Daily Blog •Wednesday, December 16th

Each and every day at PhilSteele.com I will be giving you more information and stats on all 34 bowl games so you can become an expert on each bowl matchup. Today’s blog will break down NCAA Statistics for Players participating in bowls.

Don’t forget to join my “Bowl Confidence Contest”that has great cash prizes!! Check out the homepage for more details. Picks are due by Saturday December 19th at 4:30 pm EST.

Also make sure to check PhilSteele.com everyday for complete information and coverage on all the bowl matchups. On the homepage click on the Bowl matchups link, where you will find all 34 bowl games. Click on the bowl logo for each game to get all the information you need to become an expert!

QB PASS EFFICIENCY
Rank
Player, Team
Gm
Att
Comp
%
Int
Int %
Yds
Ydspatt
TD
TD %
Rating
1
Kellen Moore, Boise St
13
392
254
64.8
3
0.77
3325
8.48
39
9.95
167.35
3
Max Hall, BYU
12
379
256
67.55
14
3.69
3368
8.89
30
7.92
160.93
4
Andy Dalton, TCU
12
279
174
62.37
5
1.79
2484
8.9
22
7.89
159.59
5
Case Keenum, Houston
13
659
468
71.02
9
1.37
5449
8.27
43
6.53
159.27
6
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas
12
367
210
57.22
7
1.91
3422
9.32
29
7.9
157.81
7
Nathan Enderle, Idaho
10
284
177
62.32
9
3.17
2666
9.39
18
6.34
155.75
8
Tim Tebow, Florida
13
279
182
65.23
5
1.79
2413
8.65
18
6.45
155.59
9
Tony Pike, Cincinnati
9
293
184
62.8
6
2.05
2350
8.02
26
8.87
155.36
10
Dan LeFevour, Central Mich
13
401
285
71.07
6
1.5
3043
7.59
27
6.73
154.04
11
Bill Stull, Pittsburgh
12
297
192
64.65
8
2.69
2470
8.32
21
7.07
152.45
13
Levi Brown, Troy
12
448
290
64.73
9
2.01
3868
8.63
22
4.91
149.44
14
Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
12
226
126
55.75
4
1.77
2102
9.3
13
5.75
149.32
15
Sean Canfield, Oregon St
12
406
284
69.95
6
1.48
3103
7.64
21
5.17
148.26
18
Christian Ponder, Florida St
9
330
227
68.79
7
2.12
2717
8.23
14
4.24
147.71
19
Colt McCoy, Texas
13
468
330
70.51
12
2.56
3512
7.5
27
5.77
147.46
20
Martevious Young, Southern Miss.
9
196
114
58.16
1
0.51
1590
8.11
13
6.63
147.17
21
Chris Todd, Auburn
12
297
178
59.93
6
2.02
2377
8
21
7.07
146.45
22
Daryll Clark, Penn St
12
346
214
61.85
10
2.89
2787
8.05
23
6.65
145.67
23
Kirk Cousins, Michigan St
12
301
185
61.46
7
2.33
2460
8.17
18
5.98
145.2
24
Chandler Harnish, Northern Ill
9
198
131
66.16
5
2.53
1540
7.78
11
5.56
144.78
25
Ryan Colburn, Fresno St
12
279
168
60.22
11
3.94
2333
8.36
18
6.45
143.86
26
Andrew Luck, Stanford- inj
12
288
162
56.25
4
1.39
2575
8.94
13
4.51
143.47
27
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
12
253
151
59.68
5
1.98
1875
7.41
19
7.51
142.77
29
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin
12
302
192
63.58
10
3.31
2445
8.1
16
5.3
142.44
30
Greg McElroy, Alabama
13
314
192
61.15
4
1.27
2450
7.8
17
5.41
142.01
31
Blaine Gabbert, Missouri
12
414
247
59.66
7
1.69
3302
7.98
23
5.56
141.61
32
Jacory Harris, Miami (FL)
12
377
226
59.95
17
4.51
3164
8.39
23
6.1
141.56
34
Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M
12
439
267
60.82
6
1.37
3217
7.33
28
6.38
140.69
35
Terrance Cain, Utah
12
215
137
63.72
5
2.33
1624
7.55
11
5.12
139.4
36
Joe Cox, Georgia
12
303
170
56.11
14
4.62
2426
8.01
22
7.26
138.08
38
Jordan Jefferson, LSU
11
272
169
62.13
6
2.21
1964
7.22
16
5.88
137.79
41
Jonathan Crompton, Tennessee
12
358
209
58.38
12
3.35
2565
7.16
26
7.26
135.83
42
Taylor Potts, Texas Tech
10
427
280
65.57
12
2.81
3068
7.19
20
4.68
135.76
43
B.J. Daniels, USF
12
205
108
52.68
9
4.39
1766
8.61
12
5.85
135.58
44
Zac Robinson, Oklahoma St
11
270
167
61.85
8
2.96
1966
7.28
15
5.56
135.42
46
Tyler Sheehan, Bowling Green
12
528
340
64.39
6
1.14
3664
6.94
23
4.36
134.79
49
Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon
11
285
168
58.95
5
1.75
2066
7.25
15
5.26
133.7
50
Brett Hodges, UCF
11
301
184
61.13
11
3.65
2263
7.52
15
4.98
133.42
52
Nick Foles, Arizona
11
380
251
66.05
8
2.11
2438
6.42
19
5
132.23

The Fiesta has the best matchup of top QB's in Boise St's Kellen Moore who ranks #1 in the NCAA in Pass Efficiency with a 167.35 rating against TCU's Andy Dalton who ranks #4 with a 159.59 rating. Moore has a great 39-3 TD/Int ratio while Dalton has a 22-5 ratio.

Another marquee matchup involving two top passers is the Sugar Bowl which features Florida QB Tim Tebow (#8) who has a 155.59 rating against Cincinnati QB Tony Pike (#9) who has a 155.36 rating.

While the GMAC Bowl may get overlooked as the BCS Championship is played the next day, it does feature a matchup of two good quarterbacks. Central Michigan has Dan LeFevour who is #10 in the NCAA with a 154.04 rating and Troy has Levi Brown (#13) with a 149.44 rating.

RUSHING
Rank Player, Team
Gm
Carries
Net
TD
YPC
YPG
1
Ryan Mathews, Fresno St.
11
245
1664
17
6.79
151.27
2
Toby Gerhart, Stanford
12
311
1736
26
5.58
144.67
3
Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh
12
297
1640
16
5.52
136.67
5
Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
12
268
1538
19
5.74
128.17
8
LaMichael James, Oregon
12
215
1476
14
6.87
123
9
Vai Taua, Nevada
11
172
1345
10
7.82
122.27
11
Bernard Pierce, Temple
11
224
1308
15
5.84
118.91
12
Mark Ingram, Alabama
13
249
1542
15
6.19
118.62
13
Darius Marshall, Marshall
9
207
1054
11
5.09
117.11
14
John Clay, Wisconsin
12
265
1396
16
5.27
116.33
17
Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon St.
12
255
1377
20
5.4
114.75
18
Montel Harris, Boston College
12
285
1355
13
4.75
112.92
19
Montario Hardesty, Tennessee
12
264
1306
12
4.95
108.83
20
Noel Devine, West Virginia
12
225
1297
12
5.76
108.08
23
Ben Tate, Auburn
12
243
1254
8
5.16
104.5
24
Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech
13
221
1346
14
6.09
103.54
25
Keith Toston, Oklahoma St.
12
217
1177
11
5.42
98.08
26
Brynn Harvey, UCF
11
248
1077
14
4.34
97.91
28
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
12
148
1160
16
7.84
96.67
29
Jahvid Best, California
9
141
867
12
6.15
96.33
30
Alexander Robinson, Iowa St.
11
210
1058
6
5.04
96.18
31
Jordan Todman, Connecticut
12
226
1152
14
5.1
96
34
Shawnbrey McNeal, SMU
12
224
1125
9
5.02
93.75
35
Dominique Lindsay, East Carolina
11
206
1029
5
5
93.55
37
Harvey Unga, BYU
11
184
1016
10
5.52
92.36
38
Evan Royster, Penn St.
12
188
1104
6
5.87
92
39
C.J. Spiller, Clemson
13
201
1145
11
5.7
88.08
40
Roy Helu Jr., Nebraska
13
217
1139
10
5.25
87.62
41
Jeremy Avery, Boise St.
13
197
1130
6
5.74
86.92
42
Luke Lippincott, Nevada
12
134
1034
9
7.72
86.17
43
Eddie Wide, Utah
12
182
1032
12
5.67
86
44
Damion Fletcher, Southern Miss.
11
202
937
8
4.64
85.18
47
Joe McKnight, USC
12
164
1014
8
6.18
84.5
48
Ricky Dobbs, Navy
11
252
913
23
3.62
83
50
Dexter McCluster, Mississippi
12
147
985
6
6.7
82.08
51
Andre Dixon, Connecticut
12
206
967
13
4.69
80.58
52
Vince Murray, Navy
11
159
884
6
5.56
80.36
53
Dwight Dasher, Middle Tenn.
12
198
953
11
4.81
79.42
54
Chad Spann, Northern Ill.
12
159
945
19
5.94
78.75
58
Adam Robinson, Iowa
10
167
775
5
4.64
77.5

The Hawaii Bowl will feature four of the top rushers in the NCAA. Nevada had three rushers reach the 1,000 yard mark this season. RB Vai Taua led the Wolfpack in rushing and was #9 in the NCAA averaging 122.27 ypg (7.82 ypc). QB Colin Kaepernick (#28) averaged 96.67 ypg (7.84 ypc) and RB Luke Lippincott avg 86.17 ypg (7.72 ypc). Despite June Jones pass happy offense, RB Shawnbrey McNeal had a great season with 1125 yards avg 93.75 ypg (5.02 ypc).

The Chick Fil-A bowl will also have a great matchup of top rushers. While Virginia Tech has true frosh Ryan Williams who was #5 in the NCAA this year avg 128.17 ypg (5.74 ypc) Tennessee has Senior Montario Hardesty who avg 108.83 ypg (4.95 ypc).

WIDE RECEIVERS
Rank
Player, Team
GM
Catches
Yds
TD
Rec/Gm
YPC
YPG
1
Danario Alexander, Missouri
12
107
1644
13
8.92
15.36
137
2
Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green
12
138
1551
16
11.5
11.24
129.25
6
James Cleveland, Houston
11
101
1182
14
9.18
11.7
107.45
7
Jordan Shipley, Texas
13
106
1363
11
8.15
12.86
104.85
8
Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
12
91
1215
6
7.58
13.35
101.25
10
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
12
80
1150
11
6.67
14.38
95.83
14
David Reed, Utah
12
75
1085
5
6.25
14.47
90.42
15
Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh
12
54
1080
8
4.5
20
90
16
Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech
13
46
1154
8
3.54
25.09
88.77
18
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
11
76
964
12
6.91
12.68
87.64
19
Tim Brown, Rutgers
12
51
1051
8
4.25
20.61
87.58
22
Max Komar, Idaho
12
62
1036
10
5.17
16.71
86.33
23
Shay Hodge, Mississippi
12
63
1023
8
5.25
16.24
85.25
24
James Rodgers, Oregon St.
12
87
1004
9
7.25
11.54
83.67
25
A.J. Green, Georgia
9
47
751
6
5.22
15.98
83.44
29
Jerrel Jernigan, Troy
12
62
947
4
5.17
15.27
78.92
30
Antonio Brown, Central Mich.
13
97
1020
9
7.46
10.52
78.46
33
Tyron Carrier, Houston
13
86
998
7
6.62
11.6
76.77
34
Patrick Edwards, Houston
13
81
985
5
6.23
12.16
75.77
37
Damian Williams, USC
11
58
821
6
5.27
14.16
74.64
38
Titus Young, Boise St.
13
71
969
10
5.46
13.65
74.54
41
Blair White, Michigan St.
12
64
876
8
5.33
13.69
73
44
DeAndre Brown, Southern Miss.
10
43
720
7
4.3
16.74
72
45
Greg Childs, Arkansas
12
45
862
7
3.75
19.16
71.83
46
Ryan Whalen, Stanford
12
54
861
4
4.5
15.94
71.75
48
Armon Binns, Cincinnati
12
56
859
10
4.67
15.34
71.58
49
Darvin Adams, Auburn
12
48
855
10
4
17.81
71.25
50
Marcus Easley, Connecticut
12
44
853
8
3.67
19.39
71.08
52
Austin Pettis, Boise St.
12
62
850
14
5.17
13.71
70.83
53
Dwayne Harris, East Carolina
13
79
914
6
6.08
11.57
70.31
54
Jared Perry, Missouri
10
46
696
6
4.6
15.13
69.6
59
Andrew Brewer, Northwestern
12
49
792
7
4.08
16.16
66
60
Alex Torres, Texas Tech
12
65
791
6
5.42
12.17
65.92
61
Dennis Pitta, BYU
12
57
784
7
4.75
13.75
65.33
62
Nick Toon, Wisconsin
12
52
779
4
4.33
14.98
64.92
64
Zeke Markshausen, Northwestern
12
79
774
3
6.58
9.8
64.5
65
Leonard Hankerson, Miami (FL)
12
44
773
6
3.67
17.57
64.42
68
Rich Gunnell, Boston College
12
54
750
6
4.5
13.89
62.5
69
Derrell Johnson-Koulian, Iowa
11
41
687
2
3.73
16.76
62.45
72
Joe Adams, Arkansas
9
28
553
7
3.11
19.75
61.44

The Humanitarian Bowl will feature two of the top Wide Recivers in Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes who had 1551 yards (11.24 ypc) and 16 TD's avg 129.25 ypg and Idaho's Max Komar who had 1036 yards (16.71 ypc) and avg 86.33 ypg.

The Texas Bowl will feature two contrasting styles with the NCAA's leading receiver Missouri's Danario Alexander who averaged 137 ypg this season against Navy's run oriented attack that avg just 71 ypg as a team.

PUNT RETURNS
Rank Player
AVG
KR’s
YDS
TD’s
1
 Greg Reid, Florida St.
18.42
19
350
1
2
 Trindon Holliday, LSU
17.72
18
319
1
3
 Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
16.48
27
445
1
4
 Javier Arenas, Alabama
16.34
29
474
1
5
 Emmanuel Sanders, SMU
15.44
16
247
1
6
 Damian Williams, USC
15.41
22
339
2
7
 Tracy Lampley, Southern Miss.
15.35
20
307
1
8
 LaVon Brazill, Ohio
15.04
23
346
3
9
 Da’Norris Searcy, N Carolina
15
22
330
1
10
 Robert McClain III, Connecticut
14.8
15
222
1
11
 Jeremy Kerley, TCU
14.32
34
487
2
12
 Jerrard Tarrant, Georgia Tech
14.32
19
272
2
14
 Antonio Brown, Central Mich.
13.5
20
270
2
15
 Randall Cobb, Kentucky
13.48
23
310
1
16
 David Leonard, Wyoming
13.47
15
202
0
17
 Jordan Shipley, Texas
12.96
24
311
2
18
 Delano Green, Temple
12.72
18
229
2
19
 Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
12.63
16
202
1
21
 Price Miller, Georgia
11.89
19
226
0
23
 Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech
10.93
28
306
1
24
 Kyle Wilson, Boise St.
10.45
20
209
0
25
 Perrish Cox, Oklahoma St.
10.42
19
198
1
26
 Niles Paul, Nebraska
10.34
35
362
1
27
 Luke Matthews, Utah
10.12
17
172
0
28
 Kyle Williams, Arizona St.
9.96
23
229
0
30
 Jock Sanders, West Virginia
9.67
18
174
0
31
 Austin Zouzalik, Texas Tech
9.55
20
191
0
33
 Devon Wylie, Fresno St.
8.92
12
107
0
34
 Colin Sandeman, Iowa
8.73
11
96
0
37
 Terrence Austin, UCLA
8.45
29
245
0
38
 Ray Small, Ohio St.
8.27
33
273
0
39
 Tommy Davis, Northern Ill.
8
17
136
0

Florida St's Greg Reid led the nation in punt returns avg 18.42 per return as the underdog Seminoles may need him to make a play in the return game to upset the Mountaineers.

The BCS Championship game features two of the top returners in the country. While Alabama has #4 Javier Arenas avg 16.34 per return, Texas has #17 Jordan Shipley who has 2 punt return TD's this year.

KICKOFF RETURNS
Rank Player
Avg
KR’s
YDS
TD’s
2
 D.J. Monroe, Texas
35.79
14
501
2
3
 Dyrell Roberts, Virginia Tech
34.47
15
517
1
4
 C.J. Spiller, Clemson
33.71
21
708
4
5
 Chris Owusu, Stanford
32.53
34
1106
3
6
 Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
31.59
34
1074
2
7
 Keshawn Martin, Michigan St.
30.35
17
516
1
8
 Derrick Locke, Kentucky
29.63
19
563
1
9
 Tracy Lampley, Southern Miss.
29.6
15
444
1
10
 James Nixon, Temple
29.24
17
497
2
11
 Javier Arenas, Alabama
29
19
551
0
14
 Titus Young, Boise St.
27.82
28
779
2
15
 Tyron Carrier, Houston
27.48
33
907
3
16
 Dwayne Harris, East Carolina
27.41
34
932
3
17
 Jamaal Jackson, North Texas
27.24
17
463
0
19
 Chris Garrett, Ohio
27.04
25
676
1
20
 Jeremy Kerley, TCU
26.88
17
457
0
23
 Freddie Parham, Southern Miss.
26.29
34
894
1
24
 Warren Norman, Vanderbilt
26.25
40
1050
3
25
 Brandon James, Florida
26.07
29
756
1
26
 Travis Cobb, Arizona
26.04
28
729
1
27
 Dennis Johnson, Arkansas
26.03
39
1015
1
28
 David Oku, Tennessee
26
30
780
0
29
 Eric Stephens, Texas Tech
25.9
29
751
0
31
 Jesse Grandy, Mississippi
25.72
29
746
2
32
 Cameron Saddler, Pittsburgh
25.7
23
591
0
35
 Tavon Austin, West Virginia
25.63
16
410
1
36
 O’Neill Chambers, BYU
25.58
19
486
0
37
 Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M
25.53
19
485
1
42
 Terrence Austin, UCLA
25.11
38
954
0
43
 Reggie Rembert, Air Force
25.07
14
351
0
44
 Jordan Todman, Connecticut
25.05
19
476
1
45
 Justin Veltung, Idaho
25
14
350
1
48
 Mike Ball, Nevada
24.69
26
642
0
51
 Bryan McCann, SMU
24.48
33
808
0
52
 Brandon Boykin, Georgia
24.47
36
881
2

Again the Championship game has a great matchup as Texas has #2 DJ Monroe who avg 35.79 per return with 2 TD's while Alabama again has Arenas who avg 29 per return.

Another great matchup of returners takes place in the Music City Bowl. Clemson's CJ Spiller avg 33.71 per return with 4 TD's this season. Kentucky meanwhile has Derrick Locke who avg 29.63 per return with 1 TD.

ALL PURPOSE YARDS
Rank Player, Team
Gm
Rush
Rec
PR
KR TTL
Yards
Yds/Gm
Plays
YDS PP
2
 Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
12
16
1150
202
1074
2442
203.5
135
18.09
4
 C.J. Spiller, Clemson
13
1145
445
210
708
2508
192.92
263
9.54
5
 James Rodgers, Oregon St.
12
289
1004
151
769
2213
184.42
187
11.83
9
 Darius Marshall, Marshall
9
1054
25
0
474
1553
172.56
238
6.53
11
 Antonio Brown, Central Mich.
13
319
1020
270
570
2179
167.62
183
11.91
12
 Dezmon Briscoe, Kansas
11
19
1337
0
432
1788
162.55
105
17.03
13
 Ryan Mathews, Fresno St.
11
1664
122
0
0
1786
162.36
256
6.98
15
 Tyron Carrier, Houston
13
109
998
73
907
2087
160.54
135
15.46
17
 Jerrel Jernigan, Troy
12
227
947
0
740
1914
159.5
128
14.95
18
 Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon St.
12
1377
509
0
0
1886
157.17
329
5.73
19
 Toby Gerhart, Stanford
12
1736
149
0
0
1885
157.08
321
5.87
20
 Dwayne Harris, East Carolina
13
149
914
7
932
2002
154
145
13.81
21
 Chris Owusu, Stanford
12
72
665
0
1106
1843
153.58
80
23.04
22
 Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh
12
1640
190
0
0
1830
152.5
321
5.7
23
 Jordan Todman, Connecticut
12
1152
184
0
476
1812
151
265
6.84
24
 Derrick Locke, Kentucky
11
843
254
0
563
1660
150.91
221
7.51
26
 Randall Cobb, Kentucky
11
537
427
310
345
1619
147.18
157
10.31
28
 Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green
12
75
1551
115
0
1741
145.08
171
10.18
30
 Titus Young, Boise St.
13
122
969
0
779
1870
143.85
111
16.85
31
 Mark Ingram, Alabama
13
1542
322
0
0
1864
143.38
279
6.68

The Music City Bowl has three of the top All Purpose players in the NCAA. Clemson's Spiller ranks #4 avg 192.92 ypg (2508 total) while Kentucky has #24 Derrick Locke and #26 Randall Cobb who together average nearly 300 ypg!

TOTAL TACKLES
Rank Player, Team
GM
 Solo
Ast
Total
TPG
2
Luke Kuechly, Boston College
12
81
61
142
11.83
3
Greg Jones, Michigan St.
12
62
79
141
11.75
4
Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut
12
76
60
136
11.33
5
Pat Angerer, Iowa
12
41
94
135
11.25
6
Brian Hendricks, Wyoming
10
41
69
110
11
9
Chris Prosinski, Wyoming
12
67
63
130
10.83
11
Jesse Smith, Iowa St.
12
66
62
128
10.67
12
Noah Keller, Ohio
13
60
78
138
10.62
13
Chase Kennemer, SMU
12
76
50
126
10.5
14
Marcus McGraw, Houston
13
69
64
133
10.23
15
Rennie Curran, Georgia
12
64
58
122
10.17
18
Gabe Knapton, Wyoming
12
36
81
117
9.75
20
C.J. Cavness, Houston
13
56
70
126
9.69
25
Korey Williams, Southern Miss.
12
43
69
112
9.33
25
Lee Campbell, Minnesota
12
65
47
112
9.33
25
Rico McCoy, Tennessee
12
69
43
112
9.33
30
Josh Hull, Penn St.
12
40
70
110
9.17
31
Shiloh Keo, Idaho
12
70
39
109
9.08
33
Nick Bellore, Central Mich.
13
62
56
118
9.08
36
Ronnie Thornton, Southern Miss.
12
42
65
107
8.92
39
Sean Lee, Penn St.
9
43
37
80
8.89
40
Mario Harvey, Marshall
12
40
65
105
8.75
40
Mike Mohamed, California
12
64
41
105
8.75
44
Cam Robinson, Middle Tenn.
12
52
52
104
8.67
44
Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
12
70
34
104
8.67
46
Kelvin Sheppard, LSU
12
47
56
103
8.58
48
Andre Revels, Cincinnati
12
41
61
102
8.5
53
Weston Johnson, Wyoming
12
43
58
101
8.42
57
Navorro Bowman, Penn St.
10
45
39
84
8.4
58
Micah Johnson, Kentucky
12
46
54
100
8.33
58
Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
12
55
45
100
8.33
61
Taylor Mays, USC
11
46
45
91
8.27
61
Greg Lloyd, Connecticut
11
53
38
91
8.27
63
Cody Grimm, Virginia Tech
12
44
55
99
8.25
63
Cory Hogue, UCF
12
56
43
99
8.25
63
Daryl Washington, TCU
12
61
38
99
8.25
68
Kion Wilson, South Fla.
12
40
58
98
8.17
68
Vincent Rey, Duke
12
44
54
98
8.17
73
Lee Renfro, Ohio
13
43
62
105
8.08

While Wyoming has been discussed in the past couple of bowl blogs as having some of the worst stats of any bowl team, they do feature three of the top 20tacklers in the NCAA led by Brian Hendricks who ranks #6 in the NCAA avg 11 tackles per game (110 total)

SMU's Chase Kennemer who ranks #13 in the NCAA avg 10.5 tpg (126 total) will have plenty of opportunites in the Hawaii Bowl to add to his total as the Mustangs face the nation's top rated rush offense in Nevada.

TACKLES FOR LOSS
Rank Player
Total
PG
Solo
Ast
Yds
3
 Brian Price, UCLA
22.5
1.88
21
3
94
3
 O’Brien Schofield, Wisconsin
22.5
1.88
20
5
116
5
 Von Miller, Texas A&M
21
1.75
20
2
125
6
 Chris McCoy, Middle Tenn.
20.5
1.71
19
3
75
7
 Justin Houston, Georgia
15
1.67
11
8
59
8
 Dontay Moch, Nevada
19.5
1.63
17
5
92
9
 Robert Quinn, North Carolina
19
1.58
17
4
120
10
 Navorro Bowman, Penn St.
15.5
1.55
14
3
55
11
 Aldon Smith, Missouri
18.5
1.54
18
1
122
14
 Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
19.5
1.5
16
7
92
14
 Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
18
1.5
15
6
91
14
 Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma
18
1.5
14
8
95
17
 Brandon Sharpe, Texas Tech
16
1.45
15
2
106
18
 Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech
18
1.38
16
4
96
19
 Bruce Miller, UCF
16.5
1.38
13
7
122
23
 Antonio Coleman, Auburn
15.5
1.29
11
9
68
28
 Ryan Winterswyk, Boise St.
16.5
1.27
13
7
67
29
 Ernest (Mick) Williams, Pittsburgh
15
1.25
13
4
62
29
 Jerry Hughes, TCU
15
1.25
11
8
76
31
 Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
14.5
1.21
14
1
45
31
 Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
14.5
1.21
13
3
66
31
 Tom Keiser, Stanford
14.5
1.21
12
5
83
31
 Jason Pierre-Paul, South Fla.
14.5
1.21
12
5
47

The Independence Bowl features two of the top players. Texas A&M has Von Miller who ranks #5 in the NCAA with 21 TFL's and Georgia has Justin Houston who ranks #7 avg 1.67 TFL's per game.

Both North Carolina and Pittsburgh are aggressive defensively and they have two of the top players here in NC's Robert Quinn and Pitt's Mick Williams which should give both offenses in the Car Care Bowl problems.

SACK LEADERS
Rank Player, Team
Solo
Asst
Total
Sk/gm
Yds
1
 Von Miller, Texas A&M
16
2
17
1.42
115
2
 Brandon Sharpe, Texas Tech
14
2
15
1.36
104
5
 Bruce Miller, UCF
10
4
12
1
114
6
 Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech
12
1
12.5
0.96
81
7
 Lindsey Witten, Connecticut
11
1
11.5
0.96
66
7
 Jerry Hughes, TCU
10
3
11.5
0.96
72
9
 Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
10
4
12
0.92
77
10
 Aldon Smith, Missouri
11
0
11
0.92
95
10
 Robert Quinn, North Carolina
11
0
11
0.92
94
10
 Jarvis Geathers, UCF
10
2
11
0.92
72
10
 Adrian Robinson, Temple
10
2
11
0.92
57
15
 Ricky Elmore, Arizona
10
1
10.5
0.88
62

The Holiday Bowl which has a history of being one of the top scoring bowl games will feature some great defensive players. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh had 12 sacks this year while Arizona's Ricky Elmore had 10.5. The Holiday probably will not be the high scoring matchup it usually is.

PASSES DEFENDED
Rank Player, Team
PBU
Int
Total
PG
1
 Perrish Cox, Oklahoma St.
15
4
19
1.73
2
 Brian Logan, BYU
14
3
17
1.42
3
 Earl Thomas, Texas
10
8
18
1.38
4
 Rahim Moore, UCLA
7
9
16
1.33
4
 Brandon Harris, Miami (FL)
14
2
16
1.33
6
 Mark Barron, Alabama
10
7
17
1.31
6
 Marquis Johnson, Alabama
16
1
17
1.31
8
 Patrick Peterson, LSU
13
2
15
1.25
11
 Prince Amukamara, Nebraska
11
5
16
1.23
11
 Brandon Brinkley, Houston
12
4
16
1.23
14
 Sherrick McManis, Northwestern
7
4
11
1.22
15
 Emanuel Davis, East Carolina
11
2
13
1.18
16
 Josh Robinson, UCF
8
6
14
1.17
16
 Deunta Williams, North Carolina
8
6
14
1.17
16
 Trevin Wade, Arizona
9
5
14
1.17
16
 Bryan Willis, Troy
10
4
14
1.17
16
 Josh Gordy, Central Mich.
11
3
14
1.17
16
 Jamar Wall, Texas Tech
13
1
14
1.17
24
 Shaun Prater, Iowa
8
2
10
1.11
25
 Sterling Moore, SMU
10
1
11
1.1
26
 Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt
8
4
12
1.09

The BCS Championship again has a great matchup that features two of the best secondaries in the country. Texas' Earl Thomas is #3 in the NCAA with 18 passes defended this year while Alabama's Mark Barron and Marquis Johnson combined for 34 passes defended.

PUNTERS
Rank Player, Team
Punt
Yds
Avg
1
 Drew Butler, Georgia
50
2442
48.84
2
 Matt Dodge, East Carolina
62
2838
45.77
4
 Tress Way, Oklahoma
57
2591
45.46
6
 Scott Kozlowski, West Virginia
61
2733
44.8
9
 Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma St.
59
2621
44.42
12
 Jeff Locke, UCLA
62
2728
44
13
 Brent Bowden, Virginia Tech
54
2370
43.89
17
 Tyler Campbell, Mississippi
38
1655
43.55
18
 Austin McCoy, Wyoming
77
3351
43.52
19
 Kyle Delahooke, Navy
45
1958
43.51
20
 Jeremy Boone, Penn St.
46
2001
43.5
23
 Sean Sellwood, Utah
64
2760
43.13
24
 Desi Cullen, Connecticut
57
2457
43.11
26
 Brandon Geyer, Air Force
48
2065
43.02
29
 Bryan Anger, California
61
2609
42.77
31
 Jake Harry IV, Missouri
57
2436
42.74
32
 Matt Bosher, Miami (FL)
45
1923
42.73
34
 Teddy Dellaganna, Rutgers
64
2715
42.42
35
 Brad Nortman, Wisconsin
44
1861
42.3
39
 P.J. Fitzgerald, Alabama
51
2146
42.08
40
 Chad Cunningham, Tennessee
49
2057
41.98
41
 Blake Haudan, Minnesota
57
2391
41.95
43
 Spencer Lanning, South Carolina
62
2594
41.84
44
 Ryan Quigley, Boston College
72
3006
41.75
45
 Matt Szymanski, SMU
67
2795
41.72
46
 Alex Henery, Nebraska
73
3045
41.71
47
 Keenyn Crier, Arizona
48
1989
41.44
50
 Aaron Bates, Michigan St.
59
2440
41.36
51
 Anthony Santella, Illinois
63
2600
41.27
52
 Ryan Donahue, Iowa
57
2352
41.26
53
 Johnny Hekker, Oregon St.
47
1939
41.26
54
 Will Goggans, Troy
54
2212
40.96
56
 Delbert Alvarado, South Fla.
53
2167
40.89
57
 Matt Rinehart, Kent St.
74
3025
40.88
58
 Clinton Durst, Auburn
58
2359
40.67
59
 Mike Brandtner, Iowa St.
61
2481
40.67
60
 Ryan Tydlacka, Kentucky
60
2440
40.67
61
 Ryan Erxleben, Texas Tech
41
1667
40.66

East Carolina's Matt Dodge who ranks #2 in the NCAA avg 45.77 per punt may be counted on in the Liberty Bowl to pin back the high-powered Arkansas offense.

The Cotton Bowl features two of the top punters in the country in Oklahoma St's Quinn Sharp who avg 44.42 per punt and Ole Miss's Tyler Campbell who avg 43.55 per punt.

Again don’t forget to join my “Bowl Confidence Contest”that has great cash prizes!! Check out the homepage for more details. Picks are due by Saturday December 19th at 4:30 pm EST.