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Tracking the Top Receiving Performances of the 2016-2017 Bowl Season

By Zach Bigalke

Dec 22, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Colorado State Rams wide receiver Olabisi Johnson (81) makes a reception against the Idaho Vandals during the first half of the Idaho Potato Bowl at Albersons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Colorado State Rams wide receiver Olabisi Johnson (81) makes a reception against the Idaho Vandals during the first half of the Idaho Potato Bowl at Albersons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports /
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Which receivers are putting up breakout games in this year’s bowls? Check in regularly as we track the top receiving performances of the postseason.

The beauty of the college football bowl season is that sublime performances can happen anywhere and come from anyone. A receiving game to remember could happen on any night during the last weeks of December, in bowl games big or small.

Perhaps the most impactful receiving performance last year came from Alabama’s dynamic tight end, O.J. Howard, who notched five catches for 208 yards and two scores in the College Football Playoff national championship against Clemson. In the team’s earlier win over Michigan State in the semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, the Tide were led in receiving by Calvin Ridley, who posted eight receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

Yet it was Virginia Tech’s Isaiah Ford who posted the biggest receiving effort of the 2015-2016 postseason by the numbers. The Hokies receiver caught 12 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown in a 55-52 shootout victory over Tulsa in the Independence Bowl, sending off longtime head coach Frank Beamer with one final victory in his last game at the helm.

Ford was one of just two receivers last year to surpass the 200-yard receiving mark in their bowl games. The other was Florida State’s Travis Rudolph, who caught seven balls for 201 yards and a touchdown in the Peach Bowl loss to Houston. After 24 games, we have already seen four players break that benchmark. Three of the four racked up more yards than Ford last season. More huge receiving performances could still be on the horizon as we approach the New Year’s Six contests.

We will be tracking every receiving effort of 100 yards or more throughout the rest of the 2016-2017 bowl schedule, so check back regularly to see if there have been any more monster showings from some of the nation’s top receivers.

With some big performances from players like KD Cannon and Josh Reynolds, they’ve helped out their respective NFL draft stocks in a big way.

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