WE are now getting down to the nitty gritty of the Bowl Season with an escalation in quality of the teams involved. By next week we will be watching the Final Four games, but for now how about some info on the Big Six Saturday contests for the day after Christmas.
ST PETERSBURG BOWL: UCONN (6-6) v MARSHALL (9-3); 11 AM ET; ESPN … Perennial Conference USA powerhouse MARSHALL had another strong season bringing a 9-3 record to this contest against surprise 6-6 UCONN from the surprisingly strong AAC. It looks like a mismatch to me with UCONN relying on its Defense to put them in position to compete on most game days. But this game looks like a mismatch even for the 34th ranked UCONN D. MARSHALL comes into the contest with the 62nd ranked Offense which improved late in the season under Frosh QB/CHASE LITTON, who completed 59.3% of his throws for 2387 yards and a 22/7 TD/INT ratio. And as the season progressed star RB/DEVON JOHNSON got healthier helping to present a balanced offensive attack that even UCONN will be hard pressed to stop. But the biggest mismatch will take place when UCONN has the ball. They will be asking an Offense that ranked 115th in FBS play to score points against 47th ranked MARSHALL Offense. Dual threat Huskies QB BRYANT SHIRREFS/Soph offers dual talents having completed 60.3% of his throws as well as rushing for 428 yards. But his TD/INT ratio of 9/7 is worrisome against a very quick Marshall D led by LB/EVAN McKELVEY and his 113 tackles. I would expect that MARSHALL will wear out the Huskies and pull away to a double digit victory. Prospects to watch:
MARSHALL UCONN
#3 DEVONTE ALLEN/WR 6’2/200 #22 ANDREW ADAMS/S 6’0/197
#17 TAJ LETMAN/SS 6’2/190 #90 JULIAN CAMPBELL/DT 6’0/302
#31 EVAN McKELVEY/LB 6’3/215 #95 KENTON ADEYEMI/DE 6’4/285
#47 DEVIN JOHNSON/RB 6-0/243
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL; WASHINGTON (6-6) vs SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI (9-4); 2 PM ET; ESPN … If nothing else this game may settled the age old question whether a .500 power conference 5 teams is really better than a fair-to-middling 9-win team from a non-power 5 league when the Huskies from the PAC-12 face the Golden Eagles from the C-USA. That’s about the only question likely to be answered in this game which also has few legitimate draft prospects. Washington OLB Travis Feeney, though, could get some mid-to-late round attention while WR Jaydon Mickens, TE Josh Perkins, and DT Taniela Tupou are possib;le free agent pickups. Same for RB Jalen Richard and CB Kalen Reed, Southern Miss’ best pro prospects. Prospects to watch:
WASHINGTON SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
OLB Travis Feeney, #47, 6-3, 225 RB Jalen Richard, #30, 5-8, 210
WR Jaydon Mickens, #1, 5-9, 175 WR Mike Thomas, #1, 6-0, 200
TE Josh Perkins, #82, 6-3, 230 OT Rashod Hill, #75, 6-5, 310
DT Taniela Tupou, #90, 6-2, 295 OT Norman Price, #72, 6-4, 315
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx LB Brian Anderson, #18, 5-10, 240
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx CB Kalen Reed, #11, 5-10, 195
SUN BOWL; MIAMI (8-4) VS. WASHINGTON STATE (8-4); 2:30 PM ET; CBS
This is the first bowl game this year between in which both teams come from power 5 conferences, although things actually started poorly for both of these teams in 2015 but they both got on a role. It took a head coaching change in Miami. State rose to occasion under the guidance of MIKE LEACH and bounced back strong from a 3-9 record in 2014, one of the best turnarounds in major college football. State finished the year with the 22nd ranked Offense in the country averaging 80 yards a game rushing (120th ranked) but finishing first in FBS football with an average of 397 yards passing per game. Pass defense was the strength of the Miami D, at 196 yards per game, so that might make for an interesting match-up. Soph LUKE FALK, potentially a leading prospect for the 2017 draft, completed 70.7 % of his throws for the Cougars and had a 36 TD passes, with only 8 INT. His number top targets were GABE MARKS & DOM WILLIAMS, a sure handed receiver with 73 catches for 997 yards and 11 TD who should be a 4th Rounder at worst next April. DEON BUSH/S leads a strong and athletic Miami secondary who may push the envelope with WSU’s receivers.
Miami ranked 62nd in Offensive yards though BRAD KAAYA/QB/#15 completed 61.7% of his throws for 3019 yards and 15 TD. Things were surprisingly sluggish in the MIami running game despite having Soph JOSEPH YEARBY/#2, just miss gaining 1000 yards (939). The Hurricanes’ OL looks a bit soft and out of shape which might account for some of their problems. No MIami receiver was able to top 50 catches despite quality names like COLEY/WATERS/SCOTT to catch MAAYA’s throws. The WSU Defense ranked 93rd in the country overall and unless they are able to pressure KAAYA, could give up a lot of yardage and points. I’ll take WASHINGTON STATE in a barn burner. In a way this may be a very traditional football game in the sense that whoever wins the turnover/takeaway battle will win the contest between two pretty evenly matched teams. Prospects to watch:
MIAMI WASHINGTON STATE
#6 HERB WATERS/WR 6’2/195 #80 DOM WILLIAMS/WR 6’2/190
#11 RASHAWN SCOTT/WR 6’2/205 #9 GABE MARKS/WR 6’0/181
#2 DEON BUSH/S 6’1/205 #56 JOE DAHL/OT 6’4/305
#17 TYRIQ McCORD/LB 6’3/235 #97 DESTINY VAEAO/DE 6’4/295
#47 UFOMBA KAMALU/DT 6’6/295 #8 JEREMIAH ALLISON/LB 6’2/225
#93 CALVIN HEURTELOU/DT 6’3/315 #30 TAYLOR TALIULU/S 5’11/206
PINSTRIPE BOWL; DUKE (7-5) vs. INDIANA (6-6); 3:30 PM ET; ABC … If all hands are on deck and healthy this could be another game to provide the high speed entertainment of a video game. INDIANA finished the season with the 16th ranked offense in the FBS. To the surprise of many they were incredibly balanced on Offense rushing for 205 yards/game (29th) and passing for 286 yards/game (25th). When healthy QB/NATE SUDFELD passed for 3184 yards, including 24 TD and only 5 INT. UAB transfer RB/JORDAN HOWARD/#8 ran for 1213 yards @ 6.2 ypc when healthy. They will face a Duke D that ranked 46th in the country, but can make big plays, forcing multiple turnovers. They are led by S/JEREMY CASH a Top 100 pro prospect. The DUKE Offense was not as prolific as we’ve come to expect under HC DAVID CUTCLIFFE, ranking 40th overall. But on most game days Jr. QB/THOMAS SIRK is a dangerous dual-threat QB. SIRK passed for 2462 yards and 15 TD, while also leading the team in rushing with 648 yards, for 6 TD. The INDIANA D ranked 120th on Defense allowing over 500 yards per game to opponents. How about we just say last team with the ball probably wins an exciting match-up. Prospects to watch:
DUKE INDIANA
#35 ROSS MARTIN/K 5’10/185 #7 NATE SUDFELD/QB 6’5/240
#87 MAX McCAFFREY/WR 6’2/195 #8 JORDAN HOWARD/RB 6’1/225 JR
#62 MATT SKURA/OC 6’4/305 #85 MICHAEL COOPER/TE 6’5/257
#89 BRAXTON DEAVER/TE 6’5/240 #78 JASON SPRIGGS/OT 6’7/305
#16 JEREMY CASH/SS 6’2/205 #56 NICK MANGIERI/DE 6’5/270
#41 WILL MONDAY/P 6’4/210
INDEPENDENCE BOWL; TULSA (6-6) vs VIRGINIA TECH (6-6); 5:45 PM ET; ESPN … Okay lets be honest, other than a send-off for long-time Hokies’ head coach Frank Beamer, this a match-up between a pair of 6-6 teams is the kind of game that only a family member or really dedicated alum could love. And even that might be a stretch as we suspect that while Shreveport is probably very nice at this time of year, it probably isn’t going to make many people’s list of top places to be to spend the holidays. Those that do check in on the Golden Hurricanes and Hokies will want to check out Tulsa WR Keyarris Garrett. Certainly, pro scouts are aware of Garrett, one of the most productive players in the country who caught 88 passes while he was second nationally with just under 1,500 receiving yards. Garrett isn’t a burner, but is built along the lines of Anquan Boldin and is just plane hard to cover because of his physicality, although right now he is still rated as a middle-round prospect at best. Same for Tech DT Luther Maddy, who isn’t all that big but is a very quick, disruptive interior defender who can get into the backfield. Its also the same story of Hokies’ DE/OLB Dadi Nicolas, who has a burst off the snap, but has had his share of off-field troubles along the way. The Hokies also have a pretty good TE tandem in senior Ryan Malleck and redshrt sophomore Bucky Hodges, who could figure in the latter part of the second-day if he opts to enter this year’s draft. Prospects to watch:
VIRGINIA TECH TULSA
QB Michael Brewer, #12, 6-0, 200 WR Keyarris Garrett, #1, 6-3, 225)
TE Ryan Malleck, #88, 6-5, 245 FS Michael Mudoh (#1, 5-10, 205)
TE Bucky Hodges, #7, 6-5, 255, RSO
DE Dadi Nicolas, #90, 6-3, 240
DE Corey Marshall, #96, 6-2, 365
DT Luther Maddy, #97, 6-0, 295
FOSTER FARMS BOWL; UCLA (8-4) vs NEBRASKA (5-7); 9:15 PM ET; ESPN … No one would forgive the folks at UCLA for thinking ‘we win 8 games in a tough conference and this crummy bowl nobody’s ever heard of against a sub-.500 is the best they can do.’ For the record, the storied Foster Farms Bowl is played in Santa Clara, which I guess means that at least the Bruins can save some money on travel costs. If there is a reason to watch this game, its to check a trio of very good junior DTs thinking of entering the 2016 draft including UCLA’s Kenny Clark and Maliek Collins and Vince Valentine of Nebraska. The Bruins’ Clark, in particular, is a rising prospect with mid-first round potential for the upcoming draft. Meanwhile, UCLA also has a number of decent other mid-round prospects including RB Paul Perkins, WR Jordan Payton, OLB Aaron Wallace and PK Ka’imi Fairbairn, this year’s Lou Groza award winner who hit on a 60-yarder during the season. Of course, the UCLA guy most scouts would really like to see – LB Myles Jack – won’t be in uniform as he has been sidelined since the third week of the season with a knee injury, although he has already announced he will be entering the draft. And for future reference UCLA freshman QB Josh Rosen is one of the top young passers in the country, although he won’t be draft eligible until 2018. Prospects to watch:
UCLA NEBRASKA
QB Josh Rosen, #3, 6-3, 215, FR OT Alex Lewis, #71, 6-5, 290
RB Paul Perkins, #24, 5-10, 200 OT Zach Sterup, #57, 6-7, 320
WR Jordan Payton, #9, 6-0, 215 DT Maliek Collins, #7, 6-2, 300, JR
TE Thomas Duarte, #18, 6-3, 225, JR DT Vince Valentine, #98, 6-2, 320, JR
C Jake Brendl, #54, 6-3, 290
DT Kenny Clark, #97, 6-3, 310
OLB Aaron Wallace, #51, 6-3, 245
PK Ka’imi Fairbairn, #15, 6-0, 185
