Bowl Game Previews: January 1
We are starting the new year by wrapping up the 2020 college football season with some entertaining bowl games. There are four bowl games on this slate and all of them are interesting matchups. Two of them are from the College Football Playoff.
The other two games will also be fun to watch and will answer some important questions that were derived from the regular season. Can Cincinnati compete against a top tier power-five program? The other question many people have is can Northwestern complete outside the Big Ten against one of the better schools in the nation?
The season isn’t over yet. There’s still a lot of good football to be played. Let’s take a look at these New Year’s Day bowl games.
CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Georgia Bulldogs
ESPN, Jan. 1 @ 12:00 p.m. EST
The Bearcats will be entering this game with a 9-0 record. Their best wins came against Army, SMU, Memphis, and Tulsa. They are the AAC champs and since they are not from a power-five conference, they did not receive a bid for the College Football Playoffs.
They will be facing off against Georgia who placed second in the SEC East with a 7-2 overall record. Their two losses were against Alabama and Florida. Their defense has been allowing just 19.9 points per game against tough SEC competition while only allowing 421.3 yards per game.
Redshirt junior quarterback Desmond Ridder will be leading the offense for Cincinnati. He is a very underrated quarterback prospect who has the potential to shoot up draft boards with a good performance in this bowl game. He is a dual-threat quarterback who can gain yards in bunches when he takes off from the pocket. He also has the arm to get it done through the air. The young quarterback has 12 rushing touchdowns on the season. It’s going to be interesting how teams will value him when it comes time to leave for the NFL Draft.
Gerrid Doaks is the team’s leading rusher. He’s a 6-foot-0 and 230-pound back who can pound it out between the tackles. He has three 100-yard performances on the season. Doaks isn’t considered a premium prospect but he’s a guy to keep an eye on just in case he ever gains steam throughout the draft process.
Jerome Ford is a former four-star running back recruit who transferred to Cincinnati from Alabama. He is a young prospect to watch. If he continues to develop his skill set with the team, then he could be a riser among devy managers in the next couple of years.
Bearcats tight end Josh Whyle leads the team with 318 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He is currently averaging 12.7 yards per reception and owns a 14.59 percent market share of the team’s passing production.
JT Daniels transferred from USC to Georgia during the off-season. He has finally transitioned into the team’s starting quarterback. The team has been able to move the ball through the air more efficiently with him under center. He’s a prospect to watch as he could develop during the final years of his career at Georgia.
Zamir White is an underrated running back prospect. Knee injuries drastically slowed him down during the early stages of his career. He had his moments where he looked very good throughout the season. The redshirt sophomore leads the team with 740 rushing yards and ten touchdowns on the season.
Starting in the backfield with White is James Cook. He is more known for being Dalvin Cook’s younger brother. The junior running back provides some electricity for the offense. He leads all running backs on the team with 16 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman running back, Kendall Milton, is a very explosive playmaker. He has flashed his talent throughout the season. The starting job could be up for grabs next year and Milton will be a candidate to take over as the team’s lead back.
Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards are also very talented backs. Either one of them could take over as the team’s main back in the near future.
What a great catch for #GeorgiaFootball #GeorgePickens for a TD vs #Missouri #UGAvsMIZZ #UGA #Dawgs #SEC #Georgia @GeorgiaFootball @SEC https://t.co/IW7r7sfvpq
— Todd Corder (@CorderTodd) December 12, 2020
George Pickens is the wide receiver to watch for the Bulldogs. He is one of the best in the country. He’s a human highlight reel who is known for making some of the toughest catches look easy. Due to the rocky quarterback play throughout the season, his production totals haven’t been stellar, but he hasn’t been shy when it comes to showcasing his talent.
Kearis Jackson leads the team with 33 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns. He has been quiet as of late with six catches in his last three games. The team will also be deploying freshman wide receiver Germain Burton. He is starting to get more involved in the offense. In his last three games, he has 16 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Most of his production came during Daniels’ first start at quarterback against Mississippi State.
VRBO CITRUS BOWL
Auburn Tigers vs. Northwestern Wildcats
ABC, Jan. 1 @ 1:00 p.m. EST
The Auburn Tigers finished the regular season with a 6-4 record while placing third in the SEC West Division. They beat Kentucky, Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. They are struggling on offense this year, ranking 75th in the nation with 385 yards per game.
They will be playing the Northwestern Wildcats who lost in the Big Ten championship game to the Ohio State Buckeyes. They started their season winning five straight games before losing their first game to Michigan State. The Wildcats have one of the toughest defenses in the country and are averaging 15.5 points allowed per game.
Auburn’s alpha wide receiver, Seth Williams, is the key player to watch in this game. He’s a big physical wide receiver who excels at making plays downfield. The junior wide receiver can make difficult catches look easy. He is on track to being one of the top wide receivers in the 2021 draft class.
Tank Bigsby is a created player in NCAA 14
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 10, 2020
Tank Bigsby was easily one of the best freshmen running backs in the nation. He’s a strong powerful runner who will make defenses pay if he sees daylight in the open field. Bigsby leads the team with 834 rushing yards and five touchdowns. If he continues at this pace, he will easily be a top-shelf prospect when it comes time to enter the draft.
Bo Nix is the team’s starting quarterback. Since he was a five-star recruit, expectations were set very high during the early stages of his career. He has been up and down throughout the season. If anything, he’s a name to remember just in case he takes a step forward in his development and become a serious draft prospect.
Northwestern likes to run with a crowded backfield. Isaiah Bowser was their hot prospect going into the season, but he has entered the transfer portal and will no longer be with the team. Cam Porter is the team’s freshman running back who finished the season with 235 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He saw a heavy workload in the last two games of the season. Keep an eye on him because it appears the Wildcats are looking to make him a key piece to the offense going forward.
Sophomore running back, Drake Anderson, leads the team in rushing with 256 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Most of his production came during the start of the season. His usage started to dwindle once Porter started to receive more work out of the backfield.
Peyton Ramsey spent his first three seasons at Indiana as that team’s starting quarterback. He has passed for over 8,000 yards and 51 touchdowns in his career. He will be deemed as a late-round developmental quarterback in this year’s draft.
ROSE BOWL (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
ESPN, Jan. 1 @ 4:00 p.m. EST
Notre Dame won ten straight games until they ran into Trevor Lawrence in the ACC Championship game. They run a balanced offense that averaged 237.5 passing yards per game along with 217.6 rushing yards per game. The last time the Fighting Irish played the Crimson Tide was in the 2012 BCS Championship game where they lost 42-14.
This time around they will be playing another stout Alabama team who went sliced through the SEC like a hot knife through butter. They are currently undefeated and haven’t been challenged all year. The Crimson Tide will easily give every team they face in the College Football Playoffs problems.
This game is loaded with future NFL Draft talent. Notre Dame’s sophomore running back Kyren Williams has been very productive this year with 1,061 and 12 touchdowns. It’s going to be very interesting to see how he plays against Alabama’s defense. A big game in front of a national audience could make him one of the most coveted running back prospects in the nation.
Senior quarterback Ian Book will need to have a good showing to improve his draft stock. A good performance against one of the best defenses in the nation could make him one of the trendier developmental draft prospects for this year’s draft.
Notre Dame has sent some talented wide receiver prospects to the NFL in recent years. Some of them flew under the radar during the draft process. At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, Javon McKinley could become a late route gem. He leads the team in receiving with 40 catches for 697 yards and three touchdowns while owning a 26.67 percent market share of the team’s passing production.
Freshman tight end, Michael Mayer, is a former five-star recruit who has become an integral part of the offense. He has caught 35 balls for 388 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Not only should we pay attention to him in this game, but we should monitor his status throughout the remainder of his career.
It’s not a surprise that Alabama is loaded with talent as they seem to be the minor league system for the NFL. They are led by quarterback Mac Jones who has improved by leaps and bounds this season. He is one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft and is projected to be a first-round selection.
Najee Harris is one of the best running backs in college football. For some people, he is the RB1 going into this year’s NFL Draft. He’s a big back who can run with a lot of power, but he is also nimble on his feet and can make defenders miss in the open field. His ability to catch passes in the flat will provide some extra value in PPR fantasy leagues.
There aren’t many draft prospects flying under the radar for the Crimson Tide, but Brian Robinson is a name to know come draft season. He’s a 6-foot-1 and 228-pound senior who could develop into a trendy mid to late-round option in rookie drafts next year.
DeVonta Smith was a big-time wide receiver prospect going into the season. His draft stock rose immensely as he quickly became one of the best wide receivers in college football. He caught 98 passes for 1,511 yards and 17 touchdowns while owning a 38.79 percent market share of the team’s passing production. Smith earned his first-round draft status and will be a premier prospect in rookie drafts this spring.
Jaylen Waddle broke his ankle earlier in the year. He has made great strides in his recovery. Unfortunately, he will not be playing in this game. The next time we see him will be in an NFL uniform. Waddle is easily one of the top wide receivers in the 2021 draft class.
Sophomore wide receiver John Metchie has developed into an important asset in the offense. He was a four-star recruit out of high school and was rated the 40th wide receiver in his class by 247Sports. His outlook is very promising for next year.
Allstate Sugar Bowl (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL)
Clemson Tigers vs Ohio State Buckeyes
ESPN, Jan. 1 @ 8:00 p.m. EST
This game is a rematch from last year when these two teams faced off in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. Clemson walked away with a 29-23 victory. The Tigers mopped up the ACC with a 10-1 record. They revenged their only loss with a 34-10 win over Notre Dame in the ACC Championship. Clemson is favored to win this game by 7.5 points.
The Buckeyes are the Big Ten champs with a 6-0 record. They are a very dangerous team, but they have shown some chinks in their armor during their last couple of games. Ohio State will need to be firing on all cylinders if they want to make it to the Nation Title game.
Trevor Lawrence is the greatest quarterback to grace college football since Peyton Manning. He has all the tools from a strong accurate arm to elite pocket awareness. Just about everyone has him locked in as the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Travis Etienne is one of the top backs in college football. He has speed to burn and will eat defenses alive if he sees daylight. He has 882 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns along with 44 catches for 524 yards and two touchdowns.
Lyn-J Dixon is another running back to watch in this game. He’s a shifty runner who can make the opposition pay if he reaches the second level of the defense. Dixon will see a heavy increase in touches once Etienne leaves for the NFL.
Amari Rodgers has been very impressive this year. He leads the team in receiving with 69 catches for 966 yards and seven touchdowns. Rodgers could see a bump in his draft stock when we get into the off-season. He has the intangibles to develop into a productive wide receiver at the next level.
Clemson has a lot of talent stockpiled for the future at the wide receiver position. Frank Ladson and EJ Williams are two players to watch in this game. There’s a chance Joe Ngata might be able to return from an abdominal injury that required surgery. He’s a very talented wide receiver who could make an impact in this game if he’s on the field.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are led by Justin Fields, who is considered the second-best quarterback prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft where he is projected to be drafted right behind Lawrence. This will be a very important game for his draft evaluation as he will be playing against one of the best teams in the country.
The Buckeyes have a one-two punch with their rushing attack. Trey Sermon rushed for 331 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern. He’s a transfer from Oklahoma where he rushed for 947 and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore. Sermon shares the backfield with Master Teague who is a human bowling ball. At 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, he has the size to be a workhorse back at the next level. The redshirt sophomore running back has two 100-yard games on the season. He suffered an Achilles injury in the spring that slowed down his development but is on track to be the team’s lead back in 2021.
Garrett Wilson is competing to be one of the best wide receivers in the country. He has improved a lot from his freshman season. Wilson leads the team with 38 catches for 621 yards and five touchdowns along with a 40.83 percent market share of the team’s passing production.
Chris Olave will be talented as one of the most talented wide receivers in this year’s draft class. He has made big plays all year. We have seen him grow as a route runner throughout his career at Ohio State. Olave owned a 34.71 percent market share of the passing game.
Outside of the team’s two star wide receivers, the team doesn’t have another with double-digit receptions. They are loaded with talent. Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are both true freshman wide receivers who were five-star recruits coming out of high school. Jameson Williams is an under-the-radar sophomore who could make some big plays in this game.
According to 247Sports, Jeremy Ruckert was the second-best tight end in the 2018 recruiting class. He has only caught 24 passes for 215 yards and seven touchdowns. The numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, but he has made some big plays during his career. He’s a prospect to monitor throughout the duration of his career just in case his draft stock shoots up.
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