The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Bowl Edition #2

The second weekend of the bowl season featured three Mountain West teams in action with San Jose State, Utah State, and Air Force all looking to cap off their seasons on a high note. The results weren’t what the Mountain West wanted, but one team sent a message. Let’s take a look at the Good, Bad, and Ugly performances from the second weekend of bowl season.

The Good

Air Force

The Falcons gave the Mountain West their second win of the bowl season after a convincing performance against James Madison. The 31-21 final score does not reflect how dominating the Falcons really were. Air Force’s defense held the Dukes to only 26 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Coming into the game, James Madison had one of the top rush defenses in the country, but the Dukes had not faced a rushing attack like Air Force’s. The Falcons controlled the clock with an efficient rushing attack, finishing with 351 yards on 63 attempts. It was a complete performance for Air Force who finished the game with zero penalties and zero turnovers. Falcon fullback Emmanuel Michel won player of the game honors, carrying the ball 35 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bad

San Jose State

Chevan Cordeiro returned to his home state of Hawaii for his final college football game, and boy, did it not go as planned. San Jose State was facing off against a depleted Coastal Carolina squad that had lost many players to the transfer portal. On paper, this seemed like it would be an easy win for the Spartans. Cordeiro completed only 16 of 30 passing attempts, and some costly mistakes throughout the game ultimately led to the Spartans comeback falling short. Two fumbles stalled out drives that would have likely resulted in points and 85 yards in penalties also highlighted a surprisingly sloppy performance by the Spartans. As good as Brent Brennan has been in his time as San Jose State’s head coach, he has not managed to bring home a bowl trophy.

The Ugly

Utah State

This was easily the most disappointing performance of the bowl season for any Mountain West team to this point. The Aggies were completely bullied by a Georgia State team that went 6-6 in the Sun Belt. The Panthers had 643 yards of total offense in their 45-22 blowout win over the Aggies. Panther running back Freddie Brock came into the game with 31 rushing yards on the season and went for 276 yards on the ground against the Aggies. If this game taught us anything, it is that the Aggies have significant issues in the trenches that they will have to address this offseason.

Which performances from this past weekend stood out to you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.