10 best defensive players B1G teams will face in bowls

The Big Ten’s best offenses faced some major tests in 2018.

Michigan led the country in the regular season in total defense at 262.5 yards a game, even after allowing 62 points against Ohio State. Not to be outdone, Michigan State led the FBS in rushing defense at 81.3 yards a game.

But if B1G offenses think they are going to catch a break by going outside the conference to play bowl games, they are mistaken.

All-Americans and projected first-round NFL Draft picks abound on the defenses which lurk during the next few weeks.

So here are the 10 best defensive players which B1G teams will face in the bowl season.

10. DT Derrick Brown, Auburn

Brown, thought to be a possible first- or second-round selection in the NFL Draft if he turns pro after his junior season, had 9.5 tackles for loss with Auburn in 2018. The 6-foot-5, 325-pounder also has 3.5 sacks and 45 tackles including 21 solo heading into the Music City Bowl against Purdue.

9. S Jonathan Abram, Mississippi State

The third-team Associated Press All-America pick led the Bulldogs in total tackles with 93. He has been all over the place for MSU, contributing 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 7 passes defended and 5 quarterback hits going into the Outback Bowl against Iowa.

8. DL Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State

The Bulldogs led the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 12 points per game. Simmons and his fellow defensive line terror Montez Sweat (more on him later) are big reasons. Simmons, a third-team All-America and consensus first-team All-SEC, led MSU with 14.5 tackles for loss.

7. CB Byron Murphy, Washington

Murphy is the first of three Huskies defenders on this list to gather either first-team or second-team All-America plaudits. Of the three he seems to have the highest potential NFL Draft stock, showing up in the first round of a lot of mock drafts, should he leave after the Rose Bowl against Ohio State. The redshirt sophomore led Washington in interceptions with four and pass break-ups with 13.

6. DT Gerald Willis III, Miami

Willis, selected a second-team All-American by AP, helped the Hurricanes to be second in the country in total defense heading into the Pinstripe Bowl against Wisconsin. Miami’s opponents averaged just 268.1 total yards a game. Willis had eight tackles and a sack in Miami’s season-opening loss to LSU.

5. DE Jachai Polite, Florida

Polite was a second-team All-America by AP and a consensus first team All-SEC pick. Polite pops up in the middle of the first round on several mock NFL Draft boards. He has 11 sacks this season and is within reach of Alex Brown’s single-season school record of 13 going into the Peach Bowl against Michigan. He also co-leads the nation with 5 forced fumbles.

4. DL Montez Sweat, Mississippi State

Yet another Mississippi State player projected as a first-round selection on several mock NFL Draft boards. Sweat led MSU with 11 sacks in the regular season — including three against Auburn — and was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection. The FWAA and TSN named him a first-team All-American.

3. S Taylor Rapp, Washington

Washington had one of the best secondaries in the nation in 2018 and Rapp was a big reason. He was an ESPN and USA Today first-team All-American and a second-team selection on the AP list. Rapp led the team in sacks with 5 and added 2 interceptions and 5 pass break-ups.

2. LB Ben Burr-Kirven, Washington

The senior linebacker was the heart of the Huskies defense and a consensus first-team All-America selection. He leads the nation going into bowl season with 165 total tackles — nearly twice last season’s total of 84, which also led Washington. For good measure, the comparative literature (cinema studies) major was also named second-team Academic All-America.

1. LB Josh Allen, Kentucky

What hasn’t Allen done at Kentucky? He was named a consensus first-team All-America this season and won an armful of hardware declaring him the best defensive player in college football — the Chuck Bednarik Award, Lott Impact Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He’s a projected top-10 pick in most NFL Drafts and is at or near the nation’s top of the charts in sacks (14) and forced fumbles (5) heading into the Citrus Bowl against Penn State.