There was some internal debate as to whether we had doled out our final Game Balls of the season, but that didn’t seem in the holiday spirit.
So let’s keep it going!
We devoured the College Football Playoff first-round games and spent late nights breaking down tape from the storied Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl — an anticipated yearly tradition if ever there was one.
These were the 10 most deserving individual performances from the CFP first-round games and all bowl games played up through Sunday. As always, hard decisions were made, snubs were inevitable, and Diego Pavia probably won’t be happy with our selections.
But so it goes.
(Players listed alphabetically)
Game Balls For CFP First-Round And Bowls
Miami DL Rueben Bain Jr.
Bain had one of the most impactful performances of the College Football Playoff first round and surely boosted his NFL draft stock in the process.
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior defensive lineman had 3 sacks (among 4 tackles for loss) and a blocked field goal in Miami’s 10-3 win over Texas A&M.
The blocked field goal came early in the second quarter when the game was still scoreless.
And two of his sacks came on a fourth quarter series for Texas A&M that started near midfield after teammate Malachi Toney’s fumble, as Bain brought down QB Marcel Reed on first and third down to force a punt, erasing that error for the Hurricanes and giving them a chance to go win the game on the ensuing possession.
Bain came into the game with 4.5 sacks on the season and delivered 3 more in the biggest game of his life.
Oregon WR Malik Benson
As expected, Oregon won big in its CFP first-round clash with James Madison, 51-34, after building a 34-3 second by the second quarter. Benson was a big part of that.
It was his 46-yard touchdown reception that peaked the lead at that point, and he added a 45-yard TD catch in the third quarter on the way to 5 catches for 119 yards and those 2 TDs.
It was a season-high in yards for the fifth-year senior, but he’s posted back-to-back 100-yard lines in the last two games while stepping up in Oregon’s depleted WR corps.
The Ducks move on to face Texas Tech in the CFP quarterfinals.
Alabama CB Zabien Brown
Brown swung the momentum for good in Alabama’s 34-24 win over Oklahoma in the opening College Football Playoff game.
His 50-yard interception return for touchdown tied the game at 17-17 in the second quarter, fully erasing what was once a 17-0 Oklahoma lead and spurring Alabama in its run of 27 straight points.
It was a terrible pass by Sooners QB John Mateer, but credit Brown for being in position to strike and impact the biggest game of his career.
This was Brown’s third career pick-six in just two seasons as he’s building quite a legacy with the Crimson Tide.
Alabama advances to play top-seeded Indiana in the CFP quarterfinals.
Western Michigan RB Jalen Buckley
Buckley didn’t get many carries in the Myrtle Beach Bowl as Western Michigan obliterated Kennesaw State, 41-6, including 41 straight points by the opening minutes of the third quarter, but he sure made the most of them.
Buckley turned 8 carries into 174 yards and a TD, averaging an absurd 21.8 yards per attempt. That included a 65-yard TD run on the very first play of the game.
That was enough to get Buckley, a redshirt-junior, his second 1,000-yard rushing season, actually tying his career-best from two years ago with 1,003 yards. And the Broncos became the first team in program history to win a conference championship (the MAC) and a bowl game.
Miami S Bryce Fitzgerald
We normally don’t double up on Game Balls to players from the same team, but in this case we’re giving three to the Hurricanes, including Fitzgerald.
The true freshman safety had 2 interceptions in that 10-3 CFP win over Texas A&M, bringing his season total to 6, which is tied for second-best across the FBS.
Fitzgerald’s second pick of the day came in the end zone in the final minute to end the game in dramatic fashion.
Miami RB Mark Fletcher
There wasn’t much offense in Miami’s 10-3 win over Texas A&M in the lowest-scoring College Football Playoff game ever, and most of it came from Fletcher.
The Hurricanes junior running back rushed 17 times for a career-high 172 yards, including a 56-yard run on the first play of the game’s only touchdown drive. That was in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, as Fletcher’s burst took Miami to the Texas A&M 30-yard line. He followed with four more handoffs to get the ball to the Aggies’ 11 and set up teammate Malachi Toney’s game-winning TD.
It was Fletcher’s fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and sixth of his career while his previous high was 126 yards.
NC State LB Caden Fordham
NC State dominated Memphis in a 31-7 win in the aforementioned Gasparilla Bowl, and Fordham keyed the defensive effort with a team-high 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pivotal interception.
Fordham intercepted Brendon Lewis late in the first quarter and returned it 55 yards to the Memphis 3, which set up a quick touchdown as the Wolfpack stretched its lead to 21-0.
A fifth-year senior, Fordham had a career-high 143 tackles this season, including nine double-digit tackle performances.
Prairie View A&M QB Cameron Peters
It’s hard to snag a Game Ball on the losing side of the scoreboard, but we couldn’t ignore Peters’ performance — it certainly wasn’t his fault the Panthers lost the famed Cricket Celebration Bowl.
Peters completed 24 of 36 passes for 412 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, rushed for 35 yards and a TD and even caught a pass for 24 yards. Alas, it wasn’t enough as Prairie View A&M lost 40-38 in four overtimes to South Carolina State in a showdown of the MEAC and SWAC.
Peters staked the Panthers to a 21-0 lead with a 16-yard TD pass in the first quarter, and a 27-yard TD run and 14-yard TD pass in the second quarter. After the Bulldogs came back to tie it, Peters connected on a 78-yard TD pass to Cameron Bonner in the third quarter to retake a 35-28 lead before falling short in the extra sessions.
It was still a banner season for Prairie View A&M, which won 10 games for the first time since 1963, and Peters closed his senior season on a high note as those 412 passing yards set a career-high and the 5 total TDs tied a career-best.
We don’t spotlight a lot of FCS standouts here at Game Balls HQ, but it’s bowl season and we’re in the holiday spirit.
Arkansas State WR Corey Rucker
Rucker had 6 catches for a season-high 166 yards and a TD in Arkansas State’s 34-28 Xbox Bowl win over Missouri State, averaging 27.7 yards per reception.
That included a 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give the Red Wolves an early 14-0 lead, as Rucker showed off his speed in getting well behind the defense for the deep strike.
That gives the sixth-year senior his second straight 1,000-yard receiving season as he finishes the year with 1,032 yards and 4 TDs on a career-high 75 catches.
Washington QB Demond Williams Jr.
Williams passed for 215 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs in Washington’s dominant 38-10 LA Bowl win over Boise State.
It was a 3-3 game in the second quarter before the Huskies reeled off four straight touchdowns, all on the arm of Williams. That included a 78-yard TD pass to Denzel Boston, a 6-yard TD to Dezmen Roebuck and a 3-yard TD to Raiden Vines-Bright all in the second quarter on three straight drives and then a 32-yard TD to Quentin Moore in the third quarter.
Washington finishes the season 9-4 as Williams passed for 3,065 yards, 25 TDs and 8 INTs as a sophomore this season (plus 2 rushing TDs).
