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College Football

Superlatives from the 2015-16 SEC bowl season

Chris Wuensch

By Chris Wuensch

Published:

Save for the College Football Playoff championship game between Alabama and Clemson, the SEC’s bowl season is in the books.

Here’s a look at some superlatives from the conference’s 2015-16 bowl season:

BEST FINAL PERFORMANCE

Dak Prescott walked into the Starkville sunset this week, closing out his record-setting career with one last eye-popping performance, this time against N.C. State in the Belk Bowl. The Mississippi State quarterback threw for 380 yards and accrued 427 total yards, both Belk Bowl records. Prescott threw for four touchdowns, breaking the school’s record for scoring throws in a game and tying the Belk Bowl mark. When the dust settled on the Bulldogs’ 51-28 win, Prescott was just the fourth player in college football history with more than 9,000 yards passing and 2,500 yards rushing, joining Florida’s Tim Tebow, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick and Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan.

BEST BOWL BEATDOWN

This was the year of one-sided games, especially in the SEC, where the conference won a record eight bowl games — and did so by an average margin of 25.6 points. The biggest blowout of them all happened on the biggest stage with Alabama laying a 38-0 smackdown on Michigan State in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Tennessee all won by 20 point or more, but the Crimson Tide’s blanking of the Spartans was a thing of pure dominance and beauty.

HARDEST HEAD

Ben Kline is a bleeder, but only when he smashes his face into your helmet. The Penn State linebacker gets our hard-head award for his pregame speech prior to facing Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl. The Bulldogs dropped the Nittany Lions. Perhaps it’s because their linebacker played with a self-inflicted concussion.

BIGGEST BOWL DISAPPOINTMENT

Florida and Texas A&M are the only SEC teams to lose their bowl games. Neither loss is a total shock given the current state of the quarterback problems at both programs. But the biggest bowl disappointment has to go to the Gators, who lost 41-7 to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. Florida’s quarterback issues were well documented entering the game. The biggest disappointment in an afternoon full of them has to be the Gators defense, however, which allowed its most points on the season.

BEST FAMILY SUPPORT

Uncle Jim was among Chad Kelly’s biggest supporters during Ole Miss’ 48-20 romp over Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl. The Rebels’ quarterback clearly impressed his Hall of Fame uncle Jim Kelly against the Cowboys with 302 yards and four touchdowns in the one-sided victory.

BEST REDEMPTION

Leonard Fournette needed a big game after wilting down the stretch. The former Heisman hopeful had the big game he needed to close out a polarized 2015 season, rushing for 212 yards and 4 touchdowns against Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl. The sophomore also added 44 yards through the air (256 all-purpose yards) and a receiving touchdown as LSU rolled to a 56-27 win over the Red Raiders. Fournette finishes the year with 1,953 rushing yards, second-best in the SEC.

BEST “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL SEASON” PERFORMANCE

There’s been a Jeremy Johnson sighting. The Auburn quarterback made the most of his split time with Sean White, throwing for a touchdown on his only pass and scoring on a 5-yard run of his own to lead the Tigers passed Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl. Johnson came into the season as one of the most hyped-up players in the SEC, but struggled mightily, losing his job to White.

BEST/WORST SMACK TALK

Florida defensive back Jalen Tabor needs to work on his smack-talking skills. Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers summed up his Gator peer with a simple, yet effective, eye roll. Peppers and the Wolverines got the last word, winning the Citrus Bowl-matchup 41-7.

BIGGEST DRAFT STOCK CLIMBER

Alex Collins was a top trending item on Twitter during Arkansas’ matchup against Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl. And with good reason. Collins put the Razorbacks on his back and showed the nation that Derrick Henry and Leonard Fournette aren’t the only elite running backs in the SEC. The junior made a strong case for not returning to Fayetteville with 185 rushing yards, 259 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in the Hogs’ 45-23 win over the Wildcats.

Chris Wuensch

Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.

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