Early Bowl Game Previews: January 1st

Bruce Matson Posted On January 1, 2018

Nothing cures a New Year’s Eve hangover better than a wonderful slate of bowl games. There are plenty of young devy and draft prospects playing today. Make sure to take the time to enjoy the games while we have them, because the off-season is right around the corner and before we know it, we will be begging to watch some football.

OUTBACK BOWL

Michigan Wolverines vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

ESPN2, 12:00 p.m. EST

The Michigan Wolverines finished their regular season with an 8-4 overall record while posting a 5-4 record in the Big Ten, placing them fourth in the Big Ten East. Their best victory of the season came during week one when they defeated the Florida Gators 36-14. They will be playing the South Carolina Gamecocks who finished the season with an 8-4 overall record while delivering a 5-3 record in the SEC, placing them second in the SEC East.

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Michigan’s Freshman wide receiver, Donovan Peoples-Jones, is currently the most intriguing player on the Wolverines’ roster. He was a five-star recruit and according to 247sports, he was ranked second amongst all wide receivers in his recruiting class. Peoples-Jones has a promising future. He’s highly athletic and it’s easy to tell that he’s going to be a tremendous playmaker for the Wolverines in the next few years

Tarik Black is another stud freshman wide receiver for Michigan, but he is more than likely not going to suit up for this game due to a foot injury that he suffered earlier in the season. If he doesn’t play, then his 2017 season will be considered a medical redshirt year and he will have four more years of eligibility.

Junior wide receiver Grant Perry is another wide receiver to pay attention to. He’s a speedy wideout who has the ability to take the top off the defense. However, he has major off the field issues that will hamper his draft stock in the future.

Junior running back Karan Higdon leads the Wolverines in rushing with 929 yards and 11 touchdowns. He owns a 24.63 percent market share of the team’s offensive production. He shares the backfield with sophomore running back, Chris Evans who finished the season with 807 total yards and seven touchdowns. He’s an explosive running back who can score from anywhere the football. He draws a lot of appeal in devy leagues because he was a four-star recruit who was one of the top all-purpose backs in his recruiting class.

The Gamecocks have one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country in Jake Bentley who put together a decent sophomore campaign, passing for 2,555 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 62.4 percent of his passes. He should progress into one of the most talked about quarterbacks in the nation.

South Carolina’s sophomore running back A.J. Turner led the team in rushing with 517 yards and three touchdowns. His best game of the season came against the Florida Gators when he rushed for 136 yards while catching three passes for 36 yards. He shares the backfield with Ty’Son Williams, who rushed for 460 yards and one touchdown. He will also receive a fair amount of touches in this game. Williams is a bigger back who runs with a lot of burst and power. After missing five games due to fracturing his fibula, Rico Dowdle might make an appearance in this game. He rushed for 764 yards and six touchdowns last year as a freshman.

Sophomore wide receiver Bryan Edwards is the team’s leading wide receiver with 705 yards and four touchdowns. He owns a 27.59 percent market share of the team’s passing offense. He’s listed at 6-foot-3 and 215-pounds, giving him the prototypical size for a WR1 at the NFL level.

At 6-foot-4 and 217-pounds, freshman wide receiver OrTre Smith has the size to take advantage of smaller defensive backs. He was a four-star recruit out of high school and has the potential to develop into a tremendous prospect going forward. Deebo Samuel fractured his fibula during the third game of the season and will not be able to play in this bowl game. He’s the team’s star wideout and key playmaker. Samuel will cap off his collegiate career by returning to school for his senior season.

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL

UCF Knights vs. Auburn Tigers

ESPN, 12:30 p.m. EST

The UCF Knights finished their regular season with a flawless 12-0 record. The Knights rank eighth in the nation with 6,485 yards in total offense. They will be playing the Auburn Tigers who finished their season with a 10-3 overall record while delivering a 7-1 record in conference play, giving them a first-place finish in the SEC West. The Tigers rank 18th in the country with 5,902 yards in total offense.

UCF’s junior wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith led the team in receiving with 1,082 yards and 13 touchdowns while owning a 26.58 percent market share of the team’s passing offense. He has four 100-yard games on the season. Sophomore wide receiver Dredrick Snelson caught nine passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in his last game against Memphis. He will look to put on another clinic against Auburn.

Junior running back Kerryon Johnson is Auburn’s leading rusher with 1,320 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on the season. He has seven games with over 100 yards rushing. Johnson has turned into one of college football’s biggest surprises during the 2017 season. Due to a fractured shoulder blade that he suffered earlier in the season, Kamryn Pettway won’t be able to suit up for this year’s bowl game. He rushed for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Auburn’s sophomore wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers was a four-star recruit out of high school. According to 247Sports, he ranked sixth amongst all wide receivers in his recruiting class. He has a lot of potential, but has yet to put anything together, catching just 17 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns in his last two seasons. Junior wide receiver Ryan Davis leads the team in receiving with 76 receptions and 768 yards and five touchdowns. He’s the team’s small speedy receiver. Davis excels at picking up extra yardage after the catch.

CITRUS BOWL PRESENTED BY OVERTON’S

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. LSU Tigers

ABC, 1 p.m. EST

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished their regular season with a 9-3 record. Their best win of the season came during week eight when they defeated the USC Trojans 49-14. They will be playing the LSU Tigers who finished their season with a 9-3 overall record while posting a 6-2 conference record, placing them third in the SEC West Division.

Notre Dame’s junior running back Josh Adams leads the team in rushing with 1,386 yards and nine touchdowns. At 6-foot-2 and 225-pounds, he has the size and the athleticism to be a three-down back at the NFL level.

Equanimeous St. Brown is the Fighting Irish’s star receiver. He caught 31 passes for 468 yards and four touchdowns this season. His suboptimal stat-line makes it hard to believe that he’s one of the country’s top wide receivers. Notre Dame ranks 97th in the nation with 324 passing attempts and along with junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush completing just 49.8 percent of his passes, there is not enough volume within Notre Dame’s passing offense to fuel St. Brown’s production. Nonetheless, he’s still a very talented wide receiver and should be decorated as one of the top talents in the nation.

The main attraction in this game is LSU’s star junior running back, Derrius Guice who rushed for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Some would say Guice under performed this season but he spent a large portion the season playing through injuries while running behind an offensive line loaded with underclassmen. He will be one of the top running backs in next year’s draft class.

D.J. Chark is the team’s leading wide receiver with 811 yards and three touchdowns while owning a 33.57 percent market share of LSU’s passing game. Due to LSU’s low volume passing attack, Chark is considered one of the most underrated wide receivers in the country. He will be a popular prospect for the upcoming draft.

Sophomore wide receiver Stephen Sullivan was a four-star recruit coming out of high school. He is listed at 6-foot-6 and weighs 235-pounds. His size alone makes him a very intriguing prospect. With just nine receptions for 195 yards and one touchdown on the season, Sullivan shouldn’t receive much work in this bowl game, but keep an eye on him, because he could be the team’s leading receiver in the future.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.