The 2011 Yahoo! Sports All-Bowl Team
By Mike Huguenin, Yahoo! Sports Saturday, Jan 14, 2012
National champion Alabama is one of six schools that has two players each on the Yahoo! Sports All-Bowl Team.
Not surprisingly, both of Alabama’s selections play defense, as the Tide’s defensive performance against LSU in the national title game was one for the ages.
Conversely, is anyone surprised that Baylor and West Virginia – which combined to score a staggering 136 points in their bowl victories – have two offensive players each on the team?
[Related: Final 1-120 FBS rankings for 2011 | Early 2012 Preseason Top 25]
BYU, Houston and Michigan State are the other teams with two players apiece.
In all, 20 teams were recognized on the 26-player team.
Here’s the squad.
| OFFENSE | |
| QB | Case Keenum, Houston
Bowl: TicketCity Bowl, win over Penn State The buzz: Penn State had allowed more than 202 passing yards in a game once this season; the Nittany Lions also hadn’t allowed more than two TD passes in a game. Keenum threw for 227 yards and two TDs – in the first quarter. Keenum finished 45-of-69 for 532 yards and three TDs. Penn State allowed 2,478 passing yards this season, meaning 21.4 percent of the yardage total came from Keenum. |
| RB | Terrance Ganaway, Baylor
Bowl: Alamo Bowl, win over Washington The buzz: Two bad defensive teams were embarrassed in the Alamo Bowl, with Baylor winning 67-56. Ganaway’s performance, though, shouldn’t be discounted just because the Huskies’ defense is terrible. He rushed for 200 yards and five touchdowns on 21 carries, helping the Bears roll up 483 rushing yards and 777 total yards. [ |
| RB | Stepfan Taylor, Stanford
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl, loss to Oklahoma State The buzz: Taylor was magnificent in the overtime loss, rushing for 177 yards and two TDs on 35 carries. He also had three receptions for 21 yards. His second TD gave the Cardinal a 38-31 lead with 4:34 left, but Stanford’s defense couldn’t hold on. |
| WR | Tavon Austin, West Virginia
Bowl: Orange Bowl, win over Clemson The buzz: Austin had a big regular season, but if you watched the Orange Bowl, you would’ve thought Clemson didn’t think he deserved special attention. Well, he made the Tigers pay, finishing with 11 receptions for 117 yards and four TDs. He also rushed for 46 yards and averaged 23.2 yards on five kickoff returns. |
| WR | Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl, win over Stanford The buzz: Blackmon didn’t have a catch in the first or third quarters of the Cowboys’ win. He more than made up for it in the second and fourth quarters, though, finishing with eight catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns. He had four receptions for 139 yards and two scores in the second quarter alone. |
| WR | Patrick Edwards, Houston
Bowl: TicketCity Bowl, win over Penn State The buzz: Edwards had 10 catches for 228 yards and two TDs as the Cougars passed at will against Penn State. Only one team (Northwestern) had more receiving yards against the Nittany Lions this season. Edwards’ first TD catch came on the sixth play of the game, and Houston never really was challenged after that. |
| T | Don Barclay, West Virginia
Bowl: Orange Bowl, win over Clemson The buzz: The Mountaineers set an NCAA bowl record with 70 points, and Barclay and his linemates paved the way for WVU to roll up 589 total yards. Clemson has a solid defensive line, but the Tigers were kept at bay by an offensive line that had been maligned during the regular season. |
| T | Alex Hoffman, Cincinnati
Bowl: Liberty Bowl, win over Vanderbilt The buzz: The Bearcats won the game because of a strong rushing attack, and Hoffman was the star lineman. Cincy rushed for 221 yards, the second-most rushing yards Vandy surrendered this season (option-based Army rushed for 270). Cincy’s rushing total was 68 more yards than Alabama gained on the ground in the regular season against the defense-minded Commodores. |
| G | Blaize Foltz, TCU
Bowl: Poinsettia Bowl, win over Louisiana Tech The buzz: TCU’s rushing attack carried the day in the bowl win. The Horned Frogs ran for 190 yards – the second-most allowed by Louisiana Tech this season – and had the ball for 36:28 to beat the Bulldogs. TCU also rushed for three TDs and was 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions, and coaches picked Foltz as the Horned Frogs’ best lineman in the game. |
| G | Jayson Palmgren, Missouri
Bowl: Independence Bowl, win over North Carolina The buzz: Mizzou dominated a good UNC defensive line with a punishing ground attack, rushing for 337 yards in a 41-24 win. The Tigers had two 100-yard rushers, and Palmgren helped lead the way. |
| C | Philip Blake, Baylor
Bowl: Alamo Bowl, win over Washington The buzz: Ganaway had a ton of room to run because Blake and the other guys up front were blasting open huge holes. Blake graded out the highest of any Bears lineman and also had 10 knockdown blocks. |
| DEFENSE | |
| E | William Gholston, Michigan State
Bowl: Outback Bowl, win over Georgia The buzz: Gholston dominated up front, finishing with five tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Michigan State had 17 tackles for loss and four sacks against Georgia, and held the Bulldogs to 51 rushing yards. |
| T | Fletcher Cox, Mississippi State
Bowl: Music City Bowl, win over Wake Forest The buzz: Cox was one of the more underrated defenders nationally, but he definitely made his presence felt in the bowl game. He finished with seven tackles, including two tackles for loss, and a sack. He also blocked a second-quarter field goal attempt. |
| T | Nick Gentry, Alabama
Bowl: BCS national championship game, win over LSU The buzz: Gentry, who is undersized but extremely quick off the ball, was a disruptive force for a Tide front seven that controlled the line of scrimmage. While he was credited with just three tackles, he also had a sack and a fumble recovery and just seemed unblockable at times. |
| E | Cordarro Law, Southern Miss
Bowl: Hawaii Bowl, win over Nevada The buzz: A veteran-laden Nevada offensive line allowed just 17 sacks all season, and Law had two of them. He also finished the bowl win with seven tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup. Nevada was held to 313 total yards, the Wolf Pack’s second-lowest total of the season. |
| LB | Jordan Hicks, Texas
Bowl: Holiday Bowl, win over California The buzz: The Longhorns’ defense dominated, and Hicks’ play was a reason. Cal managed just 7 rushing yards and 10 points. Hicks had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup. Texas had 13 tackles for loss in the victory. |
| LB | Courtney Upshaw, Alabama
Bowl: BCS national championship game, win over LSU The buzz: While the Tide wasn’t playing an offensive juggernaut, the defensive performance still was stunning in its dominance. Alabama held the Tigers to just 92 total yards, including only 39 on the ground. Upshaw had seven tackles and a sack, and he seemingly was near the ball on every play he was on the field. |
| LB | Kyle Van Noy, BYU
Bowl: Armed Forces Bowl, win over Tulsa The buzz: Tulsa had its worst offensive day of the season, finishing with just 272 yards, and Van Noy was a big reason. He led BYU with 10 tackles and added five tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry. Tulsa was held to less than 400 yards just three times this season – by BYU, Boise State and Houston. |
| DB | David Amerson, N.C. State
Bowl: Belk Bowl, win over Louisville The buzz: Amerson capped off a sensational sophomore season with two interceptions, including one he took back 65 yards for a TD, in the Wolfpack’s win. He also had five tackles. Amerson finished the season with 13 picks, one shy of the NCAA FBS record. |
| DB | Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State
Bowl: Outback Bowl, win over Georgia The buzz: Dennard made five tackles and had two interceptions in the Spartans’ victory. He returned one of the picks 38 yards for a TD near the end of the third quarter, and that turned the momentum in the Spartans’ favor. |
| DB | Jamell Fleming, Oklahoma
Bowl: Insight Bowl, win over Iowa The buzz: Fleming was the defensive star as the Sooners shut down the Hawkeyes. He had a team-high seven tackles, and he added an interception and three pass breakups as OU held Iowa to 292 total yards. |
| DB | Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt
Bowl: Liberty Bowl, loss to Cincinnati The buzz: Hayward toiled in relative anonymity for his career, but he had a solid final game for Vandy against what had been a potent passing attack. He had eight tackles, two interceptions, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup, and was a major reason the Bearcats passed for just 80 yards. |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | |
| K | Brett Baer, Louisiana-Lafayette
Bowl: New Orleans Bowl, win over San Diego State The buzz: As if the first bowl appearance in school history wasn’t memorable enough, Baer drilled a 50-yard field goal on the final play of the game for a two-point win. He also made a 22-yarder with 2:09 left that gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 29-24 lead. Baer doubles as ULL’s punter, and he dropped three of his four punts inside the 20. |
| P | Riley Stephenson, BYU
Bowl: Armed Forces Bowl, win over Tulsa The buzz: BYU’s offense had trouble moving the ball against Tulsa, but Stephenson bailed his teammates out. He punted eight times and dropped seven inside the 20, including three inside the 10. He averaged 41.9 yards per punt. |
| KR | Doug Martin, Boise State
Bowl: Las Vegas Bowl, win over Arizona State The buzz: Martin returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a TD to set the tone in the Broncos’ 32-point rout. He also rushed for 151 yards and a TD as the Broncos’ starting tailback. |
| PR | Brandon Boykin, Georgia
Bowl: Outback Bowl, loss to Michigan State The buzz: Despite the loss, Boykin – a starting cornerback – had a huge game for the Bulldogs. He scored defensively on a safety, offensively on a TD pass and on special teams with a 92-yard punt return that gave Georgia a 16-0 halftime lead. He also had seven tackles, including two tackles for loss. |
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Updated Saturday, Jan 14, 2012