Seven SEC teams won their bowl game by 20 or more points, so there is plenty of praise to pass along.
Let’s break it down by the best performances by each position group:
QUARTERBACKS: The SEC’s three best QBs played like it, but the nod here goes to Jake Coker, who had a career day on his biggest day. We expected Dak Prescott, Chad Kelly and Brandon Allen to put on a show — and all three did. Just about everybody questioned Coker’s ability to make enough throws to lead Alabama past defensive-stalwart Michigan State.
Coker responded with a near-perfect performance: 25-30, 286 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs.
Alabama could have beaten Michigan State with an average Coker, but for the first time, he showed he’s capable of carrying the Tide if called upon.
RUNNING BACKS: Leonard Fournette vs. Texas Tech was a statistical mismatch. Still, the sophomore ran for 212 yards and 4 TDs on just 29 carries. That’s an average of 7-plus yards.
Here’s the stat of the bowl season: Fournette’s rushing average was LSU’s fourth-best that day.
D.J. Chark (2 for 86, including the 79-yard TD run), QB Brandon Harris (3 for 41, including a 26-yard TD run) and Derrius Guice (4 for 39) all contributed on a variety of jet sweeps, zone reads and power dives.
Granted, Chark is a receiver and Harris is a QB, but they’re all key pieces in LSU’s run game with accounted for 384 yards and 7 TDs.
RECEIVERS: Tough call. Texas A&M’s Josh Reyonolds (11 catches, 177 yards) and Christian Kirk (10 catches, 84 yards) were spectacular, particularly considering they were catching passes from first-time starter Jake Hubenak. But the Aggies lost and just three other receivers caught balls.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, spread it around like a buffet during its win over Oklahoma State. Laquon Treadwell caught 3 TD passes. He completed a pass. He delivered a few more punishing blocks. Seven other Rebels caught passes for Chad Kelly. Evan Engram led the Rebels with 96 receiving yards. Cody Core added 91 and caught Kelly’s other touchdown pass.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Arkansas put its big, bad, o-line starters on the media guide cover for a reason. That group’s execution in the Liberty Bowl was a thing of big ugly beauty.
Twice, Alex Collins turned A-gap handoffs into untouched touchdowns. That doesn’t happen unless everybody on the line wins their matchup.
There goes that Collins kid again… https://t.co/xc5394l2jH
— Belle Es You (@SouthernbeLLSU) January 2, 2016
Overall, the line helped the Razorbacks run 40 times for 254 yards and 5 touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE LINE: How’s this for analysis?
A quick look at Alabama's defense in the first half: pic.twitter.com/1OA58J11d1
— CBS Sports College Football ? (@CBSSportsCFB) January 1, 2016
"You would've needed all the Avengers plus Batman to match up with Alabama yesterday." – @TMatich pic.twitter.com/OTNxRBqUZl
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) January 1, 2016
Alabama shut down Michigan State’s run game, passing game and posted the second-biggest blowout — 38 points (Tennessee beat Northwestern by 39) — among the eight SEC winners.
LINEBACKERS: Alabama’s group is good. You might have heard. But give Georgia some love, too, the way the Bulldogs handled 1,000-yard rusher Saquon Bailey, holding him to just 69 yards on 17 carries. Georgia’s linebackers carried the day for a unit playing without its defensive coordinator. It was LB Roquan Smith’s hit that knocked Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg out of the game early.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: A third defensive category that could easily go to Alabama after the Tide tortured NFL prospect Connor Cook — intercepting him twice and forcing him into a 19-for-39 performance in its mauling of Michigan State.
But we’re trying to spread the love a little bit and saluting two other groups.
Auburn’s back end benefitted from front-end pressure, but it was huge in limiting the other elite NFL QB prospect an SEC team faced to one of his worst career days. Memphis’ Paxton Lynch completed just 16 of 37 passes for a meager 108 yards. Sophomore Tray Mathews had Auburn’s interception.
Tennessee’s secondary picked off four Northwestern passes — Evan Berry returning the final one 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
