The 2019 Cheez-It Bowl will be played between Air Force and Washington State on December 27. The game will be played at Chase Field in Phoenix.

How They Got Here: Air Force

Air Force comes into the game with a 10-2 record and were 7-1 in the Mountain West.

The Falcons enter their first bowl game in three seasons, led by QB Donald Hammond III with 1,286 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns. Air Force has three rushers with more than 700 rushing yards, Kadin Remsberg (872), Timothy Jackson (745) and Taven Birdrow (731.) Hammond leads Air Force with 11 rushing touchdowns. Geraud Sanders has 29 catches for 736 yards and seven touchdowns. Milton Bugg III leads the defense with three interceptions and Demonte Meeks has four sacks.

How They Got Here: Washington State

Washington State comes into the bowl game with a disappointing 6-6 record, including a 3-6 record in PAC-12 play.

Washington State enters the bowl game with their QB Anthony Gordon, who is one of the top passers in the nation. He has 5,228 passing yards with 45 touchdown passes. Max Borghi leads with 790 rushing yards and is an excellent addition to their air-raid offense. The Cougars have two receivers with more than 900 receiving yards, Brandon Arconado (942) and Easop Winston (927). Skyler Thomas leads the Cougars with three interceptions while Will Rodgers leads with four sacks on the season.

Players To Watch

Washington State: Anthony Gordon

It seems like Washington State has always had one of the top QBs in the country under Mike Leach. First it was Luke Falk, and then Gardner Minshew.Washington State is just a fun team to watch. Gordon has a chance to end a bad season on a light note and possible increase his stock for his NFL future.

Air Force: Milton Bugg III

Air Force is going to need its secondary to show up ready to play. Leach will have his offense pick-apart a suspect defensive backfield. Air Force will rely heavily on its best DB to make some big plays.

Gambling: Air Force -3 O/U 67.5

I’m going with the over and Washington State +3. I’m not sure that Washington State will win outright, but do expect a lot of points. The 2019 Cheez-It Bowl should be one of the more exciting games of the bowl season.

View all of our 2019 bowl previews here.