 19 San Diego State in the Mountain West championship game. Oregon State finished third in the Pac-12 North. Comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and SoFi Stadium have a multiyear partnership that makes Kimmel the official naming rights partner of the LA Bowl.