The 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will take place this afternoon as the No. 19 Oregon State Beavers will battle the No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX. This game will kick off at 2 p.m. ET and will air on CBS.
Oregon State (8-4, 5-4 Pac-12) acquitted itself well during the Pac-12’s final season, winning at least eight games for a second year in a row. The Beavers hung around the league title race late into the year and came up just short of creating chaos in their 22-20 loss to Washington in November. Clemson transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was a nice one-year rental, but has since entered the transfer portal. Head coach Jonathan Smith also departed for Michigan State following the regular season and defensive coordinator Trent Bray was promoted to take his place. Bray will not coach in the bowl gane, leaving receivers coach Kefense Hyndon as the interim for this matchup.
Notre Dame (9-3) had a solid 2023 campaign, but a few setbacks kept it out of College Football Playoff consideration. The team was clipped in the final seconds of a late-September clash against Ohio State and suffered upset losses at the hands of Louisville and Clemson later in the year. Quarterback Sam Hartman, running back Audric Estime, and offensive tackle Joe Alt led a powerful Fighting Irish offense that scored 45+ points in four of their final five games. However, all three have opted out of today’s game, opening the door for backups like sophomore QB Steve Angeli to start.
SP+ Rankings
Notre Dame: 9 overall, 17 offense, 11 defense
Oregon State: 17 overall, 22 offense, 32 defense
List of injuries and players opting out of game
Notre Dame
QB Sam Hartman – Out (Opt Out)
RB Audric Estime – Out (Opt Out)
OT Joe Alt – Out (Opt Out)
WR Rico Flores – Out (Transfer Porta)
WR Braylon James – Out (Transfer Portal)
WR Tobias Merriweather – Out (Transfer Portal)
TE Holden Staes – Out (Transfer Portal)
WR Chris Tyree – Out (Transfer Portal)
WR KK Smith – Probable (Shoulder)
WR Deion Colzie – Probable (Knee)
P Chris Salerno – Probable (Leg)
Oregon State
QB DJ Uiagalelei – Out (Transfer Portal)
QB Aidan Chiles – Out (Transfer Portal)
RB Damien Martinez – Out (Suspension)
WR Anthony Gould – Out (Opt Out)
TE Jake Overman – Out (Transfer Portal)
TE Jack Velling – Out (Transfer Portal)
ATS/Total
Against The Spread in 2023
Notre Dame: 8-3-1 ATS
Oregon State: 6-6 ATS
Total in 2023
Notre Dame: Over 8-4
Oregon State: Over 6-6
Team Pace
Notre Dame: 2.09 plays per minute of offense
Oregon State: 2.06 plays per minute of offense
Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Notre Dame -6
Total: 41.5
Moneyline: Notre Dame -225, Oregon State +185
Opening line: Notre Dame -6
Opening total: 42.5
Weather
57 degrees, partly sunny, 5 MPH winds NE
Our Best Bet for the Sun Bowl
Notre Dame ML
It’s hard to prognosticate this matchup considering that both teams are missing vital pieces that carried them throughout the year. However, I trust the overall talent of Notre Dame to prevail in this matchup as this will be a good audition for Angeli and company heading into 2024.