If it seems like the regular season in college football just ended, well, it did. But that doesn’t mean we can’t jump right into the bowl season, right?
The first bowl teams take the field at SoFi Stadium Saturday evening. The game matches two schools that share a bit of history with a former coach in common. In the spirit of the holidays, it might also be seen as a visit from the ghosts of Pac-12 past and future, with a former conference member squaring off against a team bound for the newly reconstructed league next season.
Here’s a look at the participants and what you need to know to take it in.
LA Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington
Time/TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC, Boise, Idaho.
Why watch: One might call this the Chris Petersen Bowl, name checking the coach who helped make Boise a perennial winner before heading to Seattle to coach the Huskies and lead them to the College Football Playoff. They’ve met on the field six times, with Washington holding a 4-2 series advantage. As far as this meeting is concerned, it will be a quick turnaround for the Broncos, fresh off repeating as Mountain West champions with a win against UNLV eight days earlier. The Huskies’ Big Ten campaign was a mixed bag with occasional offensive outages among some explosive performances. Boise State was happy to get QB Maddux Madsen back for the MWC finale. Washington’s defense, backed by DB Alex McLaughlin, could prove tougher to solve. Huskies QB Demond Williams has thrown for 21 TDs and run for six more. He must know the whereabouts of DB Ty Benefield, the Broncos’ defensive leader, at all times.
Why it could disappoint: As mentioned, Boise is on much shorter rest, and the Broncos haven’t fared especially well this season against strong out-of-conference competition. Washington struggled against high-end defenses, so we’ll soon learn if Boise qualifies in that category.