Bowl parade continues Tuesday; will anyone care??… The bowl build-up towards Friday’s CFP semi-finals continues with 5 games on Tuesday. Sounds good, but its also ‘buyer beware’ as 4 of the 5 games involve a 6-6 team. In fact, of the 15 bowl games scheduled for Monday through Thursday this week, 10 of the 30 teams involved were 6-6, while another 5 were 7-5. And there might be some consolation if there were at least some top draft prospects to watch. But the players aren’t stupid and most of this year’s top prospects not involved in either the CFP playoffs or one of the traditional big bowls, such as the Rose, have opted not to play. Tomorrow’s schedule, for example, kicks off with the Birmingham Bowl between Houston and Auburn (Noon ET; ESPN) in a game that would normally feature at least 3 top 100 prospects for this year’s draft. However, Auburn CB Roger McCreary, a possible first-rounder this year, along with DE Logan Hall and CB Marcus Jones, a pair of second-day candidates from Houston, all have chosen not to play. it may be worth it, though, to keep an eye on a couple of rising Auburn defensive linemen who are also thinking of entering this year’s draft in true junior DE Derick Hall (#29, 6-3, 250) and redshirt sophomore DT Colby Wooden (#25, 6-5, 280) who combined for 14 sack this year, including 9 by DE Hall who has explosive speed.
Same story when Mississippi State meets Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl (6:45 PM ET; ESPN) as MSU OT Charles Cross, a potential top ten candidate this year, and CB Martin Emerson, along with Tech WR Erik Ezukanma, the Red Raiders’ best prospect, have all opted out. One guy who will be there, though, is Mississippi State sophomore QB Will Rogers (#2, 6-2, 210), who was among the top 2-3 passers in all college football this past season and was actually the leading passer among non-draft eligible players ahead of more celebrated peers like Bryce Young of Alabama, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State.
On the other hand, any team looking to upgrade at OT this coming April will probably want to check out the two games Tuesday evening. In the first, 8-4, UCLA plays 9-3 North Carolina State in the Holiday Bowl (8 PM ET; FOX) in the day’s only game that looks like an actual bowl; i.e. both teams have winning records and actually really deserve to be there. Both teams also have outstanding young OTs. In fact, NC State junior LT Ikem Ekwonu (#79, 6-4, 320) has a chance to be one of the first 1-2 offensive linemen off the board this coming April, while UCLA junior Sean Rhyan (#74, 6-5, 320) is a solid second-rounder, although neither has formally declared to date. Meanwhile, massive Minnesota RT Daniel Faalele (#78, 6-8, 320), an intriguing third-round candidate, will be the top-rated prospect on the field when the Golden Gophers play West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (10:15 ET; ESPN).
