SIOC honors the best of the bowl season

By Dave Isaacs

The bowl season isn't quite over just yet, but that won't stop SIOC from adding our take on the action so far. That's right folks, it's the SIOC Bowl Award Extravaganza.

Best Team Performance Award

Ray Rice -- who had 170 rushing yards and a touchdown -- was a big part of the Scarlet Knights' 37-10 smackdown on Kansas State. Bob Levey/WireImage

Rutgers: In the first quarter, there was Mike Teel. In the third quarter, there was Ray Rice. And in the second half, the defense gave the offense the option of resting. Teel tossed both of his touchdown passes to stake the Scarlet Knights to a quick 14-0 lead. K-State pulled to within four in the second quarter, but Jeremy Ito kicked a 37-yarder to make it a seven-point game at halftime. In the third quarter, Rice had 93 of his 170 rushing yards, and a TD on a 46-yard run. Meanwhile, Rutgers held the Wildcats to 60 total yards in the second half, and didn't allow a single point in the second half while going on to win, 37-10.

Worst Team Performance Award

Oregon: The Ducks were clearly overmatched against BYU, as it took them three quarters to get into the swing of things. Their first seven possessions resulted in punts, and for good measure, their next two ended with interceptions. BYU scored after Oregon's second turnover and led 31-0. The Ducks began moving the ball in the fourth quarter, scoring a token TD and converting a two-point conversion, but it was way too little way too late. So much for those glow-in-the-dark helmets.

Best Offensive Performance Award

Colt Brennan, Hawaii: Yes, the Rainbow Warriors had the advantage of playing in Hawaii, but ASU's defense wasn't bad. The Sun Devils, who started the season as a ranked team, had allowed only 300 yards per game going into the Hawaii Bowl, and were more than capable of preventing Brennan from getting comfortable. The nation's leading passer had little trouble, though, and stomped the Sun Devil defense by throwing for 559 yards and five TDs. Hawaii won 41-24, scoring 38 points in the second half.

Honorable mentions: Dwayne Jarrett (USC), Vincent Marshall (Houston), Ray Rice (Rutgers), Jason Rivers (Hawaii).

Worst Offensive Performance Award

Dan Nicholson, Northern Illinois: You hate to knock someone whose offensive line was as helpful as a testy customer service representative, but Nicholson only threw for 80 yards -- including a 62-yard reception by Matt Simon. Moreover, Nicholson had only one more completion (6) than sacks (5), and completed only 33% of his passes. Of NIU's twelve drives, nine resulted in three-and-outs. The other three included an interception, a field-goal miss, and a turnover on downs. Their lone TD came on a punt block returned 30 yards.

"Honorable" mentions: Sean Glennon (VaTech), Matt Stafford (Georgia), Arkansas' tandem of Casey Dick and Mitch Mustain.

Best Defensive Performance Award

Tony Taylor, Georgia: The Hokies led the nation in fewest yards allowed, which meant the Bulldogs absolutely had to capitalize on any mistakes that Tech made. Taylor, a senior linebacker who had only eight career interceptions in 47 games prior to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, came up big with two picks that helped the Bulldogs set up two TDs and win,  31-24, giving them their third straight victory over a ranked opponent.

Worst Defensive Performance Award

Texas A&M: Cal scored on seven of 10 possessions en route to an easy 45-10 win. The Aggies forced a punt and had one interception off Nate Longshore, but Cal's other seven possessions were automatic scores. The stats aren't pretty, either. Cal ran 56 plays on offense and picked up 476 total yards, good for 8.5 yards per play. Longshore completed just under 80% of his 24 attempts. Marshawn Lynch ran for 111 yards, and his backup, Justin Forsett, even ran for 124 yards.