Stanford Football: 5 bold predictions for Alamo Bowl vs. TCU
By Zach Bigalke
4. K.J. Costello will have a breakout game
Bowl games are always interesting, especially because of the underreactions and overreactions to various events over the course of December and January. There is a tendency to read too much into some performances and too little into others. That is especially true about quarterbacks, which can make or break the fortunes of a program.
Since K.J. Costello came in for Keller Chryst, he has pretty much locked down the starting position. He has a few more years of eligibility left in Palo Alto, and he could set up the Cardinal as the team to beat once again in the Pac-12 North. In six starts, Costello went 4-2. Call it five wins if you count coming in for Keller Chryst when he was injured early against UCLA.
His numbers have not been that impressive, as Costello has been asked mainly to manage the game under center. It helps being able to hand the ball off to Love so many times, but Costello does have the ability to win games on his own. He will show off that ability in San Antonio on Thursday.
After averaging around 170 passing yards per start, Costello is going to finally have a breakout day through the air. The Horned Frogs will commit ever-greater resources to trying to stop Love on the ground, and Costello will take advantage with a few big shots over the top. Trent Irwin and JJ Arcega-Whiteside are both going to have touchdown catches, and at least one will top 100 receiving yards.