Tracking CFB QB Bowl Game Opt-Outs 2023

College football bowl season will kick off this Saturday with six games. It’s a huge holiday tradition for fans and bettors alike. However, analyzing bowl game odds isn’t what it used to be. With the NCAA’s opening of the transfer portal on Dec. 4 as well as draft-eligible players considering taking the next step, a team’s bowl game roster could be completely different from its regular season roster. 

For traditionalists, it’s almost hard to believe that a college football player would not want to play in a game with his teammates. It’s not just a game either. It’s a bowl game, which brings a ton of extras – swag, tropical destinations (if you’re lucky!), great activities with teammates, and more. 

For bettors, it means more research prior to placing that bet. You were counting on Drake Maye to lead UNC at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against West Virginia. That ain’t happening. Now, you need a whole new plan.

Big-Name QBs Out

So, Maye has decided to opt out of North Carolina’s bowl trip to face West Virginia. Conner Harrell will get the start. Maye could be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL draft. If it’s not Maye, then it’s likely to be USC starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams won the Heisman in 2022 and had another outstanding statistical year. He will not play in USC’s bowl game and will prepare for the draft. Either Williams or Maye is likely to be the first pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

The other quarterback opting out to prepare for the draft is Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman. Hartman was a four-year starter at Wake Forest before transferring to the Irish last offseason. He led Notre Dame to a 9-3 record. The Irish have already replaced Hartman with another ACC quarterback – Duke’s Riley Leonard.

Other QBs Out

When talking about the transfer portal, the quarterback position is the big one. Of course, it’s the most important position in all of sports. If teams want to win, they must have a championship caliber quarterback. Teams missing that one piece of the puzzle can get a guy with FBS experience from the portal. You can’t get that in a guy coming out of high school.

Three MAC QBs – Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke, Toledo’s Dequan Finn, and Miami’s (OH) Aveon Smith – have all entered the transfer portal. Rourke and Finn have been starters in their respective programs for four years. Each will try and take advantage of jumping to a Power 5 school, potentially, for their final seasons. Smith replaced the injured Brett Gabbert and he’ll head to the portal as well.

Kansas State’s Will Howard, Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel, and Texas Tech’s Tyler Shough are all in the portal. Gabriel has already found a new home – Oregon. This will be Gabriel’s third school. Other quarterbacks in the portal include Oregon State’s D.J. Uiagalelei, Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall, Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke, and Texas A&M’s Max Johnson. Johnson will look to be the guy that replaces Maye at North Carolina next season.

The Injured List

Diego Pavia

The draft and the transfer portal are not the only things keeping quarterbacks from playing in a bowl game this year. Two huge contributors will miss their teams’ bowl games because of injury. The big one, of course, is Florida State’s Jordan Travis. Travis had an amazing season only to suffer an ankle injury late in the season against North Alabama. Many pointed to Travis’s injury as the reason why the 13-0 Seminoles weren’t selected to play in the College Football Playoff.

Diego Pavia is not as well known as Travis, but he was the big reason why New Mexico State had a historic 10-4 season. Pavia was 11-for-16 for 188 yards and three touchdowns in the Conference USA title game against Liberty before leaving with an injury. He’ll miss the bowl game and that could change everything. New Mexico State will play Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Fresno State will be without head coach Jeff Tedford. He didn’t opt out, but will step aside for the bowl game with some medical issues.

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