Myrtle Beach Bowl
Right off the rip, we have the Kennesaw HC in his first season on the job. Strike one against them. Although it's the program's first bowl game, so extra motivation there.
Near as I can tell, Kennesaw St has no significant opt-outs. Both starting CBs (Washington and Offord) were potential opt-outs, with Washington already declaring for the portal. But it looks like both are playing. I only see one potential opt-out for WMU, and that's Nadame Tucker, who led the nation in sacks and TFL. But it looks like he's playing.
Kennesaw St is led by Amari Odom, who completed 67% of his passes with 18 TDs and 6 INTs. And averaged a very impressive 9.3 yards/att. Their top RB, Bennett, averages 4.8 yds/carry. WMU is stout against the run, giving up 3.7 yards/carry (35th in the country). With Tucker chasing down QBs, they are also good against the pass, giving up 6.5 yards/att (37th). Speaking of sacks... Odom has been sacked 10 times the last 3 games, after only being sacked 7 times his first 8 games. They'd better figure out how to protect Odom, or Tucker is going to have a monster game.
On offense, WMU likes to grind out long drives. They are 15th in the country in TOP. RB Buckley was having a mediocre season (4.2 yards/carry) until he exploded in the MAC Championship game, picking up 193 yards on 19 carries. QB Broc Lowry is their leading rusher. He doesn't have that many more pass attempts (243) than rushes (197). Kennesaw St is mediocre against the run, giving up 4.5 yards/carry (89th in the country), and they've struggled against some mobile qbs. Notably in their two games against Jacksonville St in November, they gave up 127 and 112 to Caden Creel.
One quick note... back to TOP.... Kennesaw is 105th in the country. This game is really setting up for WMU to absolutely control the clock.
Here's the problem though... WMU only scores a TD on 71% of their red zone possessions. That is 127th in the country. And their fg kicker has been inconsistent. Domschke is 2-for-3 under 30 yards, 1-for-3 from 30-39, 9-of-11 from 40-49, and he made his only attempt from 50+. They may struggle to convert those long drives into points. Kennesaw St is 21st in the country, allowing opponents to score on just 77% of their red zone trips.
Kicking (and the passing game) may be a bit of an adventure. They are expecting winds in the mid-to-upper teens with gusts around 30mph most of the game.
This just feels like WMU is going to dominate statistically, but fail to capitalize on some long drives, leaving the door open for the Owls to pull out their first bowl win.
Kennesaw St (ML) 2 to win 2.7
Under 47.5 3 units
1H Under 23.5 3 units
Right off the rip, we have the Kennesaw HC in his first season on the job. Strike one against them. Although it's the program's first bowl game, so extra motivation there.
Near as I can tell, Kennesaw St has no significant opt-outs. Both starting CBs (Washington and Offord) were potential opt-outs, with Washington already declaring for the portal. But it looks like both are playing. I only see one potential opt-out for WMU, and that's Nadame Tucker, who led the nation in sacks and TFL. But it looks like he's playing.
Kennesaw St is led by Amari Odom, who completed 67% of his passes with 18 TDs and 6 INTs. And averaged a very impressive 9.3 yards/att. Their top RB, Bennett, averages 4.8 yds/carry. WMU is stout against the run, giving up 3.7 yards/carry (35th in the country). With Tucker chasing down QBs, they are also good against the pass, giving up 6.5 yards/att (37th). Speaking of sacks... Odom has been sacked 10 times the last 3 games, after only being sacked 7 times his first 8 games. They'd better figure out how to protect Odom, or Tucker is going to have a monster game.
On offense, WMU likes to grind out long drives. They are 15th in the country in TOP. RB Buckley was having a mediocre season (4.2 yards/carry) until he exploded in the MAC Championship game, picking up 193 yards on 19 carries. QB Broc Lowry is their leading rusher. He doesn't have that many more pass attempts (243) than rushes (197). Kennesaw St is mediocre against the run, giving up 4.5 yards/carry (89th in the country), and they've struggled against some mobile qbs. Notably in their two games against Jacksonville St in November, they gave up 127 and 112 to Caden Creel.
One quick note... back to TOP.... Kennesaw is 105th in the country. This game is really setting up for WMU to absolutely control the clock.
Here's the problem though... WMU only scores a TD on 71% of their red zone possessions. That is 127th in the country. And their fg kicker has been inconsistent. Domschke is 2-for-3 under 30 yards, 1-for-3 from 30-39, 9-of-11 from 40-49, and he made his only attempt from 50+. They may struggle to convert those long drives into points. Kennesaw St is 21st in the country, allowing opponents to score on just 77% of their red zone trips.
Kicking (and the passing game) may be a bit of an adventure. They are expecting winds in the mid-to-upper teens with gusts around 30mph most of the game.
This just feels like WMU is going to dominate statistically, but fail to capitalize on some long drives, leaving the door open for the Owls to pull out their first bowl win.
Kennesaw St (ML) 2 to win 2.7
Under 47.5 3 units
1H Under 23.5 3 units
