Breakdown of the five college football bowl games on December 27th

The college football bowl season is in full swing over the next few days as the new year begins. Friday’s lineup includes five competitions, with the so-called Power Four leagues well represented. There’s a top-25 roster on the list, although it could be caught up in one of the day’s biggest discrepancies.

Today’s action takes place mostly in warm weather cities. So if you want to see people on the sidelines doing their best to beat the cold, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

Here’s a quick look at Friday’s games, which begin in the Texas metroplex before heading east and then west.

Time/TV/Location: Noon ET, ESPN, Fort Worth, Texas.

Why watch: After their memorable win over Army, the Midshipmen are looking for a double-digit win. The Sooners had a tough debut season in the SEC, but earned a notable win over Alabama along the way. Navy QB Blake Horvath has racked up 2,365 yards of offense and 28 total touchdowns and will once again rely heavily on FB Alex Tecza and SB Eli Heidenrich. A number of Oklahoma players are transferring, so freshman QB Michael Hawkins Jr. won’t have many experienced ballplayers to work with. The Sooners need to establish their running game and eliminate the Midshipmen’s option.

Why it might disappoint: As long as Navy avoids putting the ball on the ground, everything is fine. Preparing for an offense in the academy is difficult enough, even with extra practice time. So how the undermanned Sooners handle this will have a big impact on whether this offense comes up short.

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Time/TV/Location: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Birmingham, Ala.

Why watch: These academic institutions have posted some outstanding victories in their respective conferences, forming one of the most interesting pairings in the bowl lineup. It’s already been an eventful offseason for Commodores QB Diego Pavia, who won another year of college eligibility on trial. He and TE Eli Stowers should be there. Yellow Jackets QB Haynes King battled injuries for much of the season but should be available, as should RB Jamal Haynes.

Why it might disappoint: That shouldn’t be the case. These are programs where you should really look forward to being treated to the bowl experience. Both teams are focused on ball control, which means the score should remain within everyone’s reach.

Time/TV/Location: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, Memphis, Tennessee.

Why watch: It’s an old Southwest Conference reunion here on the banks of the Mississippi and marks just the schools’ third meeting since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series at 29-8, but the Red Raiders won their last meeting in 2015. The current season has been mixed for both programs, but both have a win against a playoff contender. The Razorbacks’ backfield tandem of QB Taylen Green and RB Ja’Quinden Jackson does most of its work in the ground game. The Red Raiders will be without quarterback Behren Morton due to injury, leaving rookie Will Hammond to lead the offense in his first start. RB Tahj Brooks has been in practice but may decide to save himself for the draft.

Why it might disappoint: If it actually succeeds, it would probably be a good night for the Red Raiders with the more explosive offense. The Razorbacks need to possess the ball for long stretches to keep it in their hands.

Time/TV/Location: 8 p.m. ET, Fox, San Diego.

Why watch: You have to have compassion for Washington State fans as they have had a challenging year. Despite the dissolution of their conference, they had a strong start to the 2024 season, but now have to watch as almost all of those in charge, players and coaches alike, walk out the door. The Cougars – the ones left standing – are led in this contest by interim coach Pete Kaligis, while Jake Dickert is headed to Wake Forest. Zevi Eckhaus will make his first start as QB for Washington State in this game, and he can at least take comfort in having top WR Kyle Williams on his team. The Orange, who closed the regular season with an impressive comeback win against Miami, have fewer personnel problems. QB Kyle McCord, WR Jackson Meeks and TE Oronde Gadsden will look to maintain their late-season momentum.

Why it might disappoint: The Cougars will do their best, but with so many turnovers, it’s hard to see how they can put a competitive product on the field. The Orange should have this in hand shortly.

Time/TV/Location: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Las Vegas.

Why watch: Neither of these branded programs had hoped to finish the season here, but both should still attract large numbers of fans to this popular destination. The Aggies were in the race for their conference championship for much longer and were only officially eliminated with their final loss to Texas. Things didn’t go well for the Trojans after September, but they at least picked up a rivalry win against UCLA to earn bowl eligibility. The future QB job at A&M clearly belongs to Marcel Reed, which led opening night starter Conner Weigman to enter the portal. Reed will unfortunately be without the services of injured RB Le’Veon Moss, but Amari Daniels has done a good job filling in. USC also made a change at QB midseason, moving on to Jayden Maiava. However, he may have things worse with other playmakers like the departure of WR Zachariah Branch and the departure of RB Woody Marks after an injury in the regular season finale.

Why it might disappoint: It’s conceivable that both sides will try to see if things go badly, but hopefully there will be enough playmakers to keep the game interesting into the early hours of the morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football bowl games today: Schedule features five showdowns