6 players to watch in Saturday’s Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium

The Arizona Bowl has a remarkable track record when it comes to producing dramatic finishes.

Seven Arizona Bowls have been played. Three have ended with walk-off wins in overtime. Another saw the winning points scored with 1:06 left in regulation.

The roll call of game-winning touchdown scorers started with Nevada’s James Butler in 2015 and continued with New Mexico State’s Larry Rose III (2017), the Wolf Pack’s Reagan Robertson (2018) and Ohio’s Tyler Foster (2022).

Who will emerge as a hero in Saturday afternoon’s Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl between Toledo and Wyoming at Arizona Stadium?

Here are three players to watch on each team:

TOLEDO ROCKETS

RB Jacquez Stuart (5-9, 180, Jr.)

Stuart will get the start in place of Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year Peny Boone, who recently entered the NCAA transfer portal. Stuart, a fifth-year junior, was named first-team All-MAC as a kickoff returner. He has 1,536 career rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He produced three 100-yard rushing games in 2022. “Very capable player, excellent player,” Toledo coach Jason Candle said. “I expect him to play great.”

WR Jerjuan Newton (5-11, 190, Jr.)

Newton has earned All-MAC recognition each of the past two seasons. He has 100 receptions for 1,452 yards and 18 touchdowns over that span. A team captain and fifth-year junior, Newton scored at least one TD in each of the Rockets’ first six games this season. He had three against Western Michigan and two against UMass.

CB Quinyon Mitchell (6-0, 180, Jr.)

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Mitchell was named a second-team All-American by four major outlets and is the highest-ranked pro prospect in the Arizona Bowl — with some projecting him as a late first-round pick. Mitchell is Toledo’s all-time leader with 46 pass breakups to go along with six interceptions. Mitchell could have transferred after an All-America campaign in 2022 and could have sat out the Arizona Bowl. He did neither. “Because we got something different here,” Mitchell said. “And I just love playing for the Rockets.”

WYOMING COWBOYS

QB Andrew Peasley (6-2, 218, Sr.)

Peasley will be making his second straight start in the Arizona Bowl. The sixth-year senior, who began his college career at Utah State, made significant strides as a passer this year. Peasley upped his completion rate from 52.4% in 2022 to 60.6% this year and improved his touchdown-to-interception ratio from 10-9 to 20-5. “It's been really a comfort for me to work with Andrew,” Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. “He's a mature guy. He's a father, a husband, takes the game really seriously. He’s an ultra-competitive guy. ... He takes ownership when he does make a mistake.”

RB Harrison Waylee (5-10, 200, Jr.)

Waylee transferred from Northern Illinois this past offseason and made an immediate impact for the Cowboys. Waylee has 856 rushing yards in nine games, his per-game average of 95.1 yards ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference, and his per-carry average of 5.9 yards is a career best. Waylee has registered four 100-yard rushing performances this season, including a 191-yard outing against New Mexico on Sept. 30. He rushed for 899 yards at NIU in 2022.

LB Easton Gibbs (6-2, 230, Jr.)

Another Arizona Bowl alum, Gibbs earned first-team All-MWC honors for the second straight year after topping 100 tackles for the second season in a row. Gibbs has 106 stops this season, including four tackles for loss. He also has five passes defensed, one interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Gibbs had 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in last year’s Arizona Bowl, a 30-27 overtime loss against Ohio. This year's game will mark Gibbs' last as a collegian as he pursues an NFL career.