Losers

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl – Utah State defensive coordinator Justin Ena. The Aggies couldn’t have missed David Woodward that much, right? After allowing more than six yards per play in four of the team’s last six games, including 6.63 YPP in the loss to Kent State, the pressure is on to find answers across a unit that will have to replace at least six starters, including Woodward, this off-season.

Mitsubishi Las Vegas Bowl – Boise State quarterback Jaylon Henderson. The logic for turning back to true freshman Hank Bachmeier was sound, but one can’t help but wonder whether things would’ve gone differently had the Broncos stuck with Henderson, who didn’t see the field until Boise State was down 24-0 and promptly led the team on its lone touchdown drive of the game. His appearance here, then, is more the result of a raw deal than any fault of his own.

SoFi Hawaii Bowl – Hawaii running back Miles Reed. Because the Warriors were content to lean on McDonald and the passing game, Reed didn’t have a lot of opportunity to contribute and was quiet when he did, finishing with just 17 yards on 10 carries. However, the future remains bright with him in the backfield and he’ll be just as integral to Hawaii’s continued growth as anyone after finishing the year with over 900 rushing yards at 5.22 yards per carry.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Nevada’s red zone offense. One number that really tells the story of the Wolf Pack season is that their touchdown conversion rate inside the 20-yard line, 44.68%, ranked 125th among FBS teams. That was definitely the story of a frustrating bowl loss to the Ohio Bobcats, where Nevada had seven drives inside the 40 and averaged just three points per trip. Carson Strong, in particular, will have some work to do to improve on that front.

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