When the bowl games were announced on Dec. 8, the matchup in the Holiday Bowl between Washington State and Syracuse looked enticing. Two teams that were ranked at one point throughout the season with explosive offenses were set to make their way to Snapdragon Stadium for the Dec. 27 bowl game.
The bowl game will look a lot different now however, with many changes coming to the product on the field, in particular with Washington State.
Since the regular season has ended, the Cougars have lost their head coach Jake Dickert, who took the same position with Wake Forest. On top of that, starting quarterback John Mateer announced he will transfer to Oklahoma. Both the coach and quarterback will not be with the team for the Holiday Bowl.
When Mateer announced his entrance to the transfer portal, an immediate connection with Oklahoma was made, due to both offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterbacks coach John Kuceyeski making the move to coach the Sooners next season.
On top of that, over 11 starters from WSU announced their intention to enter the portal, further putting into doubt what the 8-4 Cougars will see in San Diego Friday.
In a release from Washington State it was announced assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis will assume the interim head coach role for the bowl game. Wide receivers coach Nick Edwards will call offensive plays.
On the other sideline, Syracuse has not seen nearly as many changes to their team. Their starting quarterback Kyle McCord will play, as rumors circle on whether or not he will remain with the team heading into 2025.
The 2024 Holiday Bowl is set to kick off Dec. 27 at 5 p.m. PST on FOX.
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