Syracuse QB Kyle McCord's 5 TD passes earn him a spot on AP's all-bowl team

The expansion of the College Football Playoff has led to an evolution in how The Associated Press puts together its all-bowl team.

It didn’t make much sense to measure players who competed in one bowl game against guys who were participating in as many as four playoff contests. So we’ve decided to put together two postseason all-star teams – one for those who competed in non-playoff bowl games and one for playoff participants. The former is below and the latter will be released after the Jan. 20 title game.

For the purposes of putting together this team, the offense includes two running backs, three wide receivers and an all-purpose player. Since some teams operate in a 4-3 defensive scheme and others use a 3-4, there is room for four defensive linemen as well as four linebackers.

We went with five overall offensive linemen rather than specifying two tackles, two guards and one center. Our secondary also includes four general defensive backs rather than making sure we included two cornerbacks and two safeties.

The non-CFP AP All-Bowl team:

QB Kyle McCord, Syracuse

McCord threw five touchdown passes – tying a single-game school record – while going 24 of 34 for 453 yards with no interceptions as No. 22 Syracuse won a Holiday Bowl shootout 52-35 over Washington State. That capped a year in which McCord threw for 4,779 yards, breaking Deshaun Watson’s Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record.

RB Dylan Edwards, Kansas State

Edwards ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries as Kansas State rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Rutgers 44-41 in the Rate Bowl. His 36-yard score put Kansas State ahead for good with 4:15 left. He also caught two passes for 27 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown.

RB Rahjai Harris, East Carolina

Harris ran for 220 yards on 17 carries and put East Carolina ahead for good by producing an 86-yard breakaway with 1:33 remaining in East Carolina’s 26-21 Military Bowl triumph over N.C. State.

WR Ja’Kobi Lane, Southern California

Lane caught seven passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns in Southern California’s 35-31 Las Vegas Bowl victory over Texas A&M.

WR Junior Vandeross, Toledo

Vandeross had 12 receptions for 194 yards and a touchdown as Toledo outlasted Pitt 46-46 in a GameAbove Sports Bowl thriller that lasted a bowl-record six overtimes. His catch of a two-point conversion pass in the final overtime session provided the winning margin.

WR Jeremiah Webb, South Alabama

Webb caught six passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns – a 52-yarder and a 45-yarder – in South Alabama’s 30-23 Salute to Veterans Bowl victory over Western Michigan.

TE Harold Fannin, Bowling Green

Fannin’s the only player on this list whose team lost its bowl game. He had 17 catches for 213 yards – both records for a tight end in a Bowl Subdivision bowl game – and scored a touchdown as Bowling Green fell 38-31 to Arkansas State in the 68 Ventures Bowl.

OL Quinn Carroll, Minnesota

Carroll typically has lined up at either guard or right tackle, but he stepped in for an injured Aireontae Ersery and played left tackle for the first time in his life at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Carroll’s smooth transition helped Minnesota beat Virginia Tech 24-10.

OL J.C. Davis, Illinois

This left tackle didn’t allow any pressures and committed no penalties while facing a South Carolina defense that ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams in sacks per game. His performance helped No. 21 Illinois win 21-17 over No. 14 South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

OL Cory Godinet, UTSA

Godinet didn’t allow a sack or a hit on his quarterback while helping UTSA gain 513 yards – 257 rushing and 256 passing – in a 44-15 Myrtle Beach Bowl blowout over Coastal Carolina.

OL Bryce Lovett, Florida

Lovett had the best overall Pro Football Focus game rating among Florida’s starting offensive linemen for his performance in the 33-8 Gasparilla Bowl rout of Tulane. The Gators gained 529 total yards and had the ball for nearly 39 minutes.

OL Pat McMurtrie, James Madison

McMurtrie capped a season in which he didn’t allow a single sack by helping James Madison beat Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl. James Madison didn’t give up any sacks in the entire game.

All-purpose Kevin Davis, Miami (Ohio)

Davis rushed for two touchdowns - including a 97-yarder - and also had an 81-yard kickoff return as Miami (Ohio) defeated Colorado State 43-17 in the Arizona Bowl. He totaled nine carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns plus two receptions for 16 yards.

DL Fisher Camac, UNLV

Camac recorded three sacks and six tackles - four for loss - and forced a fumble and broke up a pass as No. 24 UNLV defeated Cal 24-13 in the LA Bowl.

DL Justin Reed, Navy

Reed brought down Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. on a two-point conversion attempt with six seconds left to preserve Navy’s 21-20 Armed Forces Bowl victory. Reed finished the game with four tackles and a sack.

DL Ty Robinson, Nebraska

Robinson collected four tackles – 1 1/2 for loss – a sack and a pass breakup while helping Nebraska limit Boston College to 47 yards rushing in the Cornhuskers’ 20-15 Pinstripe Bowl triumph. Robinson also entered the game at fullback and served as the lead blocker on Kwinten Ives’ 2-yard touchdown run.

DL Pryce Yates, UConn

Yates recorded six tackles – three for loss – and a sack while helping UConn limit North Carolina to 206 total yards and no third-down conversions in the Huskies’ 27-14 Fenway Bowl victory.

LB Chandler Martin, Memphis

Martin made 17 stops to tie a Memphis record for tackles in a bowl game as the 25th-ranked Tigers defeated West Virginia 42-37 in the Frisco Bowl.

LB Red Murdock, Buffalo

Murdock scored on a 31-yard interception return, forced two fumbles and made 13 tackles – 2 1/2 for loss – in Buffalo’s 26-7 Bahamas Bowl victory over Liberty.

LB Nick Rinaldi, Vanderbilt

Rinaldi produced 10 tackles and two sacks as Vanderbilt defeated Georgia Tech 35-27 in the Birmingham Bowl.

LB Charles Willekes, Arkansas State

Willekes made 11 tackles – one for loss – and broke up a pass while helping Arkansas State limit Bowling Green to 46 yards rushing on 24 carries in the 68 Ventures Bowl.

DB Matthew Bailey, Illinois

Illinois’ scheme had Bailey playing all over the field in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, as he spent most of his time at safety but also played some slot corner and often lined up in the box or near the line of scrimmage. He responded by collecting 13 tackles in the victory over South Carolina.

DB Aamir Hall, Michigan

Hall made nine tackles and a sack, forced a fumble and broke up a pass as Michigan won 19-13 over No. 11 Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

DB Isaiah Hamilton, Ole Miss

Hamilton scored on a 50-yard interception return – the first pick-6 by an Ole Miss defender since A.J. Finley’s 52-yarder against Texas A&M in 2021 – as the Rebels trounced Duke 52-20 in the Gator Bowl. Hamilton was part of a stellar Ole Miss secondary that also included Trey Washington, who made 10 tackles.

DB Jaylon Jimmerson, Sam Houston

Jimmerson picked off two passes and returned one of them for a 29-yard touchdown in Sam Houston’s 31-26 New Orleans Bowl win over Georgia Southern. He also had 10 tackles. He was the first defensive player since 2004 to get named the bowl’s most valuable player.

K Blake Craig, Missouri

Craig made a tying 51-yard field goal with 10:10 left and a go-ahead, 56-yarder with 4:36 remaining as No. 23 Missouri edged Iowa 27-24 in the Music City Bowl. Craig’s two big kicks gave him the slight edge over Virginia Tech’s John Love, who made a 60-yard field goal in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

P Andrew Stokes, South Florida

Stokes averaged 50.5 yards on six punts as USF outlasted San Jose State 41-39 in a Hawaii Bowl that lasted five overtimes. Stokes posted the fourth-best, single-game average in school history and had a 72-yard punt that tied a program record.

KR Zavion Thomas, LSU

Thomas scored on a 95-yard kickoff return in LSU’s 44-31 Texas Bowl victory over Baylor. He totaled 155 yards on four kickoff returns and also had a 17-yard punt return.

PR Parker Kingston, BYU

Kingston reached the end zone on a 64-yard punt return as No. 17 BYU won 36-14 over No. 20 Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Kingston totaled 105 yards on four punt returns.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Steve Megargee, The Associated Press