Bowl Game Previews: December 27th, Part Two

Ryan McDowell

hackenberg 

Hopefully, you’ve already enjoyed some great college football today, but the games aren’t over. We have two more games and several key players to watch. 

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Boston College vs Penn State
ESPN, 4:30 p.m. EST

The long ride of controversy following the Penn State football teams nears an end as the team returns to it’s first bowl game after the NCAA surprisingly lifted their bowl ban earlier this season. Even with that, the Nittany Lions barely qualified after struggling in Big Ten play, winning only two games.

Penn State does have one of the most hyped quarterback prospects in the country, sophomore Christian Hackenberg. The only problem is he didn’t come close to living up to the hype that was created after a stellar freshman season. His coach Bill O’Brien left to take the Houston Texans job and it clearly affected Hackenberg, who threw for only eight touchdowns on the season, while turning the ball over 15 times. His inefficiency limited those around him. While Penn State has a fairly balanced attack on offense, none of their final numbers have been impressive.

The team has a running back by committee attack with Bill Belton and Akeel Lynch, but the duo only combined for just over 1,100 yards. I’m not sure either will even make it as an NFL prospect. Their sophomore receiver DaeSean Hamilton had a very nice season, catching 75 balls for 848 yards. At 6’1” and over 200 pounds, he has the frame NFL teams look for another with another season playing alongside Hackenberg, hopefully both players will show improvement in 2015. My favorite NFL prospect aside from Hackenberg is little used tight end Jesse James, who caught 35 passes for 369 yards and three of the team’s eight touchdowns through the air. As a junior, James could opt for the NFL, considering the weak overall tight end class.

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Boston College lacks elite NFL prospects, but their offensive attack will be all about running the ball, which will be a great matchup, since the Nittany Lions have the best rush defense in the country. The Eagles leading rusher is actually senior quarterback Tyler Murphy, a transfer from Florida. Murphy rushed for over 1,000 yards and also scored ten times on the ground. Following the departure of Andre Williams, the team had plenty of carries and yards to fill and freshman runner Jon Hilliman also helps out, totaling over 700 yards and leading the team with 12 scores. Hilliman is a powerful runner at 6’0” and 215, but might find things tough today against the staunch Penn State defense. 

National University Holiday Bowl
Nebraska vs Southern California
ESPN, 8:00 p.m. EST

The Holiday Bowl pits a pair of college football’s traditional powers- Nebraska and Southern Cal. The teams come in headed in different directions. After the team’s final regular season game, Nebraska shockingly fired head coach Bo Pelini, who had been very consistent, but failed to “win the big one.” Though the school later hired Mike Riley away from Oregon State, he won’t coach in this game. Southern Cal on the other hand, finished the season on an offensive tear. Juniors Cody Kessler and Nelson Agholor constantly hooked up for huge pass plays in the second half of the season and their performance and the gaudy numbers that resulted have them both looking to make the jump to the NFL. Agholor has been a prime performer in all three seasons as a Trjoan, so seeing him leave early would not be surprising, but Kessler would be, though no one could blame him. After the top two signal callers, Jamies Winston and Marcus Mariota, this quarterback class is wide open and we all know teams will reach for a quarterback when they are desperate.

USC has another junior who will also likely declare for the NFL, running back Javorius Allen, who has totaled over 1,300 rushing yards to go along with nine scores. Allen is a big powerful back, who at 6’1” and 220 pounds is just as likely to run over a defender as run around them. He’s the type of player who could make a big impact quickly in the NFL if he lands in the right spot.

Overall, this Trojan team is young under first year head coach Steve Sarkisian and my favorite young skill player on this team is wide receiver JuJu Smith. Despite Agholor being the obvious favorite target, Smith has been a reliable second option, catching 51 passes for almost 700 yards and five scores. At 6’2” and 210 pounds, Smith has the body of an NFL receiver, yet he’s still a teenager. He’s firmly on my devy draft list this off-season.

Possibly the top dynasty draft prospect in this game is Nebraska tailback Ameer Abdullah, who was an early season Heisman candidate after his ferocious start to the season. After suffering a sprained MCL, Abdullah’s numbers suffered, but he continued to tough it out and stay in the game. Abdullah only rushed for 100 yards once in the team’s final four contests, also only finding the end zone once during that span, but he’s had the past few weeks to rest and should be good to go. For Nebraska to have a chance to stay with the Trojans, Abdullah must have a huge game. 

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ryan mcdowell