Who will play in the 2023 Fiesta Bowl? Looking at this year's college football playoff picture

The Fiesta Bowl is an annual bowl game played in college football. It is a part of the New Year's Six and is one of the six bowl games that host the CFP semi-finals in rotation.

Last season, online marketplace Vrbo took over as the sponsor of this bowl. Thus, their name is part of the title. This year, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is not going to be a part of the CFP Semifinals but rather will be considered a professional NY6 Bowl game.

This year, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl will be a showdown between the No. 8 Oregon Ducks from the Pac-12 and the No. 23 Liberty Flames from Conference USA.

The Oregon Ducks lost to the Washington Huskies this season for the second time in a recent Pac-12 conference game. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix gave his best effort in leading his team to victory. He put up 239 passing yards and three TD passes. But it did not prove to be sufficient as the Huskies clinched the conference title with a 34-31 final score. Both of these teams are also transitioning into the Big Ten next year.

On the other hand, the Liberty Flames defended their undefeated streak and went on to win 49-35 against the New Mexico State Aggies to clinch their first FBS conference championship. Liberty transitioned from the FCS to FBS in 2017 and became a full-fledged FBS program in 2019. They will be viewed as the underdogs against Oregon.

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Who goes to the Fiesta Bowl each year?

Overall, the 12 best teams make their way to the NY6 bowl games. This includes the best teams from the Power 5 conferences, which include the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC.

If there is a lack of teams from the Power 5 that do not have the requirements to make it to the bowl games, then the highest-ranked teams from the Group of Five take their place. The conferences that are part of this include the AAC, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt. The same rules apply to the Fiest Bowl.

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When is the Fiesta Bowl for the 2023 season?

This season's Fiesta Bowl between Oregon and Liberty is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2023. It will be hosted at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which has been its home since the 2007 season. Fans can catch the action of this bowl game on ESPN Network on television or through various streaming sites.