Bowl Games 2012-2013: Players Poised to Have Big Performances This Postseason

In the bowl season, unknown players become famous, and good players become great with big performances.

This year, a few combinations of talented stars facing poor defenses could lead to some huge days.

While there will be a bunch of noteworthy games, the men in this group are the most likely to explode offensively in their bowl games.

Stefphon Jefferson, RB, Nevada

The very first bowl game of the year will feature two of the best running backs in the country who no one knows about.

Stefphon Jefferson of Nevada and Ka'Deem Carey of Arizona will face off in the Gildon New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 15.

Both running backs topped 1,700 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns this season, and they are the major reason their team reached this stage.

However, Arizona has one of the worst defenses in the nation, allowing 486 total yards per game. 

Jefferson could end up rushing for over 200 yards in a winning effort for Nevada.

Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse

If you are a quarterback in college football, nothing could make you happier than seeing West Virginia on the schedule.

Ryan Nassib and Syracuse get a chance to take on the Mountaineers in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. 

The West Virginia defense has been torched by quarterbacks all season long. Overall, the team is ranked 116th in the nation with 38.1 points allowed. This was greatly improved in the last game against the offensively challenged Kansas.

Nassib is in the top 10 in the country in passing yards and topped 300 yards in six games. He should make it seven in the bowl game.

Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA

When Stanford shut down Johnathan Franklin on the last day of the regular season, the running back came back with one of his best showings in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

He rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort against one of the top defenses in the country.

In the next game, Franklin will get a chance to face one of the worst defenses. Baylor is one of two teams that allow over 500 total yards per game.

This combination could lead to an MVP performance in the Holiday Bowl.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

Kansas State had a solid defense throughout the year, but the last few games have shown that there are a few holes on that side of the ball.

Baylor rushed for 342 yards and five touchdown against the Wildcats, while Case McCoy tossed 314 passing yards for Texas.

Marcus Mariota can take advantage of both of these things. He was one of the more underrated players in the country as a freshman for one of the best scoring offenses in the nation.

The Hawaiian threw for 2,511 yards and rushed for 690 this year. If things go well, he might be able to overshadow teammate Kenjon Barner and opposing quarterback Collin Klein in the Fiesta Bowl

Bowl Schedule

Note: All times are ET and p.m. unless noted otherwise. All games (except for the Sun Bowl and Cotton Bowl) can be streamed live at WatchESPN. 

Bowl	Team 1	Team 2	Stadium: Location	Date: Time	TV
New Mexico	Nevada	Arizona	University Stadium: Albuquerque, NM	12/15: 1:00	ESPN
Famous Idaho Potato	Toledo	Utah State	Bronco Stadium: Boise, ID	12/15: 4:30	ESPN
Poinsettia	BYU	San Diego State	Qualcomm Stadium: San Diego, CA	12/20: 8:00	ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's	Ball State	UCF	Tropicana Field: St. Petersburg, FL	12/21: 7:30	ESPN
New Orleans	East Carolina	Louisiana-Lafayette	Superdome: New Orleans, LA	12/22: Noon	ESPN
Las Vegas	Boise State	Washington	Sam Boyd Stadium: Las Vegas, NV	12/22: 3:30	ESPN
Hawaii	SMU	Fresno State	Aloha Stadium: Honolulu, HI	12/24: 8:00	ESPN
Little Caesars	Central Michigan	Western Kentucky	Ford Field: Detroit, MI	12/26: 7:30	ESPN
Military	Bowling Green	San Jose State	RFK Stadium: Washington, DC	12/27: 3:00	ESPN
Belk	Duke	Cincinnati	Bank of America Stadium: Charlotte, NC	12/27: 6:30	ESPN
Holiday	Baylor	UCLA	Qualcomm Stadium: San Diego, CA	12/27: 9:45	ESPN
Independence	Lousiana-Monroe	Ohio	Independence Stadium: Shreveport, LA	12/28: 2:00	ESPN
Russell Athletic	Virginia Tech	Rutgers	Florida Citrus Bowl: Orlando, FL	12/28: 5:30	ESPN
Meineke Car Care	Minnesota	Texas Tech	Reliant Stadium: Houston, TX	12/28: 9:00	ESPN
Armed Forces	Rice	Air Force	Amon G. Carter Stadium: Fort Worth, TX	12/29: 11:45 a.m.	ESPN
Pinstripe	Syracuse	West Virginia	Yankee Stadium: Bronx, NY	12/29: 3:15	ESPN
Kraft	Navy	Arizona State	AT&T Park: San Francisco, CA	12/29: 4:00	ESPN2
Alamo	Texas	Oregon State	Alamodome: San Antonio, TX	12/29: 6:45	ESPN
Buffalo Wild Wings	TCU	Michigan State	Sun Devil Stadium: Tempe, AZ	12/29: 10:15	ESPN
Music City	NC State	Vanderbilt	LP Field: Nashville, TN	12/31: Noon	ESPN
Sun	Georgia Tech	USC	Sun Bowl: El Paso, TX	12/31: 2:00	CBS
Liberty	Tulsa	Iowa State	Liberty Bowl: Memphis, TN	12/31: 3:30	ESPN
Chick-fil-A	Clemson	LSU	Georgia Dome: Atlanta, GA	12/31: 7:30	ESPN
Gator	Northwestern	Mississippi State	Everbank Field: Jacksonville, FL	1/1: Noon	ESPN2
Heart of Dallas	Oklahoma State	Purdue	Cotton Bowl: Dallas, TX	1/1: Noon	ESPNU
Outback	Michigan	South Carolina	Raymond James Stadium: Tampa, FL	1/1: 1:00	ESPN
Capital One	Nebraska	Georgia	Florida Citrus Bowl: Orlando, FL	1/1: 1:00	ABC
Rose	Stanford	Wisconsin	Rose Bowl: Pasadena, CA	1/1: 5:00	ESPN
Orange	Northern Illinois	Florida State	Sun Life Stadium: Miami, FL	1/1: 8:30	ESPN
Sugar	Florida	Louisville	Superdome: New Orleans, LA	1/2: 8:30	ESPN
Fiesta	Oregon	Kansas State	U. of Phoenix Stadium: Glendale, AZ	1/3: 8:30	ESPN
Cotton	Oklahoma	Texas A&M	Cowboys Stadium: Arlington, TX	1/4: 8:00	FOX
Compass	Pittsburgh	Ole Miss	Legion Field: Birmingham, AL	1/5: 1:00	ESPN
GoDaddy.com	Kent State	Arkansas State	Ladd-Peebles Stadium: Mobile, AL	1/6: 9:00	ESPN
BCS National Championship	Notre Dame	Alabama	Sun Life Stadium: Miami, FL	1/7: 8:30	ESPN

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