Best Head-to-Head Matchups to Watch for This Bowl Season
When the dust settled from the release of the inaugural College Football Playoff pairings on Sunday afternoon, sending the arguments over the much-hyped final four into hyper drive, the rest of college football’s postseason bowl pairings started leaking out.
We’ve been so focused on the College Football Playoff that it’s easy to forget that there’ll be a total of 38 bowl games this season, with a total of 76 teams getting the reward of postseason play. That leaves room for plenty of interesting matchups from the College Football Playoff level on down. Here’s a look at the top head-to-head matchups to keep an eye on this bowl season.
All stats were obtained from teams' individual team sites.
Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III vs. East Carolina WR Justin Hardy
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On the surface, the Birmingham Bowl looks like just another second-tier, forgettable game. A 6-5 Florida team that will be playing under interim leadership following Will Muschamp’s firing faces off with an 8-4 East Carolina team that limps in as a loser of three of its last five—including a stunning 32-30 Hail-Mary defeat to Central Florida in its regular-season finale.
That said, it has a pretty incredible individual matchup with East Carolina wide receiver Justin Hardy facing off against Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III. Hardy has excelled all season catching passes from quarterback Shane Carden, piling up 110 receptions for 1,334 yards (fifth-best nationally) and nine touchdowns.
Hargreaves has shown why he is considered one of the nation’s top cover corners this season. He has compiled 45 tackles with two interceptions and 13 pass breakups.
It hasn’t been perfect for Hargreaves: Alabama’s Amari Cooper torched him along with the rest of the Gators’ secondary en route to 201 yards and three touchdowns in the Crimson Tide’s 42-21 win on September 20.
Facing off with Hardy will be another chance for him to prove his worth in the state of Alabama.
Florida State WR Rashad Greene vs. Oregon CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
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One of the steadiest forces in Florida State’s tumultuous 13-0 season has been senior receiver Rashad Greene. The Seminoles’ career leader in receptions and receiving yards has consistently come up big when his team needs it. Saturday was no different, as Greene caught seven passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns in FSU’s 37-35 ACC Championship Game win over Georgia Tech.
Not that Greene worries about such things. He had his mind on team goals after setting the program's receiving yards record against Boston College, per Dustin Tackett of the Orlando Sentinel.
"It's one of those things that I don't really dwell on right now because I'm so focused on my teammates and this season and our goals. I feel like it will hit me after everything is over and done with. I was aware [how many yards I needed,] but that's nothing I go out there and strive for.
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On the season, Greene has 93 receptions for 1,306 yards and seven touchdowns—a handful for any cornerback to cover.
In the Rose Bowl, Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu will get his chance. Ekpre-Olomu is one of the nation’s top cover corners. On the season, he has 63 tackles with two interceptions and nine pass breakups, even though opposing quarterbacks tended to throw away from his side and avoid him. If he’s matched up on Greene, you can bet Jameis Winston won’t avoid him in Pasadena.
Georgia Tech QB Justin Thomas vs. Mississippi State LB Benardrick McKinney
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Georgia Tech authored one of the nation’s best turnaround stories this season. The Yellow Jackets went 10-3 and very nearly won the ACC Championship, seriously pushing Florida State in a 37-35 defeat. A huge factor in Tech’s turnaround has been the efficiency of its flexbone offense behind sophomore quarterback Justin Thomas, who is finishing up his first season as the starter. Thomas has thrown for 1,594 yards with 17 touchdowns against five interceptions and is also the Jackets’ leading rusher with 965 yards and five touchdowns.
Tech’s rushing offense averages 333.6 yards per game, which is third-best nationally. As Thomas goes, so does the offense, and it’ll be fascinating to see how it matches up against a Mississippi State defense that has had its moments this fall.
A flexbone quarterback vs. a team’s linebackers is always the crucial matchup, so it’ll be interesting to see how Mississippi State middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney handles Thomas. McKinney was MSU’s best defender this season. He has been a tough, active player who had a team-leading 61 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He’ll be in charge of knowing where Thomas is on every play, and if he loses him, State will lose its chances at the Orange Bowl.
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Ohio State DE Joey Bosa vs. Alabama OT Cam Robinson
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Ohio State forced its way into the inaugural College Football Playoff bracket with an impressive finish to the season, capped by a 59-0 Big Ten Championship shellacking of Wisconsin. The Buckeyes’ reward? A date with No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, prime Crimson Tide and SEC territory. It's a special game for Ohio State fans. As Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com notes, it's the only way for the power programs to get together.
To have any shot at pulling an upset, the Buckeyes will need to get pressure on Alabama quarterback Blake Sims. And much of that burden will fall to defensive end Joey Bosa. This fall, Bosa emerged as one of the best pass-rushers in college football. He was almost unstoppable, racking up 50 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.
The man who’ll likely be charged with slowing him down? Alabama freshman left tackle Cam Robinson. Robinson immediately stepped into an incredibly tough starting role as a true freshman and has been more than up to the task of protecting Sims’ blind side. Bosa will stand as one of his biggest tests. To throw deep passes to Amari Cooper, Sims must stay upright—and how well Robinson protects could determine how realistic that concept is.
TCU QB Trevone Boykin vs. Ole Miss CB Senquez Golson
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The Peach Bowl features two of the nation’s biggest surprises in TCU and Ole Miss. The Horned Frogs made a stunning rebound from 4-8 to win a share of the Big 12 title and fall just short of the College Football Playoff field at 11-1. Meanwhile, the Rebels emerged from SEC West mediocrity to finish 9-3.
The leader in TCU’s charge? Junior quarterback Trevone Boykin. He emerged as a star this fall, excelling in the Air Raid offense to throw for 3,714 yards with 30 touchdowns against seven interceptions while adding 642 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. The former receiver will try throwing all over an Ole Miss defense that has been very stingy, allowing a national-best 13.8 points per game.
Senior cornerback Senquez Golson proved himself as one of the nation’s top cover corners, making 41 tackles with nine interceptions and eight pass breakups.
The Rebels have a strong secondary that also includes senior safety Cody Prewitt, a returning All-American, but Boykin will be throwing against Golson all day long. Whoever gets the upper hand will have the upper hand on the Peach Bowl title, too.
Baylor LT Spencer Drango vs. Michigan State DE Shilique Calhoun
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Baylor and Michigan State’s offenses have put up plenty of fireworks this fall—particularly Baylor's offense. The Bears average 48.8 points per game—the nation's best—and quarterback Bryce Petty spreads the ball around to weapons like tailback Shock Linwood and wideouts Corey Coleman and KD Cannon.
But he needs time to work, which is where left tackle Spencer Drango comes in. Drango has made an impressive recovery from a back injury that prematurely ended his 2013 season. He was a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy, which is given to the nation’s top lineman, and has consistently protected Petty well.
He’ll have a big challenge in Michigan State junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun, a 6’5”, 256-pound force of nature. This fall, Calhoun has 37 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He’s more than capable of making Petty and Baylor miserable, so Drango must make sure that doesn’t happen in the Cotton Bowl.
Nebraska TB Ameer Abdullah vs. Southern California DE Leonard Williams
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The Holiday Bowl is a matchup of teams that began the season with high expectations and didn’t quite live up to them. Nebraska watched Bo Pelini lose his job following another 9-3 season, and Southern California surely had grander thoughts than 8-4 and San Diego for Steve Sarkisian’s debut as head coach.
That said, the game features plenty of talent on both sides. Nebraska senior tailback Ameer Abdullah is one of the nation’s top runners. Abdullah is capable of scoring on any play, and he piled up 1,523 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.
He’ll be looking for more in his final collegiate game, but Abdullah will have to contend with one of the nation’s scariest defenders in Southern California junior defensive end Leonard Williams. Williams has played all over the field, piling up 71 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. He is equally capable of sacking quarterbacks or pulling down a quick tailback like Abdullah, so their interactions will be fascinating to watch.
Wisconsin TB Melvin Gordon vs. Auburn LB Cassanova McKinzy
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Despite a middling effort (26 carries, 76 yards) in Wisconsin’s ugly 59-0 Big Ten Championship loss to Ohio State, there’s no denying the incredible season that Wisconsin junior tailback Melvin Gordon has put together. He has 2,336 rushing yards, 26 touchdowns and is a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Gordon has rushed for at least 122 yards in all but two games this season and has surpassed the 200-yard mark four times, including a 408-yard effort against Nebraska that stood as the FBS single-game rushing record for exactly one week before it was topped by Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine.
He’ll face off against an Auburn defense that was little better than it was last season when it served as the weak link in the Tigers’ amazing run to become the national runner-up. AU coach Gus Malzahn fired defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson.
Still, there are some bright spots on the roster, like junior linebacker Cassanova McKinzy. McKinzy piled up 82 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks this season. He’ll play a huge role in the Tigers’ Outback Bowl plan to stop (or at least slow) Wisconsin and Gordon. Will it succeed? Auburn’s hopes of ending a step-back 8-4 season with a big win ride on it.
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