The Guaranteed Rate Bowl features two marquee programs from the Big 12 and Mountain West. And before you say anything, yes, Kansas is a football school.
The Kansas Jayhawks and UNLV Rebels look to put a final exclamation point on their 2023 seasons with a victory in the final contest of the year. Which top players will be missing in action in this matchup, if any?
Top Kansas, UNLV Players Not Playing the Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Thanks to the College Football Network Bowl Game Opt-Out Tracker, we know just who is set to sit out the contest between Kansas and UNLV easily enough.
For the full game preview and prediction: Guaranteed Rate Bowl Prediction: Kansas vs. UNLV Odds, Spread, DFS Picks, and More
Kansas Players To Miss the Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Unlike the majority of other Big 12 schools playing in a bowl game, the Kansas roster is relatively intact. Jason Bean appears healthy and ready to take the field, giving the Jayhawks a boost a quarterback.
Through the transfer portal, however, Kansas may have some depth issues. Gage Keys has already committed to transfer to Auburn, taking his 21 total tackles from Kansas’ defense with him.
Elsewhere, though, the combination of Will Huggins, Reece Thomas, and Tanaka Scott combined for 31 receiving yards this season — all by Scott. Not suiting up with this trio of pass-catchers shouldn’t be an issue for the Jayhawks.
- Gage Keys, DL (transfer portal)
- Tanaka Scott, WR (transfer portal)
- Will Huggins, TE (transfer portal)
- Reece Thomas, WR (transfer portal)
UNLV Players To Miss the Guaranteed Rate Bowl
The Rebels were hit hard via the transfer portal, but not as hard as they could have been. Rumors swirled around starting QB Jayden Maiava’s entrance to the portal, but by all accounts, he’s ready to go for the season finale with UNLV and should very well be back next year.
On offense, running back Courtney Reese played a vital role as a depth piece, but was the fourth running back in a stacked room. Reese and Jordan Jakes’ departures via the portal shouldn’t pose much of a challenge.
On defense, however, the story is a bit different. UNLV was a bit thin on the defensive side in 2023 and losing Zavier Carter off the edge with Thomas Anderson’s secondary skills could play a role in this game.
Carter recorded 14 total tackles but had two sacks and a handful of pressures throughout the season. Anderson had 20 total tackles and multiple plays on the ball in coverage. Neither player was a starter, but each played prime roles once the season played out.
Perhaps the biggest loss, however, is Cameren Jenkins. Already committed to Baylor, Jenkins had two pass breakups to go with his 32 total tackles as he patrolled the middle of the field brilliantly. How quickly this UNLV defense can stack up and play high-level defense against Kansas’ passing attack may be in question.
- Zavier Carter, EDGE (transfer portal)
- Jalen Frazier, DB (transfer portal)
- Thomas Anderson, DB (transfer portal)
- Isaiah Hackett, CB (transfer portal)
- Cameren Jenkins, S (transfer portal)
- Courtney Reese, RB (transfer portal)
- Jordyn Morgan, S (transfer portal)
- Jordan Jakes, WR (transfer portal)