Each bowl game’s most important player
Foster Farms Bowl — Khalil Tate, QB, Arizona
We’ll be hearing Tate’s name a lot over the next few years, as the sophomore quarterback was a revelation after taking over the starting job. What followed was a campaign that everyone took notice of — three 200-yard rushing games, including 327 yards against Colorado, were particular highlights. His passing is still a work in progress — nine touchdowns and eight interceptions isn’t great — but he’s young and has all the raw physical tools to be a star.
Texas Bowl — Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
Missouri is a flawed team, but there’s no question that their offense is a whole lot of fun. Lock leads the charge there, and his numbers are huge. He threw for 3,695 yards and a remarkable 43 touchdowns during the regular season. The last time anyone held the Missouri offense to less than 45 points was Georgia on Oct. 14. The Texas defense is in for quite the challenge against this group, and Lock in particular.
Military Bowl — Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia
The relentless Kiser is a wrecking ball out of Virginia’s defense. The senior put up a monster line for the third consecutive season, highlighted by 132 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks. Struggling Navy will have to come up with a gameplan to prevent him from blowing up their running game repeatedly, as this is a player with the ability to change a game on the defensive side of the ball. The Cavaliers will miss him.
Camping World Bowl — Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State
There was a time this season that Rudolph looked like a legitimate Heisman contender. He, like his Oklahoma State team, slid just a bit, but that didn’t do much to hinder his numbers. Rudolph still led the country with 4,553 passing yards. Add in 35 touchdowns to bring his career tally to 90 and you have an extremely accomplished quarterback who has done so much for the Oklahoma State program. They’d love to send him out with a win.
Alamo Bowl — Bryce Love, RB, Stanford
Will he stay? Will he play? Those are the burning questions that surround Love, as the Heisman finalist will have to figure out what his future holds for him. If he does play, all eyes will be on him, as he’s rushed for 1,973 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s so close to 2,000 yards rushing, and even if he does decide to turn pro, the chance to eclipse that mark may tempt him to play in this one despite the risk of injury.
Holiday Bowl — Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
It may be an oversimplification to a degree, but the Cougars are only as good as Falk is. He threw for 3,593 yards overall, but there’s a real split between his numbers in wins and losses. In Washington State’s nine victories, Falk threw for 28 touchdowns and five interceptions. In their three losses, he threw just two touchdowns and eight interceptions. If the good Falk shows up, the Cougars have a good shot at winning this one.
Belk Bowl — Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
Kirk does a little bit of everything. He caught seven touchdown passes this year, and he’s also made himself a reputation as a special teams playmaker. Kirk has returned a kickoff and a punt back for a touchdown this season, and while he may not get piles of catches or touchdowns, he’s the most dangerous weapon on this Texas A&M team. He can make big plays on offense and special teams, and is one to watch for.
Sun Bowl — Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State
The senior pass rusher collected ten sacks for the second season in a row in 2017, and is going to give Arizona State’s offensive line a very rough time of it. Even if you look past the sack numbers, his accomplishments are impressive. He had 72 tackles, and 23 of them were for a loss. The Nagurski Award winner is a good bet to be a top ten pick in next April’s NFL Draft. There is a chance he will skip this game as a result, which would be a real shame.
Music City Bowl — Paddy Fisher, LB, Northwestern
Northwestern got very hot to end the season, and they leaned on their defense to make this happen. Freshman linebacker Fisher in particular was a revelation, making a number of plays on the defensive side of the ball. Fisher had 108 tackles — eight of them for a loss — and wreaked havoc regularly, forcing four fumbles and picking off a pass over the course of the season. There is a lot more to come from him, and this game will be a good place to start for him.
Arizona Bowl — Jalen Davis, CB, Utah State
If you’re watching the bowl games in search of a defensive back who can make big plays, Davis is your man. The senior cornerback makes plays all over the field. Not only did he pick off five passes this season and return three of them for touchdowns, but he put together four sacks as well. New Mexico State’s offense is going to have to find a way to limit his influence if they want their passing game to be successful.
