TAXSLAYER BOWL; Noon ET; ESPN
PENN STATE (7-5) vs GEORGIA (9-3)
Hate to break it to the folks in Memphis, in a sport notorious for ‘mythical’ things no one is going to slay anyone’s taxes. Take it to the bank if you’ve got anything left to take to the bank. Fortunately, we’ll get some real football as Georgia and Penn State meet for only the second time in the two school’s storied football pasts. And the other meeting was about a storied as they get when Penn State held off Georgia 27-23 to win the 1983 ‘mythical’ national championship. Of course, there won’t be any national champion crowned in Jacksonville as both teams are wrapping up troubled seasons. Pro scouts aren’t complaining though and will be out in numbers to check on a number of interesting and/or perplexing prospects in this game. Most perplexing, of course, is Penn State junior QB Christian Hackenberg (#14, 6-3, 230). Hackenberg entered the season considered to be the leading contender to be the #1 pick overall, but suffered through a truly miserable season in which he completed just 53% of his pass attemtpts for less than 200 yards per game. Hackenberg wasn’t helped by an offensive line that brought new meaning to the term ‘leaky’; however, potential elite QBs are supposed to make everyone around them better, not get dragged down to that level. Hackenberg still has the natural physical skills to rate as a good gamble in the second round, but might seriously consider going back to school to see if he can clean up his game. Penn State DE Carl Nassib (6-7, 275) also falls into that interesting/perplexing category. Nassib, who looks more like a power forward, had barely entering the season, but ended up leading the country in sacks with 15.5. The issue for pro scouts is whether Nassib is a one-year type wonder, or whether he in fact has the physical skills that translate to success at the next level. Indeed, the best pro prospect for the Nittany Lions could ultimately be junior DT Austin Johnson (#99, 6-3, 325); he’s a massive interior defender, but is still light on his feet. And like Nassib Johnson had a breakout year this fall as he posted 70 tackles overall – a ton for a DT – including 5.5 sacks and 8 other tackles for loss. Johnson combines with senior Anthony Zettel (#98, 6-3, 285), a somewhat undersized, but very quick one-gap penetrator, to give the Lions one of the most formidable set of defensive tackles in college football.
Former Georgia head coach Mark Richt learned just how hard college football can be when he was fired at the end of the season despite winning an average of ten games per year in his 15-year career with the Bulldawgs. Problem for Richt was his team could just never win the big one, so he is off to his alma mater Miami. Richt did leave behind a couple of the edge rushers in the country in OLBs Jordan Jenkins (#59, 6-3, 255) and junior Leonard Floyd (#84, 6-3, 235). Floyd, in particular, has first-round ability but scouts would like to see him play that way all the time after posting just 4.5 sacks this season. Certainly, both will get their chances to get after PSU’s Hackenberg. Meanwhile, veteran LT John Theus (#71, 6-5, 305) is a solid middle round prospect, while WR Malcolm Mitchell (#26, 6-1, 195) and RB Keith Marshall (#4, 5-10, 215) have both had very promising career derailed by injuries, but could be possible later round steals if healthy.
LIBERTY BOWL; 3:30 PM ET; ESPN
KANSAS STATE (6-6) vs ARKANSAS (7-5)
The only good reason for a 7-5 SEC team to be playing a 6-6 Big XII squad after New Year’s is that ESPN needs the programming to fill its schedule. If there is a saving grace to this game – and its not much – its that there are several good prospects to watch in this game. Arkansas junior TE Hunter Henry (#84, 6-5, 255), for example, is the top-rated TE for the 2016 draft, while K-State OG Cody Whitehair (#55, 6-4, 305) is one of the better prospects at that position; both are considered to be second-round candidates. Meanwhile, Hogs’ junior RB Alex Collins (#3, 5-10, 215) is coming off a breakout year in which he ran for almost 1,400 yards and 17 scores; same for Arkansas QB Brandon Allen (#10, 6-2, 210) who could be a late-round sleeper type. At the same time, K-State CB/KR Morgan Burns (#33, 5-10, 205), who had 4 KO returns for TDs this fall, is one of the best kick returners in the country.
ALAMO BOWL; 6:45 PM ET; ESPN
OREGON (9-3) VS. TCU (10-2)
This was all set up to be A Tale of 2 QBs ’til BOYKIN got drunk and acted out. Now he’s at home, hopefully feeling stupid. So now we are down to one QB question; Is VERNON ADAMS the next Russell Wilson, a talented but short QB prospect. I’ll be watching for his hand size at the Combine. Had ALLEN not missed 3 games with injuries this Oregon team might have been in an actual Play-Off spot. Then again, with a horrible Defense that ranked 113th in yardage allowed per game, they probably didn’t deserve a slot, ADAMS or no ADAMS running the O. Watching non-Draft eligible stars keep your eyes on DUCKS Soph RB/ROYCE FREEMAN, who romped for1706 yards rushing at 6.6 ypc and including 14 TD. TCU Head Coach GARY PETERSON must feel like the Football Gods have a curse on him. They lost by 3 points to Baylor last season and were treated like outcasts by many folks last season. They came back to win 10 games this season, but now have lost their key offensive component in a high profile showdown game for national recognition and recruiting clout. Watch JOSH DOCTSON, if anyone can get the ball to him. He’s going to be a star in the NFL ala LARRY FITZGERALD, IMO. But unless PATTERSON pulls out some magic in replacing BOYKIN this could look like a stacked video game in Oregon’s favor. The DUCKS win with the only real question being by how much. Prospects to watch:
OREGON TEXAS CHRISTIAN
#2 BRALON ADDISON/WR/RS 5’10/190 JR #7 KOLBY LISTENBEE/WR 6’1/185
#3 VERNON ADAMS/QB 5’11/190 #9 JOSH DOCTSON/WR 6’3/200
#9 BYRON MARSHALL/WR 5’10/200 JR/INJ #22 AARON GREEN/RB 5’11/202
#33 TYSON COLEMAN/LB 6’1/235 #26 DERRICK KINDRED/S 5-10/210
#44 DEFOREST BUCKNER/DE 67/290 #33 JADEN OBERKROM/K 6’3/187
#48 RODNEY HARDRICK/LB 6’1/245 #57 DAVION PIERSON/DT 6’2/305
#56 ALEX BALDUCCI/DT 6’4/310 #74 HAL VATAI/OT 6’6/308
#64 TYLER JOHNSTONE/OT 6’6/295 #90 TERRELL LATHAN/DE 6’5/290
CACTUS BOWL SATURDAY JAN 2ND 10:15 PM ET ESPN
ARIZONA STATE (6-6) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (7-5)
Welcome to another pretty much meaningless Bowl Game$ unless you are an avid fan of one of these schools. The edge in competition played goes slightly to ASU, but not by much. THis game may have the most meaning to WVU HC DANA HOLGORSEN, who may be the end of his tenure for the Mountaineers. He has one of the smallest recruiting bases in the Conference and goes into the majority of his games with less talent than his opponents. On the plus side for fans actually at this one, both teams have Offenses that ranked in the Top 30 nationally. WVU actually had a reasonable Defense ranking 53rd, while ASU was a punching bag for opponents offenses ranking 100th. THey were particularly onerous against the pass, giving up 321 yards/game which ranked 123rd in the nation. But based on overall talent this should be a close contest. Watch for ASU QB/MIKE BERCOVICI to target #15 DEVIN LUCIEN and #8 DJ FOSTER all night, while WVU will set up the passing game for QB/SKYLER HOWARD with the running attack led by #4 WENDELL SMALLWOOD, a Junior, who rushed for 1447 yards, including 9 TD. This should be a contest in which turnover/takeaways could swing momentum, and the last Offense with the ball could be in position to win the game. Prospects to watch:
ARIZONA STATE WEST VIRGINIA
#2 MIKE BERCOVICI/QB 6’1/205 #8 KARL JOSEPH/S 5’11/197 INJ
#8 DJ FOSTER/WR/RB 5’11/195 #9 KJ DILLON/S 6’1/203
#15 DEVIN LUCIEN/WR 6’1/200 #35 NICK KWIATKOWSKI/LB 6’2/235
#55 CHRIS WESTERMAN/OG 6’4/301 #57 ADAM PANKEY/OG 6’5/312 JR
#8 LLOYD CARRINGTON/CB 6’0/195 #78 MARQUIS LUCAS/OT 6’4/318
#18 KWEISHI BROWN/CB 6’0/205 #86 JOSH LAMBERT/K 5’11/215 JR
#32 ANTONIO LONGINO/LB 6’2/230 #91 NICK O’TOOLE/P 6’3/228
#38 JORDAN SIMONE/S 6’0/195
