Each bowl game’s most important player
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl — Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming
It has not been a good season for Allen, whose name was being mentioned in the same sentence as Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen by some when the year began. Injuries hindered his year and he only threw for 13 touchdowns in ten games — a far cry from the 28 touchdown passes he threw in 2016. Allen is still talented, though, and NFL teams will still be interested. A big performance against Central Michigan here can only help him. His status for the game has been in question due to his shoulder.
Birmingham Bowl — Quinton Flowers, QB, South Florida
Flowers is, simply put, one of the most exciting players in the country. He can win games with both his arm and his legs, with 21 of his touchdowns coming through the air coupled with ten on the ground. 28 more rushing yards will get him to 1,000 for the second consecutive season as well. Flowers was dynamic against UCF, and this is it for him in college. He will want to have a big game, and he’s more than capable of doing it.
Armed Forces Bowl — Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State
Penny’s future as an NFL player is looking brighter and brighter by the week. The nation’s leading rusher put up a remarkable 2,027 yards in 2017, and deserves a place on the pedestal as one of the sport’s standout players this season. The senior’s final bow will come against Army, where he will have the opportunity to put up some big numbers in his last game. He’s well worth watching — his school doesn’t get a ton of attention, but Penny is an elite runner.
Dollar General Bowl — Taylor Lamb, QB, Appalachian State
A four-year starter playing in his final game, Lamb has consistently put up quality numbers for Appalachian State. His senior year was no different, with 27 touchdowns and a career best 2,606 yards. It may be asking a lot, but Lamb has an outside shot at 10,000 career passing yards. He’d need 345 yards against Toledo, but he’s thrown for more yards than that on two separate occasions this year, so it’s possible.
Hawai’i Bowl — Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
Oliver is legitimately one of the best players in college football. He followed up a dynamic freshman season with a sophomore year that wasn’t much different, collecting 5.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. He has an extremely bright future ahead of him, and the Cougars should enjoy him next season. He’s almost certain to go pro after his junior year, and barring anything unforeseen, he’ll be a high draft choice.
Heart of Dallas Bowl — David Sills, WR, West Virginia
A Biletnikoff finalist, Sills led the nation in touchdown receptions by some distance with 18 in total. The interesting thing about that is he didn’t have a huge amount of yardage or receptions. He caught 60 passes, but he’ll actually need the bowl game to surpass the 1,000 yard mark, currently sitting 20 yards shy of that total. He’ll certainly do it, and he has the opportunity for a 20-touchdown season with a big game.
Quick Lane Bowl — Sutton Smith, DE, Northern Illinois
Smith was actually a running back once, and entered the season as an unheralded convert to the defensive line. Surely not even Northern Illinois could have seen this coming in their wildest dreams. The sophomore defensive end wrecked opposing offenses all season long, putting up huge numbers across the board. He had 56 total tackles, with 29 of them for losses and 14 total sacks. He’s gone from obscurity to the star of the Husky defense.
Cactus Bowl — Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
The potential No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft is likely playing his last game at UCLA, even though he’s said nothing is certain. Rosen’s team hasn’t exactly had the season he would have hoped they would, but overall, Rosen can have few complaints about his own performance. He put up 3,717 yards and 26 touchdowns to ten interceptions. The turnovers are slightly high, but not awful. His shoulder will be healthy enough for him to play, and he probably wouldn’t mind hitting the 4,000-yard mark.
Independence Bowl — Ito Smith, RB, Southern Miss
Smith will have the chance to take advantage of a Florida State team that is more or less playing out the string. Plus, they’ll be doing so without star safety Derwin James, who is turning pro and skipping the bowl game. Smith had a strong senior season for the Golden Eagles, with a third straight thousand-yard season and 15 total touchdowns. He may well be more motivated than a Seminoles squad that has had a very strange and underwhelming season.
Pinstripe Bowl — Josey Jewell, LB, Iowa
Jewell is the heart and soul of Iowa’s defense — and a tackling machine, leading the Big Ten. As incredible as his 121 total tackles are, that only markes the third-best total of his career (he did better each of the last two seasons). Still, he’s an impact player, with 13.5 tackles for a loss and four and a half sacks. This will be the final game of his Iowa career, and he’ll want to wreak havoc on the Boston College offense.
