College football Pre-Christmas bowls: Players to watch

Ali finished second in Conference USA in rushing (only UTSA's Sincere McCormick gained more yards), capping off a great freshman season. He is capable of big games, such as his 203 yards and 3 TDs against Charlotte two weeks ago. That was his seventh multiple touchdown game of the season and his first 200-yard effort. His 20 touchdowns are tied for the national lead. The names he's tied with? Utah's Tavion Thomas, Michigan's Hassan Haskins, BYU's Tyler Allgeier, and Iowa State's Breece Hall.

Marshall faces Louisiana in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 18th. 

Allgeier is tied for the national lead in touchdown runs and had scored a TD in 11 of the Cougars' 12 games. He's a workhorse back that has a knack for putting up some huge games -- three games of at least 190 yards -- and has been stronger as the season has worn along. Seeing him against a typically stout defensive UAB squad.

BYU faces UAB in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl on December 18th.

If Matt Araiza was dominating any other position like he's crushing it as a punter, he'd be a household name. He currently has a 51.4 yards per punt average over the course of the season, and if can maintain that average in the Frisco Bowl he will set the FBS record. He was a shoo-in for the Ray Guy Award and is the kind of generational talent that may see some NFL team pick a punter higher than usual. Oh, he began his college career as a placekicker (he set the school record for made field goals as a freshman) and has been the Aztecs' kickoff specialist. Early this year, he kicked an 86-yard punt and an 81-yard punt in back-to-back games.

San Diego State faces UTSA in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl on December 21st.

Badie led the SEC in rushing (third nationally) and he's an old-school featured back. When Missouri's offense is cooking, Badie is eating well ... and he usually eats just fine even if the offense stalls. Take their season finale against Arkansas: he carried the ball 41 times for 219 yards in a 34-17 loss to the Razorbacks. That came off wins over South Carolina and Florida where he rushed for 209 and 146 yards, respectively. His effort against Arkansas was his fifth 200-yard game of the season.

Missouri faces Army in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on December 22nd. 

Oregon State is going to its first bowl since 2013 and Baylor is a big reason why. The fourth-year running back exploded for 1,259 yards and 13 touchdowns this season and became one of the top rushers in a loaded class of Pac-12 backs. Earlier in the season, he rushed for 100 yards in five of six games but has reached the century mark just once in the last five games. That one game was a dominant 150-yard effort against Arizona State.

Oregon State faces Utah State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on December 18th. 

Crum, the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, struggled in the MAC championship game against Northern Illinois. The senior completed just 11 of 21 passes for 128 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. That is coming off a stretch where he threw for over 300 yards in four games. He's also thrown two picks in each of his last two games after going 10 games without throwing any. Wyoming comes into this game just losing six of their last eight games and may be ripe for a big game by Crum.

Kent State faces Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 21st.

Haener has had a wild couple of weeks. Right after head coach Kalen DeBoer announced he was leaving Fresno State to take over at Washington, Haener (who ironically transferred to Fresno from Washington) put his name in the transfer portal. Last week, he took his name out of the portal and then apologized to the Bulldogs fans. So it seems he'll be ready to head Fresno State into the New Mexico Bowl. Haener threw for over 3,800 yards this year and 32 touchdowns.

Fresno State faces UTEP in the PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl on December 18th.

To say that Florida had a disappointing season is an understatement. I mean, we all knew they'd take a step back from their 2020 season but not one where they'd lose four out of five games (the only win was over Samford) and coach Dan Mullen would get fired. Emory Jones has taken a lot of heat for, well, not being Kyle Trask. He did have a big game against Samford -- throwing for 464 yards and 6 TDs, while rushing for 86 yards and another touchdown. Jones' issue is turning the ball over. He's thrown 13 picks this season, including three in their 24-21 win over rival Florida State in their finale. With a lot to be sorted out in Florida's future, look for the Gators to make an impression against UCF.

Florida faces UCF in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on December 23rd.

Koback has rushed for 100+ yards in each of the Rockets' last five games, rushed for at least two touchdowns in each of the last four games, and has scored three TDs in the last three games. He is a big-play threat (he's had at least on 40+ yard run in five of the last seven games) in the run game, but also has a 75-yard and 51-yard touchdown reception this year.

Toledo faces Middle Tennessee in the Bahamas Bowl on December 17th.

Rocky Lombardi is one of the great names in college football,  and if you've heard the name before, it is because he started nine games for Michigan State before transferring to Northern Illinois this year. With the Huskies, he's helped lead one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the nation -- NIU was 0-6 last season and are now MAC champions with a 9-4 mark. Lombardi didn't have the big game last week ... mainly because running back Jay Ducker ran all over Kent State in the MAC title game ... but will want to bounce back with a huge effort in Orlando to finish off one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football.

Northern Illinois faces Coastal Carolina in the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl on December 17th. 

Louisiana's recent success saw their head coach move on to the Florida Gators, but it is also a culmination of a senior-laden squad who has grown into one of the best G5 programs of late. One of those seniors is Chauncey Manac, who was third in the Sun Belt with 10.5 sacks. He's recorded at least one sack over his last four games, highlighted by his four sacks against Liberty on November 20th.

Louisiana faces Marshall in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 18th. 

Coastal Carolina may not have had the magical season as they did last year (though a 10-2 season is nothing to be sad about), but McCall followed up his outstanding freshman season with another fantastic year. He threw for 2,558 yards, 23 TDs, and 3 interceptions which was nearly identical to his 2020 stats. An interesting note is how he's been a bigger part of the run game over the last three weeks -- at least 12 carries and 53 yards in each of those games, including two touchdowns during that time.

Coastal Carolina faces Northern Illinois in the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl on December 17th

McCormick followed up his sensational sophomore season with an even better junior campaign. He rushed for 1,479 yards and 15 touchdowns as the Roadrunners barely missed completing a perfect season. UTSA still became Conference USA champs ... and McCormick has his best game of the season in the title tilt. He rushed for 204 yards and found the endzone three times in the 49-41 win over Western Kentucky.

UTSA faces San Diego State in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl on December 21st. 

Muasau is a do-everything linebacker. He leads the Rainbow Warriors in sacks (7) and tackles (107) while having four passes defended and had a 75-yard pick-six. He is first-team All-Mountain West for the second straight season. With quarterback Chevan Cordeiro and running back Dae Dae Hunter entering the transfer portal, Hawai'i will need a big defensive effort to beat Memphis.

Hawai'i faces Memphis in the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl on December 24th. 

Appalachian State has quite a two-headed monster at running back. Nate Noel, who leads the Sun Belt in rushing, is the workhorse and 1,000-yard rusher, but Peoples finds the endzone. Peoples leads the league in rushing touchdowns (14) but has only found the endzone twice in the last five games ... though one was against Louisiana in the Sun Belt championship game last week.

Appalachian State faces Western Kentucky in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl on December 18th.

North Texas needed a four-game winning streak to end the season to qualify for a bowl, and that stretch coincided with Ragsdale's emergence in the Mean Green offense. After spending much of the season getting a few carries, he has been one of the beneficiaries of North Texas' late-season devotion to running the football. He's carried the ball at least 15 times in three of the last four games, and he hit the 100-yard mark all three times. When ending UTSA's perfect season in the finale, Ragsdale rushed 20 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns -- all career highs. Only Army and Air Force (who employ run option offenses) have averaged more rushing yards per game than North Texas this season.

North Texas faces Miami-OH in the Frisco Football Classic on December 23rd.

Thompkins is the Mountain West's leading receiver this year, hauling in 96 catches for 1,589 yards ... which set an Aggies record. What he lacks in size (5'8, 155 pounds) he makes up for in big plays as his 122 yards per game is among the nation's best. He nearly transferred after head coach Gary Anderson was dismissed last season, but he stuck with the new coaching staff and has had a breakout season.

Utah State faces Oregon State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl on December 18th. 

What a turnaround by Old Dominion this year. After a dreadful 1-6 start to the season, the Monarchs reeled off five straight wins to become bowl eligible and will appear in the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl. Running back Blake Watson has been a catalyst for the turnaround, rushing for at least 100 yards in six of ODU's last seven games. He's had three 150+ yard games in that stretch and has scored six touchdowns during their winning streak.

Old Dominion faces Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl Presented by TaxAct on December 20th. 

Liberty heads to the LendingTree Bowl on a three-game losing skid and Willis' worst stretch of the season. During their losing streak, he's completed just 51% of his passes for 640 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions. He's also been averaging just 2.1 yards per carry ... though he did score two rushing touchdowns. Despite his late-season swoon, Willis will be one of the quarterbacks to know when the NFL Draft rolls around next spring. He's a great dual-threat quarterback with a very strong arm. Look for him to make a big splash in his final game as a Flame.

Liberty faces Eastern Michigan in the LendingTree Bowl on December 18th.

Zappe leads a high-octane Hilltopper offense into the Boca Raton Bowl. He leads the nation with 5,545 passing yards and 56 TD passes. He's thrown at least three touchdowns in each game this season and has thrown at least four TDs in each of WKU's last five games. The Hilltoppers had their seven-game winning streak snapped by UTSA in the Conference USA championship game, but Zappe still piled up a season-high 577 yards and four scores.

Western Kentucky faces Appalachian State in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl on December 18th.