By Dane Miller, SuperWest Sports
The Big 12 teams from the West may have missed out on the College Football Playoff.
But it’s bowl season, and the games matter to the programs involved.
With four matchups to take in before the long offseason, this is the final sendoff we get for the 2025 season.
I preview the Pop-Tarts Bowl here.
No. 22 Georgia Tech v. No. 12 BYU
Saturday, December 27
12:30 p.m. PT, ABC
Notre Dame didn’t want this smoke.
After both programs were snubbed by the Playoff Committee, a matchup between BYU and the Irish seemed destined. It would have been the top non-Playoff bowl game and drawn substantial attention.
But the Notre Dame administration wanted to spite Disney/ESPN, so the Cougars got a matchup with Georgia Tech instead.
And to be fair, BYU and Notre Dame did agree to a home-and-home starting next season. So, it’s not as if the Irish completely ran and hid.
Regardless, the Yellow Jackets are a reasonably talented team and present an intriguing matchup.
Their offense begins and ends with quarterback Haynes King. Similar in some ways to Bear Bachmeier, King puts his body on the line to move the ball.
Entering the game with 922 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground, King is among the elite QBs in college football.
How the BYU defensive line handles him could decide the game.
But King is not only a strong runner. Completing 71.7 percent of his passes for 2,697 yards, he single-handedly powers Georgia Tech’s entire offense.
Stop him, and BYU will win.
On the other side of the ball, GTU’s defense is middle of the pack in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets allow 25.0 points per game, slotting them in 10th in the league and 71st nationally.
But, even more telling, Georgia Tech’s run defense is 93rd in the country, giving up 169.7 yards rushing per game.
That’s not good for the analytics and indicates BYU should come away with a victory.
As long as the Cougars take care of the ball on offense and keep King reasonably in check, BYU should get the win.
Miller covers College Basketball and College Football as well as Formula 1 racing as a Senior Writer and Assistant Editor for SuperWest Sports.
