National Football League player personnel specialists spend countless yearly hours traveling to evaluate future pro prospects. They’d be just as well suited to visit the annual Football Bowl Association postseason schedule.
This year, Florida State QB Jameis Winston was the first player selected, drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the opening choice of the first round. Prior to that, Winston led the Seminoles to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Winston was the first of 196 collegians to participate in a postseason college bowl game.
Of the 38 games [the National Championship not included since those players were previously tallied], 33 had at least one player on the two competing teams drafted.
The Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwest Mutual featured the most draftees, 16, Florida State’s 11 and five for Oregon. The Rose Bowl this year served as one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games. In second place, the Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk Bowl had Louisville, with 10 total choices, and Georgia’s five for a total of 15.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl sent 12 players to the draft, seven from Alabama and five from Ohio State. This was the other College Football Playoff semifinal.
The complete list, by bowl in descending order, follows:
| BOWL | TEAM | NUMBER | TEAM | NUMBER | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
| Rose Bowl | FLORIDA STATE | 11 | OREGON | 5 | 16 |
Bowl Team[s]
Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwest Mutual [16] Florida State — 11 Oregon – 5
Belk Bowl [15] Louisville – 10 Georgia – 5
Allstate Sugar Bowl [12] Alabama – 7 Ohio State – 5
Independence Bowl [11] Miami – 7 South Carolina – 4
Russell Athletic Bowl Oklahoma – 6 Clemson – 5
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl [10] Missouri – 6 Minnesota – 4
AdvoCare V 100 Texas Bowl Arkansas – 5 Texas – 5
Birmingham Bowl [9] Florida – 8 East Carolina – 1
Holiday Bowl USC – 6 Nebraska – 3
Foster Farms Bowl [8] Stanford – 6 Maryland — 2
Capital One Orange Bowl Mississippi St – 5 Georgia Tech — 3
Outback Bowl [7] Auburn – 5 Wisconsin – 2
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic [6] Michigan State – 4 Baylor – 2
AutoZone Liberty Bowl West Virginia – 4 Texas A&M – 2
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl Utah – 4 Colorado State – 2
Hyundai Sun Bowl Arizona State – 4 Duke – 2
New Era Pinstripe Bowl Boston College – 3 Penn State — 3
Cactus Bowl [5] Washington – 4 Oklahoma State – 1
Franklin American Music City Bowl LSU – 4 Notre Dame – 1
Valero Alamo Bowl UCLA – 3 Kansas State – 2
Hawai’I Bowl [4] Fresno State – 3 Rice – 1
Miami Beach Bowl [3] Memphis – 3 BYU – 0
TaxSlayer Bowl Iowa – 3 Tennessee – 0
Quick Lane Bowl [2] Rutgers – 2 North Carolina – 0
St. Petersburg Bowl UCF – 2 NC State – 0
Military Bowl Virginia Tech – 2 Cincinnati – 0
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Mississippi – 2 TCU – 0
SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl Navy – 1 San Diego State – 1
Fiesta Bowl [1] Boise State – 1 Arizona — 0
Boca Raton Bowl Marshall – 1 N. Illinois – 0
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl LA-Lafayette – 1 Nevada – 0
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl C. Michigan – 1 W. Kentucky – 0
Armed Forces Bowl Pittsburgh – 1 Houston – 0
Gildan New Mexico Bowl [0] Utah State – 0 UTEP – 0
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Air Force – 0 W. Michigan – 0
GoDaddy Bowl Toledo – 0 Arkansas State – 0
Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl Illinois – 0 Louisiana Tech – 0
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl South Alabama – 0 Bowling Green – 0
