Rise to Greatness: BCS Stars Ready To Break Out

There's always the big names, those buzz-commanding college football players who get invites to New York and have their B-rolled exploits on ESPN promos. Luck, Shoelace, a Honey Badger who brings huge hits—these are the ones the nation knows, the ones who will get mobbed by reporters during BCS media days and be the subject of fans' signs, adoration and autograph desires.  

They'll move onto the NFL and people will argue whether or not a team should "suck" for them. They'll command more and more buzz than seems possible (Denard Robinson) and play their way into CFB lore. They'll become a national name as an underclassman and a hero to their program (Tyrann Mathieu). This is what they do, what it seems they were born to do. 

But they can't win games alone. As amazing as Andrew Luck is, he can't play 21 other positions, too. He needs help. They all need help, especially with upcoming BCS bowl games. Each of the 10 teams playing have stars, the types who get plastered on game programs and mobbed at the student union. But there's others who have yet to be canonized, who have the ability to break out on the biggest stage of their young lives.

Here they are, bowl-by-bowl, team-by-team. 

Sugar Bowl: Fitzgerald Toussaint, Michigan

Here's how the hype machine will portray the Wolverines pre-Sugar Bowl:

A) Denard Robinson

B) Brady Hoke 

C) Everyone else

Bet on it. Mr. Untied Shoelaces and the rookie coach winning with Rich Rod's players—those are the two names who resonate outside Ann Arbor, and as such, will be the two names getting the ESPN/FOX/blog/Bleacher love. 

But Michigan doesn't get there without the dynamic rusher pictured. While Denard was dazzling enough with his feet to make you forget about his suspect arm, his backfield mate was work-horsing Michigan to its January 3 reunion with national relevancy. 

Down the stretch, Toussaint rumbled for 192 yards against Illinois, 138 against Nebraska and 120 against the Buckeyes, giving the redshirt sophomore more than 1,000 on the year. 

Sugar Bowl: Antone Exum, Virginia Tech

What's the first thing you do when looking up a player for a slider like this? Google them, of course. So, I did, and the landscape looked like a post-recession strip mall: bare, outdated, nothing new or fresh or buzzy.

The first article about this dynamic safety: a sourced-out Washington Times pregame advance from September. The next? A WaPost blog from January of last year's notebook dumping how he got busted as a freshman for breaking curfew. High school kids command more ink and bandwidth.

And that's why it's Exum's time. The safety amassed 85 tackles (4.5 for loss). He broke up 10 passes and defended another 11, and put money down he'll be eager to go after Shoelace and atone for the Hokies' ugly last game. 

Orange Bowl: Sammy Watkins, Clemson

Do you know who Watkins is? If you're a Clemson fan, you do. If you live in South Carolina or ACC country or cheer for one of the Tigers' opponents, you probably know enough about No. 2 to know you don't ever want to line up against him. 

Seventy-seven receptions, 1,153 yards, 11 TDs...as a freshman. Impressive, of course, but it would all be the appetizer if he can go off January 4 against the Mountaineers. 

Orange Bowl: Bruce Irvin, West Virginia

Irvin's got a heck of a backstory, one that will play well in a pregame TV profile complete with dramatic classical music and softly spoken reporters' words in a voice-over. High school dropout to college standout? We love stuff like that as a country—eat it up. 

And Irvin can chow down on defenses...when he's healthy. He'll play on Sundays if that's the case. He has 7.5 sacks this year, but has been sidelined in three games for injuries and overshadowed at times by teammate Julian Miller. 

Fiesta Bowl: Coby Fleener, Stanford

You've probably heard of Stanford's quarterback, as he tends to command a tad bit of airtime on sports TV and radio. The Stanford Andrew Lucks—that's what they've been for a couple years now, and still will be as the eyes of America flip on their televisions to watch the for-sure No. 1 pick in the NFL draft play his last college game. 

Even though Luck eschews it, he deserves the hype. But as he'll do in his aw-shucks manner, he'll credit teammates like Fleener—because you don't have to be one the best NFL prospects in years to appreciate a 6'8" tight end who's caught 10 touchdown passes and tallied 648 yards. 

Fiesta Bowl: Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State

Stillwater's swooning these days, enjoying a massive, celebratory, Mike Gundy-getting-down hootenanny that has to make T-Boone happy he spent the GDP of a small country hooking that athletic department up.

And of course, it's all because of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, right? The older-than-me-and-most-of-you quarterback tossing darts to an all-everything wideout—well that's of course why Cowboys are he-hawing it to Glendale, right? 

They're a huge, huge reason why, but not the only one. While everyone's been obsessing about Weeden-to-Blackmon, Randle has 1,193 yards rushing. The best season in years for the Cowboys wasn't all due to an aerial attack. 

Rose Bowl: James Abberderis, Wisconsin

What a story here from Abberderis: Walk-on to standout—the best kind. There's always a couple players each year who dazzle us with tales of sauntering in and showing they can complete with the scholarship boys. Love it—know you do, too. 

So while his ballyhooed teammates, Russell Wilson and Monte Ball, grab all the hype this redshirt sophomore wideout has 51 catches for 814 and seven TDs, and is a dynamic punt returner. 

Rose Bowl: De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon

Oh, this is a name you'll hear more and more about as the years go on. He's a prototypical SoCal recruit—speed, speed, speed—but speedier. That's why USC was locked on him, before the F-16 agile-running back threw out a flare and evaded his way up to the Pacific Northwest at the last minute. 

But outside the rabid fandoms of Portland and Eugene and Salem, he's not yet a star. Right now, the nation has three topics about Oregon on the top of its head: fast offense, crazy jerseys, Nike. That's it. Welcome to Oregon; it's not LA. 

Facetiousness aside (because LaMichael James is a legit star), Thomas is a freshman with not only an amazing upside, but potential to come up big in the Rose Bowl. He's got 14 TDs and is a dynamic rusher and receiver. 

BCS Title Game: Sam Montgomery, LSU

Honey Badger, Honey Badger, Honey Badger...it's a nickname so awesome it scares compliance officials and opposing wideouts alike. Tyrann Mathieu is a household name outside the Bayou now, a Heisman-contending star whose stock looks to only keep rising before parlaying it into a first-round draft selection—viral-video-derived sobriquet or not. 

But he'll need help, especially if Round 2 of this matchup is anywhere nearly as defensive-dependent as the first tilt. And that's where Montgomery comes in: nine sacks and 13 tackles for losses on the season. He's a D-line devastator, especially against the Tide, against whom he picked up two of those sacks. 

BCS Title Game: Jeremy Shelley, Alabama

Seriously, a kicker? Or course, because while he's not a Honey Badger or another one of the seemingly endless NFL prospects who will take the field on January 9, this game could very well come down to his leg and his ability to make it accurately launch a football. 

Hey, it did last last time. 

There's so much talent on both these rosters, they nearly cancel each other out. While both schools have the sheer size and speed to blow past lesser opponents, it just doesn't seem plausible here. This is like twin brothers fighting. 

And this junior kicker could help give Alabama the knockout punch it lacked last time around.