Ranking the 10 best non-New Year’s Six bowl matchups

2. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: No. 19 Oregon State vs. No. 16 Notre Dame

This year’s Sun Bowl will feature two top-20 teams, but it has lost some of its luster with several stars out of the game including quarterback Sam Hartman for 9-3 Notre Dame, and Damien Martinez and D.J. Uiagalelei for 8-4 Oregon State. Still, the contest will pit two teams against each other which continue to showcase a lot of talent and had College Football Playoff aspirations at different points in the season.

Oregon State will officially begin a new era in the Sun Bowl as Trent Bray takes over for Jonathan Smith who left the Beavers last month for Michigan State. Meanwhile, Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame will have a chance to begin their rebuild for next season and can get a first-hand look at several young players including projected starting quarterback Steve Angeli. The Beavers have won the two previous bowl matchups between the programs in 2001 and 2004, but the Fighting Irish will look to change that on Dec. 29 in El Paso.