Bowl parade continues Wednesday; will anyone notice??… The bowl build-up towards Friday’s CFP semi-finals continues with 3 more games on Wednesday. There were actually supposed to be a fourth, but the Fenway Bowl between Virginia and Southern Methodist was cancelled because of Covid-related issues. And we simply on principle refuse to review any bowl involving two 6-6 teams, but that’s the case for Wednesday’s Pinstripe Bowl between Maryland and Virginia Tech.
We never get tired of razzing the bowl system and one of the things that really irks us is the corporate naming of just about all the games. It’s just puts an exclamation point on the idea that the bowls are nothing more than a money-grubbing exercise by a sport that is rolling in money and ultimately its just demeaning to the sport. And we really think that Clemson, one of the dominant programs of the past decade who played in the past 6 CFP playoffs, winning twice, should be embarrassed to be playing in something called the Cheez-It Bowl. But that’s where we are in college football as the Tigers will play Iowa State with KO at 5:45 PM ET on ESPN. At least the Tigers didn’t have anyone opt out of the game, although WR Justyn Ross won’t play after undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a fractured foot (not to be confused with the spinal condition that almost forced him to retire two years ago.) In fact, this is a very young Clemson team that won’t start any seniors on offense, but does have several prospects on the other side of the ball including junior CB Andrew Booth (#23, 6-0, 200), a legit first-round candidate if he opts to go pro this year. Meanwhile, other Tigers that should get some third-day consideration include veteran MLB James Skalski (#47, 6-0, 240), DE Xavier Thomas (#3, 6-2, 250), CB Mario Goodrich (#31, 6-0, 190) and FS Nolan Turner (#24, 6-1, 205).
Like Clemson, Iowa State entered the season ranked in the top 10 with aspirations to challenge for a spot in the CFP, but it just never materialized for the Cyclones. And the team’s top prospect – RB Breece Hall – has opted out of the game, although LB Mike Rose (#23, 6-3, 250) could also get some second-day interest. In fact, this is a veteran team with a number of players that should get some third-day or free agent interest including QB Brock Purdy (#15, 6-1, 220), WR Xavier Hutchinson (#3, 6-2, 210), TEs Charlie Kolar (#88, 6-5, 260) and Chase Allen (#11, 6-6, 250), C Colin Newell (#57, 6-3, 310), DT Enyi Uwazurike (#58, 6-5, 320), DE Zach Petersen (#55, 6-4, 275), LB Jake Hummel (#35, 6-1, 235), and FS Greg Eisworth (#12, 6-0, 205).
Wednesday’s nightcap between 10-3 Oregon and 10-2 Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl (9:15 PM; ESPN) should also qualify as something of a worthwhile bowl between a couple of teams that had realistic aspirations of actually making the real CFP until very late in the season. Instead, it’s just about everything wrong with the current bowl system in the age of an actual playoff. Nobody cares. Indeed, both coaches bolted for greener pastures at the end of the regular season with the Ducks’ Mario Cristobal heading home to Miami, while the Sooners’ Lincoln Riley took the Southern California job. And while both teams have multiple draft prospects, it doesn’t appear if any of the top guys have hung around for the bowl. That includes Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, one of the top 1-2 prospects overall for 2022, who declared for the draft and promptly opted out. Same story for the Ducks’ other top prospects including CB Mykael Wright and WR Devon Williams. The one really good Duck underclassmen who appears to be still around (and hasn’t declared) is 4th year FS Verone McKinley (#23, 5-11, 195), one of the better kept secrets in college football who made several All-America teams (including ours) after posting 71 tackles and 6 picks.
Meanwhile, the Ducks do have several other possible pro prospects including dual-threat QB Anthony Brown (#13, 6-3, 225), RB Travis Dye (#26, 5-10, 190), WR Johnny Johnson (#3, 6-0, 200), and SS Jordan Happle (#32, 6-0, 210), but for the most part they are more third-day types. In fact, the Ducks best prospect in the Alamo Bowl is probably sophomore LB Noah Sewell (#1, 6-2, 255), who had a terrific season, but won’t be draft eligible until next year. And yes he’s the brother of former Ducks’ OT Penei Sewell, a top ten pick at the 2021 draft.
There’s a similar story for Oklahoma, whose top prospects, including DTs Perrion Winfrey and Isaiah Thomas, OLB Nik Bonitto, and ILB Brian Asamoah, all opted out to begin their draft prep while several other notable Sooners including QB Spencer Ratttler and TE Austin Stogner followed coach Riley out the door and transferred. The good news for the Sooners is that it appears that true freshman Caleb Williams (#13, 6-1, 220), who took over as the team’s starter from Rattler in mid-season, will be staying in Norman, while RB Kennedy Brooks (#26, 5-10, 215), who has some later second-day prospects for 2022, at least opted to stick around for the bowl. Meanwhile, other Sooner veterans to watch include safety Pat Fields (#10, 6-0, 205) and WR Michael Woods (#8, 6-0, 200).
