Bowl season always delivers. Whether you are gathered with family and friends for a major matchup, losing your mind in the middle of the work day over a Sun Belt/MAC matchup or fighting drowsiness on a couch induced by a sugar crash, having many options of postseason play is perfect for the holiday season. Now that it’s over, it’s time to look back at the furious couple of weeks that was to decide who had the best performances.
Note: I am not including the College Football Playoff semifinals and national championship. I did so last year but after consideration they are completely separate from the bowl games to me. Their heightened status would give any performance in those games an unfair boost. So, sorry to Michael Penix Jr., Michigan’s defense, etc.
Best Rushing Performance: Ohio RB Rickey Hunt
17 carries, 115 yards, 4 TDs in Myrtle Beach Bowl
The Ohio Bobcats had an uphill battle as they faced Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Most of their offense was out, including their quarterback and running back. In fact, their second-string running back was also unavailable for the game. In stepped freshman Rickey
Hunt, who had only recorded six carries for 19 yards on the season. He proceeded to score a program single-game record five touchdowns — including an 18-yard touchdown catch — while displaying shifty feet and tackle-breaking ability on goal line carries and some juice on a 40-yard touchdown run. He was the game’s MVP in a 41-21 romp that helped Ohio finish the season with a 10-3 record. That marks back-to-back 10-win seasons and only the fourth in program history.
Best Receiving Performance: Oklahoma State WRs Rashod Owens and Brennan Presley
Owens: 10 catches, 164 yards, 2 TDs; Presley: 16 catches, 152 yards in TaxAct Texas Bowl
Kansas wide receivers Luke Grimm (four catches, 160 yards, three touchdowns) and Lawrence Arnold (six catches, 132 yards, three touchdowns) seemed like the clear runaways with this category. Then along came Rashod Owens and Brennan Presley in Oklahoma State’s 31-23 win over Texas A&M in the TaxAct Texas Bowl. Was this a case of simply force-feeding these two players for stats? After all, Leon Johnson III was a distant third behind Owens and Presley (though his four receptions for 86 yards was nothing to sneeze at).
Nope. Star running back Ollie Gordon II had comparable stats to other games he has had this season (27 carries, 118 yards, one touchdown). It was just a day of setting records for the duo. Owens set the Texas Bowl receiving yards record, and Presley tied the program record for catches in a single game after nearly tying the record earlier in the season. The biggest takeaway of all is that both receivers have committed to returning for another season with the Cowboys. In fact, all 11 starters are returning for next season. Excuse me as I look to place a few dollars on Oklahoma State to win the Big 12 next season.
Best Passing Performance: USC QB Miller Moss
23 of 33, 372 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT in DIRECTV Holiday Bowl
With the expected news of Caleb Williams opting out of the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl and the not-so-expected news of Malachi Nelson entering the transfer portal, that left the USC Trojans with third-stringer Miller Moss to face No. 15 Louisville. He’d first seen action in a 2021 late season game against California. It was an uninspiring 24-14 loss where Moss did throw a touchdown but looked nothing special. Over 2022 and 2023, he got mop up duty and was 23 of 32 for 309 yards and a touchdown over three games this season. But no one could have been ready for him to shred the Cardinals’ defense. He was avoiding pressure before chucking bombs and throwing dimes, and the former four-star prospect looked amazing. He did throw an interception, but otherwise he had the most impressive game by a quarterback considering the circumstances. Is he the future for the Trojans? Who’s to say? But he at least took this one opportunity and owned it.
Best Offensive Performance: Virginia Tech QB Kyron Drones
13 of 21, 91 yards, 2 TDs; 20 carries, 176 yards, 1 TD in Military Bowl
The Military Bowl was a cold, windy and wet affair. On first glance, it would appear that weather would hamper an offense. But when the offense can run through one man, it doesn’t matter. Kyron Drones, who replaced starter Grant Wells during the season and helped turn the team’s fortunes around, led Virginia Tech to a 41-20 win over Tulane.
The game did have a horrible start as Drones dropped back then proceeded to just drop the slippery pig skin, and Tulane scooped it up and ran it for a touchdown. But from there, he settled in and took over. He had runs where he showed his power, his speed and sometimes both. Through the air, he made some trick shot passes on the run or while getting hammered by a defender. He even caught a tipped pass. The former Baylor Bear looks to be firmly entrenched as QB1 for the Hokies and will make this team fun to watch next season.
Best Defensive Performance: Louisiana LB K.C. Ossai
18 total tackles, 11 solo tackles, 2.5 TFL
Despite Louisiana’s 34-31 loss to Jacksonville State in overtime, linebacker K.C. Ossai played his heart out in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The brother of Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai, K.C. was all over the field for the Ragin’ Cajuns defense. He set season highs for total tackles, solo tackles and tackles for loss and finished the year as the team’s leading tackler. He’ll return next season as one of the more underrated linebackers in the country.
Best Performance in a Loss: Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins
9 catches, 214 yards, 1 TD in AutoZone Liberty Bowl
In a rematch of the 2017 AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Iowa State won 21-20), Memphis prevailed in 2023 by a score of 36-26. But Jayden Higgins gave the Tigers all they could handle. He scored the first Cyclones touchdown of the game from 29 yards out and quickly became the top target on the day. Higgins fell one catch short of tying the Liberty Bowl record for receptions (held by former Cyclone Allen Lazard among others) and was just off from breaking Jameon Lewis’ record of 220 receiving yards.
Best Sickos Game: Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl — Appalachian State 13, Miami (OH) 9
Just look at this weather:
I enjoyed watching whatever I could of this game, seeing as visibility of the field was limited. It brought me back to the days of playing touch football in the slog and muck and not caring about getting my clothes dirty.
Best Send-Off: Craig Bohl Rides Off Into the Sunset
John Hoyland’s 24-yard field goal as time expired lifted Wyoming to a 16-15 win over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl to send head coach Craig Bohl into retirement as a winner. He went out in a game fitting for the gritty winning teams he has developed over a career that saw him win three FCS titles with North Dakota State and turn Wyoming into an absolute pain for anyone to play. The Cowboys ground out 170 yards on 41 carries and held the Rockets to 328 total yards (well under their 419.1 yards per game average). He finished with a 17-3 record in the postseason and a 165-92 head coaching record (FCS and FBS combined).
Best Play: A Kicker Touchdown (!)
Kanon Woodill had a moment of glory for the Northern Illinois Huskies and kickers everywhere in a 21-19 win over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl.
Woodill was absolutely shot out of a cannon on that catch-and-run (box scores list it as a receiving touchdown), but it also might have taken a bit out of him. He would end up missing two short field goal attempts (36 and 23 yards) later in the game. But hey, his team won, so the touchdown was not in vain.
Best Game: Western Kentucky’s Comeback Toasts Old Dominion in Famous Toastery Bowl
I will not lie, I turned off the Famous Toastery Bowl and did not check back on it until it was too late.
It was all keyed by Caden Veltkamp, who came into the game with six college passes. The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Veltkamp was told he would be converted to a tight end if he returned to the program in 2024. He entered the transfer portal but stayed with the team. After coming off the bench, he proceeded to dice up the Old Dominion defense for 383 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-tying touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 15-yard line:
A few days after the win, Veltkamp released this statement:
Best Meme: The Mascot That Desired to be Eaten
Behold, a story told in three parts:
There are not too many bowls. There are too few awesome bowl mascots.
About the author
I’m a Washington Huskies fan who is still amazed but not surprised that we didn’t have more success under Chris Petersen (I blame Jake Browning). Sports are my life. I know nothing else. I graduated from Bethany Lutheran College with a degree in Communication. I’ve been a part of a newspaper since 8th grade, including my college’s official newspaper where I was co-copy editor.
