Developing Assets Bowl Week One, Part Two

Ryan McDowell Posted On December 26, 2013

lee The bowl season got off to an amazing start with some surprising comebacks and impressive performances from some future NFL stars, namely Marqise Lee doubling his touchdown total for the season in the USC bowl win. Here’s a look at the remaining bowl games this week.

*Note- I have yet to see many of these non-BCS prospects play, but have collected some information from a few different resources that should help your bowl game viewing.

December 26^th Bowls

Little Caesars Bowl (6:00, ESPN)
Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green

Bowling Green has finished the season on a hot streak, winning its final five games including an upset victory over Northern Illinois. Bowling Green has few offensive NFL prospects, and they face an uphill battle. Not only do they matchup against the big conference school in Pittsburgh, but also their head coach recently took the Wake Forest job and has already left the team.

The Pitt Panthers do have a couple of players worth keeping an eye on in the first game of the day. Senior wide receiver Devin Street is a big athletic wide receiver that has been on scouts’ radars throughout his Pittsburgh career. While he’s had a solid four-year career, Street has taken a backseat to true freshman Tyler Boyd this season. Boyd should be high on the list of owners preparing for devy drafts next summer or fall. Boyd has hauled in seventy-seven passes for over 1,000 yards on the season, numbers that best any of Street’s four seasons.

Poinsettia Bowl (9:30, ESPN)
Utah State vs. Northern Illinois

This small school matchup is all about the quarterback position. That’s good news for Northern Illinois, who is led by Heisman finalist Jordan Lynch. The numbers Lynch has posted the past couple of season are remarkable. Consider this…Lynch just broke the record for single season rushing yards by a quarterback and he currently sits at 1,881. Oh yeah, he broke his own record from last season. That’s back-to-back 1,800+ rushing yardage seasons. He is also the second leading rusher in FBS, behind only Boston College’s Andre Williams. Despite all of the amazing statistics, Lynch is not considered a strong NFL prospect and to even make the league, he might have to consider a position change.

Utah State is already a team known more for its solid defense rather than prolific offense and that got even worse when the team lost their starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton in mid-season. There’s even a chance that Keeton’s backup, freshman Darrel Garretson, could miss the game. This does not bode well for the Aggies of Utah State.

December 27^th Bowls

Military Bowl (2:30, ESPN)
Marshall vs. Maryland

The top NFL prospect and the player all dynasty and devy owners should know won’t be playing in this game. Maryland sophomore wide receiver Stefon Diggs broke his leg in mid-season and has missed the past five games. Despite the lost time, he still leads the team in receiving yards and should return to full strength in plenty of time to make an impact in his junior season. Diggs will be draft eligible a year from now and would make a solid devy pick this off-season.

On the other side of the ball, I’m unsure if any of these Marshall skill position players will get a chance to prove themselves in the NFL, but they sure form a strong, balanced offense. The Thundering Herd is led by quarterback Rakeem Cato, the Conference USA player of the year who finds himself among the top ten in the nation of many passing statistics. Running back Essray Taliaferro has over 1,000 yards on the ground and wide receiver Tommy Shuler leads the team in receptions and receiving yards by large margins. Senior tight end Gator Hoskins is another solid prospect and the second leading receiver on the team, averaging over sixteen yards per catch.

Texas Bowl (6:00, ESPN)
Syracuse vs. Minnesota

So, it’s difficult to find much to watch in this game even though this game pits two teams from BCS conferences. Both teams are relatively young and have endured many changes over the past year. Of course, Syracuse lost quarterback Ryan Nassib and head coach Doug Marrone to the NFL following the 2012 season. Minnesota also is under the leadership of a new head coach since Jerry Kill took a leave of absence to manage his health issues. Both teams are outside of the top eighty in total yards, passing yards and points per game. To give you an idea what to expect from the Orange offense: the leading receiver in both receptions and yardage in running back Ashton Boyd with barely over 400 yards.

If there’s one player to watch in this game, it’s junior running back David Cobb for the Golden Gophers. The Texas native is going home for the holidays and already has broken the 1,000 yard mark on the season and has rushed for over 100 yards in five of his last six games.

Fight Hunger Bowl (9:30, ESPN)
BYU vs. Washington

If you skipped the Texas Bowl, you’ll want to be sure to find a spot in front of the television by kickoff of this one as there are multiple NFL prospects, specifically some players that will be drafted this May and could also be first round rookie picks in your dynasty league. Washington just lost their coach as Steve Sarkisian left to accept the USC head coaching job and that could be the final push that a pair of talented juniors needs to declare for the draft. Running back Bishop Sankey has over 1,700 rushing yards and eighteen scores on the season. He’s also shown to be adequate in the passing game as well, with almost 300 receiving yards and another touchdown. Sankey has a chance to be the top drafted back in both the NFL draft and dynasty leagues. Junior tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has had a frustrating year including an early season suspension, yet he still leads the Huskies with seven receiving touchdowns. Like Sankey, he has a chance to be the top drafted player at his position, though Eric Ebron and Jace Amaro have both had amazing seasons as well. If all three make the leap to the league, the rookie tight end class should be a strong one.

BYU has a player who has also had a down year. Senior wide receiver Cody Hoffman nearly declared for the draft last season after a 1,200 receiving yard season, but ultimately decided to return for one more season. This year, Hoffman has had some issues and was also suspended for a short time. He currently leads the team in receiving, but has only forty-five catches and 727 yards, which has to be a disappointment after his strong junior season. Hoffman will still be drafted, likely in the mid-rounds. He’s a solid dynasty prospect, but could get lost in the mix of this incredibly deep rookie wide receiver class.

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Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.