The Liberty Flames and the Oregon Ducks will participate in the Fiesta Bowl as part of college football’s New Year’s 6 Bowl games. Both teams are coming off exemplary seasons, where both teams ended the season as top 25 ranked teams nationally. The game will see some top-performing players from the 2023 season go head-to-head.
However, some talented players won’t be in Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl due to the transfer portal being open and players opting out to declare for the NFL Draft.
Top Liberty, Oregon Players Not Playing in the Fiesta Bowl
Using the College Football Network Bowl Game Opt-Out Tracker, we know some of the names that will be missing from the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024.
Some household names will be missing for the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which was the home of the bowl game since 2007. The bowl game will be a part of a jam-packed few days of college football, with the New Year’s 6 games taking place on New Year’s Day.
The game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Jan 1.
Liberty Players To Miss the Fiesta Bowl
While the Flames will be missing several players who have entered the transfer portal in recent weeks, most of their starters remain in place.
The biggest losses for Liberty come on defense, where defensive linemen Kendy Charles and Brysn Whitehead have opted out of the Fiesta Bowl and will be playing their football elsewhere in 2024, having entered the transfer portal.
Despite suffering injuries that have hampered his 2023 season, Charles has been a huge piece for Liberty over his four years with the program. He has been disruptive with 13.5 sacks and will be a miss against a solid Oregon team.
Liberty Players Expected To Miss the Fiesta Bowl
- Johnathan Bennett, QB (transfer portal)
- Bryan Whitehead, DL (transfer portal)
- Tysheik Galloway, DL (transfer portal)
- Kendy Charles, DL (transfer portal)
- Amari Williams, DL (transfer portal)
- Jordan Norwood, LB (transfer portal)
- Aakil Washington, LB (transfer portal)
- Preston Hodge, S (transfer portal)
- Robert Rahimi, S (transfer portal)
Oregon Players To Miss the Fiesta Bowl
The Ducks are missing more players than Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, with multiple players declaring for the NFL Draft while others have also decided to enter the transfer portal.
The names that have entered the transfer portal won’t be a huge miss for Oregon. The biggest names to have entered the portal are backup QB Ty Thompson and CB Trikweze Bridges.
Thankfully for Oregon, starting QB Bo Nix looks set to play in the Fiesta Bowl, leaving Austin Novosad to back him up. RB Bucky Irving is also expected to be active, with both Nix and Irving sharing on Instagram — “One More Game.”
However, the losses of star WR Troy Franklin and center Jackson Powers-Johnson are significant. Both have declared for the 2024 NFL Draft and are expected to be top 100 selections. That will leave Bo Nix without his go-to target in Franklin and his best offensive linemen in Powers-Johnson.
Oregon Players Expected To Miss the Fiesta Bowl
- Ty Thompson, QB (transfer portal)
- Dante Dowell, RB (transfer portal)
- Kris Hutson, WR (transfer portal)
- Von Reames, WR (transfer portal)
- Josh Delgado, WR (transfer portal)
- Ashton Cozart, WR (transfer portal)
- Tevita Pome’e, DL (transfer portal)
- Trikweze Bridges, CB (transfer portal)
- Bryan Addison, S (transfer portal)
- Daymon David, S (transfer portal)
- Popo Aumavae, DL (NFL Draft)
- Troy Franklin, WR (NFL Draft)
- Khyree Jackson, CB (NFL Draft
- Jackson Powers-Johnson, OL (NFL Draft)
Miss any action from the top college QB Rankings during the 2023 football season? Want to track all the movement with the college football’s transfer portal? College Football Network has you covered with that and more!