On Saturday, December 20th, the 2014 College Football Bowl season kicked off, with five games on the docket. They were the New Orleans Bowl, New Mexico Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Potato Bowl, and the Camellia Bowl.
New Orleans Bowl
Nevada and Louisiana-Lafayette matched up in the New Orleans Bowl. Terrance Broadway led the Lousiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns to a 16-3 win. To open up the game, Broadway broke the NCAA Division I bowl game record of completions by connecting on his first 14 throws. He finished the game 26-of-31 for 227 yards, spreading the ball around to his top three players of the game. Elijah McGuire caught the ball 5 times for 54 yards, James Butler caught the ball 8 times for 53 yards, and Gabe Fuselier caught the ball 6 times for 50 yards.
The Ragin’ Cajuns started out the season 1-3, but went 7-1 in their final eight regular season games and finished the season 9-4 with the bowl win. Coach Mark Hudspet was extremely pleased with the teams play, and thought that they played a great game to close the season strong.
Cody Fajardo tried to lead Nevada to the win but he could not do it, and the game ended with him only having 124 yards passing and 49 yards rushing. However, with those numbers, he finished with another 2,000/1,000 yard season.
In the end, the game was about the defense of the Ragin’ Cajuns. Nevada had 200+ yards rushing in their previous five games, but they were held to just 89 yards on 28 carries (3.2 yards a carry). They simply could not get it together and the loss dropped them to 7-6 for the season.
Even though Broadway started the game on fire with the 14 competitions and had a great game, the game ball could have easily gone to McGuire. He ran the ball for 99 yards on 16 carries, and with the 5 catches for 54 yards, his presence was definitely felt.
New Mexico Bowl
Utah State matched up against UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl. Utah State may have been looking at Ohio State and saying, “3rd string? How about 5th?” as they were forced to put their fifth string quarterback in the game in a 21-6 win.
The game was ugly and this bowl could be proof-positive that there are way too many bowl games. However, let us give the teams and the players respect they deserve for a well-played season.
The Utah State Aggies had their aforementioned 5th-string QB on the field and it was a struggle. Kent Myers finished 5 of 12 for 68 yards. However, he did rush the ball 15 times for 70 yards. Meanwhile, UTEP’s QB Jameill Showers struggled as well, going 13-of-24 for 126 yards. Showers also rushed the ball 10 times, but he only ended up with 23 yards rushing.
Aaron Jones tried to lead his team to the win but his efforts were not enough. The UTEP Miners handed him the ball 25 times and he gained 88 yards but he was kept out of the end zone. For the year, he ended up with 1,233 yards and he may be a junior to keep an eye on next year.
The spotlight, as always, falls on the best player of the game, and for a change, it was a defensive player earning that honor from this game: Linebacker Zach Vigil.
The Aggies have one of the top-ranked defenses in the nation, led by the Vigil linebacking brothers, Zach and Nick, who have combined for 551 career tackles to rank first at the FBS level among active brothers. Behind their efforts, the Aggies held UTEP to 149 rushing yards and no touchdowns. Nick also had 8 carries on the offensive side of the ball for 34 yards and 1 TD.
Las Vegas Bowl
Travis Wilson and Devontae Booker led Utah over Colorado State in the Las Vegas Bowl. This bowl game may have been over before it started, as Utah rolled passed Colorado State and beat them by 35 points. The Utes scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and quarterback Wilson was the reason behind their early success.
Wilson was 17-of-26 for 158 yards passing with 1 TD. He also ran the ball for 11 times with 91 yards and 3 TDs, earning a deserved MVP trophy. However, he also had significant help from his running back Booker, who carried the ball 26 times for 162 yards and 1 TD. In addition to his rushing, Wilson completed 4 passes to him for 24 yards. They were a fantastic duo and were the reason for Utah’s win. Utah finished with 548 total yards, including 359 on the ground. Even though Troy McCormick only carried the ball five times, he had 86 yards.
The Colorado State Rams’ QB/WR combination of Garrett Grayson and Rashard Higgins tried to give their team the spark needed to compete, but their performance was not enough. Grayson was 20-of-34 for 227 yards, with no TDs. His favorite target was Higgins, who had 7 catches for 110 yards. The lack of a running game was the Rams downfall. For the game, they ran the ball for 19 times for only 12 yards (0.6 yards a carry).
Utah finished the season 9-4 and will look forward to next year with Wilson coming back.
Potato Bowl
Western Michigan faced Air Force in the Potato Bowl, and were evenly matched in the total yards category: Air Force did it on the ground, while Western Michigan did it through the air. In the end, however, the running game led Air Force to a 34-24 victory. The Falcons ran the ball 64 times for 284 yards, and were led by three rushers. Even though neither one of the three backs had a particularly great game, their combination enabled Air Force to wear down the Western Michigan defense.
Here are the backs:
D.J. Johnson: 20 carries for 83 yards and 1 TD
Kale Pearson: 14 carries for 41 yards
Shane Davern: 12 carries for 101 yards and 2 TDs
Zach Terrell played an excellent game and tried to propel Western Michigan to the win but ultimately fell short.
Terrell was 19-of-38 for 297 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTS. In addition to the passing, he ran the ball 11 times for 61 yards. His favorite target was Corey Davis, who caught the ball 8 times for 176 yards and caught all three of Terrell’s touchdown passes.
Air Force loves running the ball and their running game was the reason that they finished with a 10-win season.
Camellia Bowl
In its inaugural season, the Camellia Bowl featured Bowling Green and South Alabama in a close competition. James Knapke and Roger Lewis led Bowling Green (8-6) to the 33-28 win over South Alabama (6-7). The highlight of this game was watching the Jaguars of South Alabama celebrate their first bowl game ever. However, many did not see it live, with just 20,256 in attendance. Though the question of why this bowl game was added to the schedule could have been asked, the simple answer was to see how these players’ love for football and how this game gave so many seniors the opportunity to suit up one last time.
Knapke finished the game with 368 yards passing on 25-of-39 passing for Bowling Green. He had two receivers who eclipsed the 100-yard receiving plateau: Roger Lewis led the team with 137 yards on 4 catches with 2 TDs including the game-winning catch, while Gehrig Dieter had 108 yards on 7 catches. Knapke has a story to tell his family as he grows older, and it may be a story that many may not believe – he did not begin the season as the starter, and only took over the starting job when Matt Johnson broke his hip in the opener. Ultimately, he was the one who led the Falcons to their first bowl win since 2004. The Falcons came in with question marks on the heels of a three-game losing streak. In the end, Knapke left with the MVP award, an award named after Bart Starr. He will now be able to proudly display the trophy and show off his name right below one of the best QBs to ever play the game.
South Alabama must be given credit. They are a new team (this was their 6th year of football) and have already made it to their first bowl game. A promising future lies ahead.
Kendall Houston was the star of the game for the Jaguars. Though he only had 5 rushes for the game, he amassed 53 yards and a TD. Even though his team was on the losing end, Houston ended 2014 on a high note, finishing with a career 2,129 yards on 480 carries and 21 TDs.
(Feature image: MDN/KADN Fox 15)