Ranking the 10 best non-New Year鈥檚 Six bowl matchups
6. DIRECTV Holiday Bowl: No. 15 Louisville vs. USC
A matchup between Louisville and USC at Petco Park in San Diego on Dec. 27 certainly stands out as one of the top bowl games to be played prior to New Year鈥檚 Day and will be the first time these two programs meet. The No. 15 Cardinals should be close to full strength despite some defensive players in the transfer portal, but the same can not be said for USC which will play without some offensive stars including Caleb Williams and Brenden Rice.
That could help Louisville to an 11th win in a surprising season under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm. The Cardinals were a top-10 team in the country before ending the year with losses to Kentucky and Florida State, but have excelled behind a top-20 defense as well as a solid offense led by Jack Plummer and Jawhar Jordan. Those two could take advantage of what has been a bad USC defense in 2023. The Trojans will also have a much different look on offense in San Diego as former four-star recruit Miller Moss gets his first career start.
