2023 Holiday Bowl Opt-Out Tracker

Louisville and USC will be squaring off on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 8:00 p.m. from Petco Park in San Diego, Calif.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Game day is almost here.

The Louisville and USC football programs are set to do battle in just a few more days, squaring off from Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. for the 2023 edition of the Holiday Bowl.

Louisville has had a successful year one under head coach Jeff Brohm. The Cardinals not only made it to the ACC Championship for the first time since joining the league in 2014, they clinched their first ten-win season since 2013.

As for USC, they got off to a hot start under second-year head coach Lincoln Riley, winning their first six games to be ranked as high as the No. 6 team in the nation. However, the Trojans have lost five of their last six heading into the postseason.

The Holiday Bowl should be an exciting matchup, pitting two of college football's best offensive minds against each other. But in this age of college football, neither team is going to be at full strength. Whether it be due to the transfer portal or NFL Draft, both Louisville and USC have their fair share of opt-outs for the bowl game

So who won't be playing when these two teams meet on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 8:00 p.m. EST? Below is our running tracker of opt-outs for both squads, sorted by position group and last name, and accompanied with their stat line for the 2023 season:

Last Updated: Dec. 27 at 3:30 p.m. EST

No. 15 Louisville (10-3, 7-1 ACC)

Offense

• RB Jawhar Jordan (NFL Draft)
• 2023 Stats: 181 rushes for 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns, 21 receptions for 246 yards and one touchdown.
• WR Jamari Thrash (NFL Draft)
• 2023 Stats: 63 receptions for 853 yards and six touchdowns, one rush for 12 yards and one touchdown.
• OL Izaiah Reed (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: One game, eight blocking snaps.

Defense

• DE Victoine Brown (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: No stats.
• DE Ryheem Craig (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Three tackles (one solo).
• DE Popeye Williams (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: No stats.
• DE Kameron Wilson (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 14 tackles (seven solo), 2.5 for loss, 2.0 sacks, one fumble recovery.
• LB Jackson Hamilton (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 11 tackles (four solo), one pass break up.
• CB Derrick Edwards III (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Five tackles (three solo)
• CB Marquis Groves-Killebrew (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: No stats.
• S Josh Minkins Jr. (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 21 tackles (18 solo).

USC (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12)

Offense

• QB Malachi Nelson (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 1-for-3 (33.3 percent) passing for zero yards.
• QB Caleb Williams (Opt-Out)
• 2023 Stats: 266-for-388 (68.6 percent) passing for 3,633 yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions; 97 rushes for 142 yards and 11 touchdowns.
• RB Darwin Barlow (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Eight rushes for 81 yards and one touchdown, one reception for 10 yards.
• RB Matthew Colombo (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: One rush for seven yards.
• RB MarShawn Lloyd (NFL Draft)
• 2023 Stats: 116 rushes for 820 yards and nine touchdowns, 13 receptions for 232 yards.
• WR Raleek Brown (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Three receptions for 18 yards, three rushes for 16 yards and one touchdown.
• WR Michael Jackson III (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 17 receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown.
• WR Brenden Rice (NFL Draft)
• 2023 Stats: 45 receptions for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns. 
• WR Mario Williams (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 29 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns, two rushes for zero yards.
• TE Jude Wolfe (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Two receptions for five yards and one touchdown.
• OL Andrew Milek (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Two games, 19 blocking snaps.
• OL Michael Tarquin (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 10 games, 332 blocking snaps.

Defense

• DL De'Jon Benton (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 12 tackles (eight solo), 5.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks.
• DL Jamar Sekona (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: No stats.
• DE Korey Foreman (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: One tackle.
• LB Tackett Curtis (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 40 tackles (24 solo), 4.0 for loss, 2.0 sacks, one pass deflection, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries.
• LB Chris Thompson Jr. (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: Eight tackles (four solo).
• CB Domani Jackson (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: 33 tackles (26 solo), three pass breakups.
• CB Fabian Ross (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: No stats.
• S Calen Bullock (NFL Draft)
• 2023 Stats: 63 tackles (42 solo), two interceptions and seven pass breakups
• S Xamarion Gordon (Transfer Portal)
• 2023 Stats: No stats.

(Photo of Holiday Bowl logo: Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports)

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