Louisville and USC's football teams looked like two of the best in the nation during the early part of the season. Both teams had late-season skids, though, and they are definitely not the same teams they were earlier in the offseason due to a number of bowl game opt-outs. So, who is in and who is out, and how can you watch their contest in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl? We will answer those questions below.
When and where is the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl?
Despite weakened rosters, Louisville and USC will go at it in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl. That bowl game takes place at Petco Park in San Diego, California. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
How to watch Louisville vs. USC
The DIRECTV Holiday Bowl will be broadcast on FOX. You can also watch it with fuboTV's live stream. Gus Johnson will call the game with Joel Klatt. Jenny Taft will be the sideline reporter.
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 27 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Petco Park — San Diego, California
TV channel: FOX | Live stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)
Odds: Lousiville -7 | O/U 58.5
DIRECTV Holiday Bowl storylines
Louisville started their season out with 10 wins in 11 games in their first year with Jeff Brohm at the helm. The team had a balanced attack, and they won 10 games for the first time since 2013. The team even played in the ACC Championship Game for the first time ever.
However, the Cardinals didn't end their season on a high note. The team lost their last two games and fell to 10-3 overall. Louisville will want to go into the offseason on a high note, but that is easier said than done, considering the amount of players that the team will be playing without. In this era of college football, tons of players opt out of bowl games as they enter the transfer portal or want to avoid injury as they prepare for the NFL Draft. Louisville was struck hard by this, as nearly two dozen key contributors will not be playing for Louisville.
Jawhar Jordan and Jamari Thrash are two of Louisville's best players who opted out. Those two are the team's best rusher and receiver, respectively. Jordan and Thrash's production will likely be replaced by Isaac Guerendo and Chris Bell.
Luckily, the team will still have Jack Plummer to throw the pigskin around. The Cardinals quarterback threw for 3,063 yards this season.
Meanwhile, USC will not have their quarterback. Caleb Williams is a former Heisman Trophy winner and the surefire No. 1 overall draft choice, and for that reason, he will be skipping the Holiday Bowl.
Like Louisville, USC's start to their season looked much more promising than the end, and now they will be short-handed in their bowl game. USC ranked as high as fifth in the nation, but the team lost five of their last six games. This was at no fault of Caleb Williams, though he wasn't quite as good as last season. It was the Trojans' defense that struggled. In fact, USC ranked 125th out of 133 teams in scoring defense, as teams score 34.9 points per game on them.
In addition to Williams, Marshawn Lloyd and Brenden Rice will not be suiting up in the Holiday Bowl. Lloyd led the team in rushing, and Rice had the most touchdown catches on the team. Williams has been able to keep games close all season, and losing arguably the best player in the nation will not be an easy thing to overcome. Miller Moss will be the quarterback taking over in Lincoln Riley's high-powered offense at the quarterback position.
Holiday Bowl history
The Holiday Bowl has gone by many names, but it has always been played in San Diego, California. The first Holiday Bowl was in 1978, and starting that year until it was demolished in 2019, the game was played at San Diego Stadium.
Due to COVID-19, the game was not played in 2020 and 2021, but the bowl game came back in 2022 and made its debut in Petco Park.
Sponsors for the Holiday Bowl have included SeaWorld, Thrifty Car Rental, Plymouth, Culligan, Pacific Life, Bridgepoint Education, National University, National Funding, and San Diego Country Credit Union. This will be the first time that DIRECTV is the Holiday Bowl sponsor.
USC will be making their fourth appearance in the Holiday Bowl, although they have never played Louisville in their school's history. USC is only 1-2 in the Holiday Bowl, though, so they will hope for better luck this year.
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