The 2023 college football season begins with a six-game schedule on Saturday.
The action starts at 11 a.m. ET at the Myrtle Beach Bowl and won’t end until after midnight on the East Coast with the Independence Bowl.
The majority of the roster is dominated by a group of five schools, some of which will use the bowls as showcases for their tremendous seasons.
New Mexico State Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia may be the best individual to take the field on Saturday.
Pavia burst onto the national scene at the end of the regular season, when he led NMSU to a road win over the Auburn Tigers and played in the high-scoring USA Championship game against the Liberty Flames.
Pavia are one of the Group of Five stars scheduled to play on Saturday, but some matches will be affected by the transfer portal.
Before you bet on any bowl game, be sure to look for the latest roster updates for all teams so you have an accurate idea of who is playing and who is not.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Saturday, 11 a.m. ET, ESPN
The Ohio Bobcats are the hardest-hit Group of Five team on Saturday’s slate when it comes to transfers.
Former midfielder Curtis Rourke recently announced his move to Indiana State, and leading forward Sieh Bangura is also in the transfer portal.
Ohio’s defense will be put to the test to secure a Myrtle Beach Bowl win over the Georgia Southern Eagles.
The Bobcats had the best scoring defense in the five-man group. They allow 15.4 points per game, the fifth-best total in the FBS.
Ohio State has allowed one team to surpass the 20-point mark in any of its nine wins.
Georgia Southern lost its final four games to finish the regular season at 6-6 and has a turnover-prone quarterback in Davis Breen, who has thrown 16 interceptions and been sacked on 26 occasions.
Ohio State needs to pull Georgia Southern back to its offensive level to have a chance to win without its top quarterback and running back.
The Bobcats’ offense could look terrible in the first half due to the new faces running the show and the early start, and if their defense plays well, they could easily hit the bottom man.
Saturday, 2:15 PM ET, ESPN
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks carry a much greater incentive to win the New Orleans Bowl than the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
Jacksonville State is playing in its first FBS bowl, and despite going 8-4, had to wait until the final day of the regular season to become bowl eligible.
The Gamecocks were not automatically eligible with six wins due to their move from the FCS to the FBS.
Rich Rodriguez’s team may be the road team on paper given the proximity of the LSU campus to New Orleans, but it should have a ton of support inside the Superdome.
Jacksonville State’s only losses after September came to the C-USA title game participants and the South Carolina Gamecocks, to whom it lost by just 10 points.
The Gamecocks have played at a higher level than Louisiana has done all season and it should show over four quarters.
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ABC
The Cure Bowl pits the MAC champion Miami (Ohio) RedHawks against the Sun Belt runner-up Appalachian State Mountaineers.
App State is the most favored on Saturday’s board because Miami (Ohio) quarterback Avion Smith is in the transfer portal.
Like their MAC brothers in Ohio, the RedHawks can still win a game because of their defense.
The RedHawks won the MAC Championship Game by holding the Toledo Rockets to 14 points.
Chuck Martin’s team has not allowed any opponent to score more than 20 points during its five-game winning streak.
Miami’s defense hasn’t been greatly affected by the transfer portal, so this unit should contain App State’s offense for the majority of the contest.
App State earned its spot in the Sun Belt Championship Game by winning five straight games, including three in which it produced more than 40 points.
The Mountaineers may have to make some offensive adjustments within the game to even get close to that point range against Miami’s defense, and while App State may win, a 6.5-point margin is too high to be a team to trust against the RedHawks’ top unit.
Saturday, 5:45 PM ET, ESPN
Get ready for the Diego Pavia show!
Pavia is one of the five most active players in the group and will use the New Mexico Bowl as a showcase for the rest of the country.
Pavia has recorded 2,915 receiving yards, 856 receiving yards and 32 total touchdowns this season.
The junior quarterback led New Mexico State to wins over Jacksonville State and Auburn to close out the month of November. He accounted for four touchdowns in the C-USA title game loss to Liberty.
The Fresno State Bulldogs will have a tough time containing Pavia, who must play in front of their home crowd in Alburquerque.
Fresno State started the season 8-1 and then lost three straight games by eight or more points and failed to reach the 20-point mark in each contest.
The Bulldogs trended in the wrong direction in November and it may be difficult for them to find motivation in what looks like a true road game.
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC
The LA Bowl is the game most affected by injuries and transfers on Saturday.
Boise State Broncos quarterback Taylen Green and UCLA Bruins signal caller Dante Moore are both in the transfer portal.
Boise State is moving on to a new head coach and the Bruins lost defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to the USC Trojans.
It will be difficult for both teams to replace a 3,300 passing yards and 22 passing quarterback.
UCLA is in better shape under center in terms of experience with Ethan Garbers, but he hasn’t been spectacular in any of his starts.
The Bruins could be without leading edge rusher Carson Steele as well. Its availability was up in the air as of Wednesday, According to the Los Angeles Times’ Thuc Nhi Nguyen.
Both defenses can interfere with the rushing attack with a big downside at the linebacker position and it could lead to an ugly game inside Sophie’s Stadium.
UCLA will be without linebacker Laiatu Latu, a Chuck Bednarik Award finalist, but still has a good number of starters and will be tasked with slowing down Ashton Jeanty, who ran for 1,262 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Boise’s only option is to create offense through the rushing attack, and if that doesn’t happen, the Broncos may have to get creative to score points.
Saturday, 9:15 PM ET, ESPN
A battle between two 6-6 teams with questionable quarterback play isn’t exactly how you want a six-game marathon to end, but that’s what we’re getting with the Independence Bowl.
The California Golden Bears will likely start freshman Fernando Mendoza, who has 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders won’t have starter Tyler Shough, who is in the transfer portal, so they will trust Behren Morton, who had 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Neither quarterback’s numbers will blow you away, and the potential for killer turnovers could have a big impact on the total.
Cal has played in six 58-plus point games this season, but four of those games came against ranked Pac-12 teams in which opponents did the majority of the scoring.
Three of Texas Tech’s last five games have included fewer than 58 points, and the only reason their last game surpassed that mark is because the Texas Longhorns beat them 57-7.
There shouldn’t be enough confidence in either offense to reach the 58-point mark, which is why playing under par is preferable.
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