The Sports Nerds 2021-22 All-Bowl Season Team

After a long season filled with upsets, injuries, heartbreaks and so much more, one team stands alone at the top.

While the question of “Who is the best team in the country?” may have been answered following Georgia’s emotional win over Alabama in last night’s College Football Playoff Final, we here at the Sports Nerds decided to pose one more: Which players and performances stood out the most during bowl season?

To answer that very question, Jake and Allen each sat down and made their choices for who they thought were the players that most went above and beyond for their teams this bowl season.

There were no criteria for the choices they made other than that they must explain in a sentence or two about why they picked who they did.

Jake’s All Bowl Season Team

• QB1: CJ Stroud, Ohio State
  • Dropped 573 yards and 6 TD passes in a record-setting Rose Bowl win over Utah.
• QB2: Spencer Sanders, OK State
  • Not only threw for 371 yards and 5 TDs in the comeback win over Notre Dame, but added in 125 rushing yards for good measure.
• HB1: Levi Williams, QB Wyoming
  • Rushed for 200 yards and 4 TDs while averaging 12.5 yards-per-carry (more than his average yards-per-throw on the day), the most yards and TDs combined of any player this bowl season.
• HB2: Brian Robinson Jr., Alabama
  • On a day vs. Cincinnati where the offense couldn’t get much going, the 204 rushing yards Alabama got from Robinson Jr. proved to be the difference maker.
• WR1: Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
  • Instead of using words to justify this pick, I’ll just let his numbers do the talking:  15 catches, 347 yards, 3 touchdowns.  No, that isn’t a typo and yes, he is a wide receiver (I triple checked).
• WR2: Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
  • See above.
• WR3: Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
  • See above.
• Best Offensive Line: Ohio State Buckeyes
  • Allowed 0 sacks in the Rose Bowl, giving Stroud the time he needed to connect with Smith-Njigba en route to their record-breaking performances.
• Best Defensive Line: Georgia Bulldogs
  • After finishing the SEC Championship game with 0 sacks against Alabama, they bounced back in a huge way with 4 sacks and 9 QB pressures in the national championship game.  There’s no way they win the rematch without the pressure they were able to get on Young and co.
• Best Secondary: Wake Forest
  • This pick comes with a bit of an asterisk, but one that has absolutely nothing to do with the Demon Deacons.  Rutgers played like exactly what they were: a last-minute COVID replacement team that wasn’t even bowl eligible.  None of that mattered to the Wake Forest players though as they shut down the opposing passing attack to the tune of only 165 yards and 0 TDs with 2 picks.

Allen’s All-Bowl Season Team

• QB1: CJ Stroud, Ohio St.
  • 573 yards and 6 TD’s in the Rose Bowl.
• QB2: Bailey Zappe, WKU
  • 422 yards for 6 TD’s in the Boca Raton Bowl.
• HB1: Brian Robinson Jr., Bama
  • Slightly under 300 yards rushing during the CFP.
• HB2: Deuce Vaughn, Kansas St.
  • 146 rushing yards for 3 TD’s over LSU.
• WR1: Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Ohio St.
  • 15 catches for 347 YARDS AND 3 TD’S?! 
• WR2: Broc Thompson, Purdue
  • 7 catches for 217 yards and 2 TD’s in the Music City Bowl.
• WR3: Jerreth Sterns, WKU
  • 13 catches for 183 yards and half of Zappe’s 6 TD’s.
• Best Offensive Line: Ohio State Buckeyes
  • Allowed 0 sacks in the Rose Bowl, allowing Stroud and Smith-Njigba to be able to flourish.
• Best Defensive Line: Georgia Bulldogs 
  • Wire to wire the best line with both pass and run defensive dominance over Michigan and Alabama in the CFP. 
• Best Secondary: Georgia Bulldogs
  • Helped force 5 turnovers (4 INT’s, 1 fumble) during the CFP. 

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