We checked the supply cabinet here at Game Balls headquarters, and there is still plenty enough to get us through the rest of the college football postseason.
Our last batch of 10 honored the best individual performances from the College Football Playoff first-round games and the first half of bowl season, so now it’s time to spotlight the most impactful performances from the CFP quarterfinals and the rest of bowl season.
But we’re making a special exception and going with 15 Game Balls this round because we’re encompassing multiple weeks of action here.
Even still, tough decisions had to be made, while as always, impact on the game and weight of the moment matter just as much as raw numbers.
We also don’t normally do honorable mentions, but just to put it in perspective, some of the final cuts included Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (a ho-hum 14-of-16 passing for 192 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in a 38-3 playoff win over Alabama — he’s gotten his share of Game Balls and also won the Heisman Trophy, so he’s fine), East Carolina WR Anthony Smith (4 catches for 156 yards and 2 TDs in a Military Bowl win over Pittsburgh), Hawai’i WR Pofele Ashlock (14 catches for 123 yards and 2 TDs in a wild Hawai’i Bowl rally vs. Cal), USC true freshman WR Tanook Hines (6 catches for 163 yards in an Alamo Bowl loss), Texas LB Ty’Anthony Smith (team-high 9 tackles, 2 interceptions and a TFL in a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan) and Minnesota LB Maverick Baranowski (17 tackles with 13 solo and a sack in a Rate Bowl win over New Mexico). To name a few.
So, clearly, making this list is an honor of exceptional distinction. With that said, here are the latest Game Ball recipients (listed alphabetically).
Wake Forest QB Robby Ashford
Wake Forest was one of the biggest surprises in college football this season. After back-to-back four-win seasons, the Demon Deacons surged to nine wins in coach Jake Dickert’s first year with the program, capped by a 43-29 win over Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last Friday.
In that game, quarterback Robby Ashford delivered his best performance of the season, passing for 303 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception while rushing 14 times for 50 yards and 2 TDs.
Ashford led touchdown drives on the Demon Deacons’ final two full possessions to help secure the win. That included his own 1-yard score to cap a 10-play, 63-yard drive to push the team’s lead from 3 points to 7 (as Mississippi State took the 2-point conversion the other way) and then a 62-yard TD connection to Ty Clark III on a short shovel pass.
He also had a more traditional 64-yard touchdown strike to Jack Foley in the third quarter.
Ashford, who had a well-traveled and up-and-down college career with stops at Oregon, Auburn, South Carolina and finally Wake Forest, finished as the Duke’s Mayo Bowl MVP in his final game.
Miami EDGEs Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor
The biggest upset of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals was No. 10 Miami’s 24-14 win over No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, led by another stifling defensive performance.
As usual for the Hurricanes, it started up front with their two elite edge rushers. Bain and Mesidor combined for 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 8 total tackles and 11 total pressures, setting the tone and keeping Ohio State QB Julian Sayin uncomfortable all game.
The two future NFL pass rushers have been a wrecking crew so far in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh LB Rasheem Biles
Given the depth of incredible performances to choose from, it was going to be hard for any player on a losing team to make this list, but how could we ignore what Biles did in Pitt’s 23-17 loss to East Carolina in the Military Bowl?
Some individual efforts just supersede the outcome.
Biles, a junior linebacker, had 16 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, a forced fumble on one of those sacks leading to his own 23-yard return for a touchdown and a pass breakup. Goodness gracious.
Just look at this stat.
Biles, a second-team All-ACC selection, had 101 tackles, 17 TFLs, 2 INTs, 2 FF and 4 PBUs this season and is now one of the top linebackers in the transfer portal.
Duke WR Que’Sean Brown
Duke and Arizona State combined for one of the most entertaining bowl matchups this year with the Blue Devils winning a 42-39 shootout in the Sun Bowl.
We could spotlight Duke QB Darian Mensah (327 passing yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT) or RB Nate Sheppard (22 carries for 170 yards and 1 TD, 20 receiving yards), but the Game Ball here goes to Brown.
The sophomore had 10 catches for a career-high 178 yards and 2 TDs, including a 69-yard score in the first quarter and then the game-winner with a couple minutes left in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard TD grab.
That was Brown’s final game as a Blue Devil as he has entered the transfer portal Wednesday. He finished his sophomore season with 64 catches for 846 yards and 5 TDs.
Ole Miss K Lucas Carneiro
The standard to make the cut for a Game Ball is incredibly high for any position, but for kickers it has to be a truly special performance.
This sure qualifies.
Carneiro was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals in Ole Miss’ 39-34 CFP quarterfinals win over Georgia last week, and none of them were easy.
The Rebels’ clutch kicker booted home field goals from 55 and 56 yards — the second- and third-longest in CFP history — in the first quarter and then delivered the game winner in the waning seconds with a pressure-packed 47-yarder to win it. (A safety as time expired stretched the margin of victory, but the game was tied when Carneiro hit the game-winner).
Carneiro is 27 of 30 on field goals this season and a perfect 55-for-55 on extra points to lead all college kickers in scoring with 136 points.
Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss
Honestly, we could have put several Ole Miss players on this list, but we’ll have to keep it to two and squeeze in a couple extra shoutouts here.
Yes, Rebels RB Kewan Lacy was excellent (22 carries for 98 yards and 2 TDs, 12 receiving yards), along with WRs Harrison Wallace III (9 catches for 156 yards and a TD) and De’Zhaun Stribling (7-122), but the star of the show was Chambliss — again.
Any debate about who was the best quarterback in college football in 2025 has to include Chambliss, who got a late start after opening the season as a backup and thus fell short in the Heisman Trophy race, but he showed in the CFP quarterfinals that he’s as valuable and dynamic as any player in the country.
Chambliss completed 30 of 46 passes for 362 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs and, more to the point, did things like this …
And the perfect lob pass on third-and-5 for a 40-yard gain to Stribling to set up that game-winning field goal.
Utah QB Devon Dampier
Dampier flew more under the radar this season than he deserved, but he seized the bowl spotlight to showcase his full abilities.
The dynamic dual-threat QB passed for 310 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed 19 times for 148 yards and 3 scores to lead Utah to a 44-22 win over Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl.
That marked season-highs for Dampier for both passing and rushing yards and tied his season-best TD total.
A transfer from New Mexico in his first year with the Utes, Dampier finished with 2,490 passing yards, 24 TDs and 5 INTs and 835 yards rushing with 10 scores.
Oregon CB Brandon Finney
Oregon’s defense simply has to be represented here after what it did to Texas Tech in the CFP quarterfinals, winning 23-0 while holding the Red Raiders to 215 yards and forcing 4 turnovers.
It was a dominant performance against a Texas Tech team that won 12 games by three touchdowns or more this season.
Finney, a true freshman, gets to represent the Ducks here as he had 2 interceptions, a fumble recovery and 6 tackles to earn defensive player of the game honors in the Orange Bowl.
North Texas RB Caleb Hawkins
Speaking of elite true freshmen, Hawkins had an unmatched season for any debut running back this year and closed out his lone season at North Texas — he has since transferred to Oklahoma State — with an exclamation point.
Hawkins had 31 carries for 198 yards and 2 TDs plus 25 receiving yards and a score in the Mean Green’s 49-47 shootout win over San Diego State in the New Mexico Bowl.
Overall, Hawkins finished his freshman season with 1,434 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards and 29 combined TDs.
Montana State’s Justin Lamson and Taco Dowler
For the second time all season, we have to spotlight a superlative FCS performance — or in this case, two.
Montana State won its first FCS national championship since 1984 with a thrilling 35-34 overtime win over Illinois State, with quarterback Justin Lamson and wide receiver Taco Dowler leading the way.
Lamson passed for 280 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for 2 TDs, while Dowler had 8 catches for 111 yards and a TD plus a 22-yard rushing TD.
Fittingly, they combined for the game-winning score on a 14-yard touchdown completion on fourth-and-10 in overtime.
Texas QB Arch Manning
Manning has long since silenced his early-season critics (including myself) with a torrid finish to his first season as Texas’ starting quarterback.
And his performance in the Longhorns’ 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl will ensure he enters 2026 as a top Heisman contender (again).
In that game, Manning passed for 221 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs and rushed for an incredible 155 yards and 2 TDs on just 9 carries. Absurd. That included a 60-yard TD scamper late in the fourth quarter to stretch the Texas lead from 4 points to 11 at the time, essentially sealing the win.
Manning finished his redshirt-freshman season with 3,163 passing yards, 26 TDs and 7 INTs with 399 rushing yards and 10 TDs.
Army RB Godspower Nwawuihe
Nwawuihe rushed for 171 yards and 2 TDs in Army’s 41-16 Wasabi Fenway Bowl win over UConn, which is impressive in any context.
But considering he only touched the ball 12 times, that’s an insane stat line — averaging 14.3 yards per carry against a nine-win team.
Considering he’s a freshman who only had nine rushing attempts all season before the bowl game, it’s the definition of breakout performance.
Nwawuihe’s big game included touchdown runs of 43 and 70 yards.
TCU RB Jeremy Payne
Payne’s overall stat line in TCU’s dramatic 30-27 Alamo Bowl win over USC was impressive in its own right — 73 rushing yards and a TD, 50 receiving yards and a TD.
But it’s one play that put him over the top and mandated inclusion on the Game Balls list.
After TCU scored the final 10 points of regulation (including a 5-yard Payne TD run late in the fourth quarter) to force overtime, USC settled for a field goal to start the extra period and then pushed the Horned Frogs into a third-and-20 situation.
It figured TCU would just try to get into better field goal range to keep the game going, but Payne had other ideas. He turned a short reception into a 35-yard touchdown, shaking tacklers and dancing his way down the sideline to end the game with one of the best plays of bowl season.
Miami DB Keionte Scott
Extra weight has to be given to impact plays in the College Football Playoff, and few were bigger in the quarterfinals round than Scott’s 72-yard interception return for touchdown vs. Ohio State.
Scott’s pick-6 put Miami up 14-0 on the way to its 24-14 upset of the No. 2-seeded and reigning national champion Buckeyes.
It was the second interception of the season for Scott, a senior who transferred into Miami after three seasons at Auburn, and both went for touchdowns (the other coming vs. Syracuse).
Houston QB Conner Weigman
Houston capped one of the biggest year-to-year turnarounds of the season, going from 4 wins in 2024 to winning its 10th game this season with a 38-35 victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl.
And Weigman played his best game of the season to deliver that momentous win, completing 28 of 37 passes for 230 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs along with 56 rushing yards.
Houston’s defense often led the way for the team this season, but Weigman did his part as well while finishing with 2,705 passing yards, 25 TDs and 9 INTs plus 700 rushing yards and 11 scores in his first season with the Cougars after transferring in from Texas A&M.
