Bowl Week Card ( Dec 18th- Jan 8th)
- Thread starter Irish
- Start date
looks like byu is the better team so far! hope they get the first touchdown soon to relax them! good luck !
Rice (-4) over Troy
The Owls haven't won a bowl game since defeating Alabama 28-6 in the 1954 Cotton Bowl. Rice is 4-3 in bowls. Graham's offensive scheme is much more complex than what Rice was used to, but his team has embraced it. The Owls ranked third in the conference with 27.8 points per game and averaged 345.2 yards of offense, up from the last season's total of 21.9 points and 337.5 yards. The Rice offense is keyed by quarterback Chase Clement and receiver Jarett Dillard. Clement threw 21 touchdowns and just five interceptions in eight games, averaging 213.4 passing yards per contest. Troy won six of its last seven games to finish the season with its first Sun Belt Conference crown. Clement is questionable for tonights game with an injury but if he cannot play Armstrong will get the go. One BIG factor is the Troy QB has a tendence of throwing picks and if Rice has success running their game plan then Troy will have to come out of the running game play and start throwing which will hurt troy in this game. Rice has made a living off of holding on to the ball giving up just 16 turnovers on the year while Troy has turned it over a whopping 30 times. The Trojan defense isn't the killer of years past and, while aggressive, isn't good at forcing mistakes. Rice has to avoid the temptation of throwing the knockout punch early by forcing the ball to Dillard, and there can't be the three turnover performance like there was in the season final against SMU. If the two teams play evenly, Rice should be able to win without a problem. These teams play to the other weakness... troy will run and Rice isn't as good at stopping the run as they are against the pass. Rice will throw and Troy in weak in the pass defense department. Troy gives up an average of 344 yards per game and Rice gives up 417 per contest. HOWEVER Rice offense averages 345 compared to Troys 315. So these teams are evenly matched but the Owls are IMO the better team and if both teams come to play (which considering the lack of bowl experience) they will, Rice should have too much offense for Troy. One BAD stat in my play is Clement only completes about 57% of his throws and if he plays poorly the Owls are in for a long game. Still when Clement isn't passing he is a threat to pull it down and run and he should make some big plays with his arm and legs to keep drives alive. Now if Clement is out and Armstring goes there is a concern because he is green and forces throws but he has a strong arm and given time can make the big throw BUT not the runner Clement brings to the table. What is lost in the Rice offense and the ability of WR Dillard is the RB play of Smith. This guy averages over 5 yards per carry and that will be big time considering the safeties will be playing deep against the pass. Catthouse is a powerful back that has big game in him but the Owls can stack the box and force the QB to beat them and the Owls have the players in the secondary to create turnovers. Rice is 109th in the nation in pass efficiency defense, 110th in scoring defense, 113th in total defense and 114th in rushing defense, allowing 32.58 points, 417.67 total yards and 191.17 rushing yards per game.:scared BUT IN THE 3-3-5 defense that makes better use of the team's available personnel to lead C-USA with 28 takeaways and 31 sacks. The defense for Rice will be tough for Troy to handle, would like to see Clement play but if he cannot I still think Armstrong brings a nice arm to the offense and can hit dillard down field. A strong dose of play action will hurt Troy and if the Owls can get up on Troy then troy will struggle to keep up without turning the ball over.
Thanks 3 seconds
Cheers
Irish
The Owls haven't won a bowl game since defeating Alabama 28-6 in the 1954 Cotton Bowl. Rice is 4-3 in bowls. Graham's offensive scheme is much more complex than what Rice was used to, but his team has embraced it. The Owls ranked third in the conference with 27.8 points per game and averaged 345.2 yards of offense, up from the last season's total of 21.9 points and 337.5 yards. The Rice offense is keyed by quarterback Chase Clement and receiver Jarett Dillard. Clement threw 21 touchdowns and just five interceptions in eight games, averaging 213.4 passing yards per contest. Troy won six of its last seven games to finish the season with its first Sun Belt Conference crown. Clement is questionable for tonights game with an injury but if he cannot play Armstrong will get the go. One BIG factor is the Troy QB has a tendence of throwing picks and if Rice has success running their game plan then Troy will have to come out of the running game play and start throwing which will hurt troy in this game. Rice has made a living off of holding on to the ball giving up just 16 turnovers on the year while Troy has turned it over a whopping 30 times. The Trojan defense isn't the killer of years past and, while aggressive, isn't good at forcing mistakes. Rice has to avoid the temptation of throwing the knockout punch early by forcing the ball to Dillard, and there can't be the three turnover performance like there was in the season final against SMU. If the two teams play evenly, Rice should be able to win without a problem. These teams play to the other weakness... troy will run and Rice isn't as good at stopping the run as they are against the pass. Rice will throw and Troy in weak in the pass defense department. Troy gives up an average of 344 yards per game and Rice gives up 417 per contest. HOWEVER Rice offense averages 345 compared to Troys 315. So these teams are evenly matched but the Owls are IMO the better team and if both teams come to play (which considering the lack of bowl experience) they will, Rice should have too much offense for Troy. One BAD stat in my play is Clement only completes about 57% of his throws and if he plays poorly the Owls are in for a long game. Still when Clement isn't passing he is a threat to pull it down and run and he should make some big plays with his arm and legs to keep drives alive. Now if Clement is out and Armstring goes there is a concern because he is green and forces throws but he has a strong arm and given time can make the big throw BUT not the runner Clement brings to the table. What is lost in the Rice offense and the ability of WR Dillard is the RB play of Smith. This guy averages over 5 yards per carry and that will be big time considering the safeties will be playing deep against the pass. Catthouse is a powerful back that has big game in him but the Owls can stack the box and force the QB to beat them and the Owls have the players in the secondary to create turnovers. Rice is 109th in the nation in pass efficiency defense, 110th in scoring defense, 113th in total defense and 114th in rushing defense, allowing 32.58 points, 417.67 total yards and 191.17 rushing yards per game.:scared BUT IN THE 3-3-5 defense that makes better use of the team's available personnel to lead C-USA with 28 takeaways and 31 sacks. The defense for Rice will be tough for Troy to handle, would like to see Clement play but if he cannot I still think Armstrong brings a nice arm to the offense and can hit dillard down field. A strong dose of play action will hurt Troy and if the Owls can get up on Troy then troy will struggle to keep up without turning the ball over.
Thanks 3 seconds
Cheers
Irish
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Enjoyed your write up these two.........think it all came down to the injury as I think Rice wouldve been more competitive with the starter in there....these mid-majors have quite the drop offs in talent between #1 and #2 on the roster....keep em comin!
Re-hit
S.Fla (-5) over ECU
New Mexico (-3.5) over San Jose St
This is more than likely the "how did you guys get here" bowl considering New Mexico is 6-6 and San Jose State hasn't defeated a Division I-A team with a winning record this season. The Spartans' offense is powered by a running game which averages 183.8 yards per contest - 15th-most in the nation. New Mexico ranks 95th out of 119 Division I-A teams with 109.7 rushing yards per game. The Lobos are considered the visiting team for this game even though it is being played on their home field at University Stadium. Interesting note on this is NM is 3-4 at home but SJS is 2-2 on the road. San Jose Sts wins are over IMO poor teams... Stanford, Cal Poly, San Diego State, Utah State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Idaho and Fresno State. Then again New Mex isn't beating the good teams but they have a solid win over Utah that will be bowl bound later tonight. The Spartans ran for fewer than 100 yards three times all year and lost all three games. When the Spartans were challenged by a team with talented receives, they were torched getting lit up for 781 yards and eight touchdowns by Hawaii and NMSU, and got bombed by Stanford (before all the top receivers and QB Trent Edwards got hurt) for four scores. So who is going to step up in my opinion....Donovan Porterie. The freshman QB is healthy of an ankle injury that hampered him in his last few games. Since replacing the senior QB the offense has looked more effective and adds a passing threat as well as a Furgesons run threat. The SJS defense is decent but they are not rock solid and they can be beat throwing the ball. It is a must that New Mex tries to mix run and pass. Once they start doing that and the defense is on their heels a bit the play action and draws will be very posititve. The key for New Mex on defense is to play the run and get to Adam Tafralis. If he has time then I am in for a long afternoon, but if the Lobos all out go for him he will run his throws. Not interception rushes but incompletions. Tafralis is a good QB, he hits about 65% of his passes compared to 55% for Porterie, but Donavan only play about half the games. Tafralis isn't a 40-passes-a-game type quarterback, but if that's what the defense is allowing, San Jose State will throw it 40 times. Looking at these teams they are not too impressive but this is a HOME bowl game for New Mexico and they should have a pretty good crowd on hand and if they get going early some of the players might just start to play better. IMO Coach Rocky Long should send the house the first few plays on defense, Let SJS they will be coming after the QB all day. Even if they don't get to the QB they will throw off the rythem of SJS, don't let them get started and New Mex considering they haven't been solid in bowl games needs to let it hang out.
ALSO
Played KC(-7) over Oakland.... IMO Oakland is a highschool team, small play because KC has not impressed me on either side of the ball this year
Cheers
Irish
S.Fla (-5) over ECU
New Mexico (-3.5) over San Jose St
This is more than likely the "how did you guys get here" bowl considering New Mexico is 6-6 and San Jose State hasn't defeated a Division I-A team with a winning record this season. The Spartans' offense is powered by a running game which averages 183.8 yards per contest - 15th-most in the nation. New Mexico ranks 95th out of 119 Division I-A teams with 109.7 rushing yards per game. The Lobos are considered the visiting team for this game even though it is being played on their home field at University Stadium. Interesting note on this is NM is 3-4 at home but SJS is 2-2 on the road. San Jose Sts wins are over IMO poor teams... Stanford, Cal Poly, San Diego State, Utah State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Idaho and Fresno State. Then again New Mex isn't beating the good teams but they have a solid win over Utah that will be bowl bound later tonight. The Spartans ran for fewer than 100 yards three times all year and lost all three games. When the Spartans were challenged by a team with talented receives, they were torched getting lit up for 781 yards and eight touchdowns by Hawaii and NMSU, and got bombed by Stanford (before all the top receivers and QB Trent Edwards got hurt) for four scores. So who is going to step up in my opinion....Donovan Porterie. The freshman QB is healthy of an ankle injury that hampered him in his last few games. Since replacing the senior QB the offense has looked more effective and adds a passing threat as well as a Furgesons run threat. The SJS defense is decent but they are not rock solid and they can be beat throwing the ball. It is a must that New Mex tries to mix run and pass. Once they start doing that and the defense is on their heels a bit the play action and draws will be very posititve. The key for New Mex on defense is to play the run and get to Adam Tafralis. If he has time then I am in for a long afternoon, but if the Lobos all out go for him he will run his throws. Not interception rushes but incompletions. Tafralis is a good QB, he hits about 65% of his passes compared to 55% for Porterie, but Donavan only play about half the games. Tafralis isn't a 40-passes-a-game type quarterback, but if that's what the defense is allowing, San Jose State will throw it 40 times. Looking at these teams they are not too impressive but this is a HOME bowl game for New Mexico and they should have a pretty good crowd on hand and if they get going early some of the players might just start to play better. IMO Coach Rocky Long should send the house the first few plays on defense, Let SJS they will be coming after the QB all day. Even if they don't get to the QB they will throw off the rythem of SJS, don't let them get started and New Mex considering they haven't been solid in bowl games needs to let it hang out.
ALSO
Played KC(-7) over Oakland.... IMO Oakland is a highschool team, small play because KC has not impressed me on either side of the ball this year
Cheers
Irish
Utah (-1) over Tulsa
Ratliff will face a defense that allowed 152.5 passing yards per game, the fewest in Conference USA.Utah, though, allowed only 54 rushing yards on 24 attempts against the Cougars. The Utes gave up only 35.0 rushing yards per contest this season. Tulsa's pass defense isn't quite as good as its No. 6 national ranking might indicate, but it's good enough to keep the Utah passing game from rolling for four quarters. Utah leads the series with Tulsa 2-1 but lost the most recent meeting 21-13 in 1997, when both teams competed in the WAC. Tulsa lost when the run defense struggled getting blown out by BYU and Houston after allowing more than 220 yards, and was 7-0 when allowing 126 rushing yards or fewer. Utah's offensive line will give Ratliff all the time in the world to operate on the Golden Hurricane secondary, while the ground game will get just enough to give the offense a little bit of balance. Utah has a bit more overall athleticism, is better at holding on to the ball, and has a fantastic punting game. Utah has looked good of late and going into this game they are the better team. Tulsa has a good QB but they lack the weapons of last season. I am not sure Smith can make enough plays to give the running game the open room it will need to be the difference. Utah has the QB to make the throws but he has to play very well in order to win this game, he looked sharp over the last few games bt there has been a bit of a lay-off and I do not want rust to be a factor. Utah does not have a running game but they do like to smash the ball and misdirection should be something Tulsa struggles against. Ratliff will also have to see the field, which means the o-line will have to give him time. There is a lot of speed and talent at WR but the o-line has to allow for the routes to develope and I think they have that ability. I like the LB play for Utah, they watch the QB well and Smith does have the tendency to watch his WR's and the LB's and safety can jump a play. This actually will be a very good game and the team that makes the most mistakes will lose and in my opinion I think thats Tulsa.
Re-hit
New Mex (-3) over SJS
94% of the money is on SJS both points and spread and yet the line dropped on the hook? I'll take my chance.
Cheers
Irish
Ratliff will face a defense that allowed 152.5 passing yards per game, the fewest in Conference USA.Utah, though, allowed only 54 rushing yards on 24 attempts against the Cougars. The Utes gave up only 35.0 rushing yards per contest this season. Tulsa's pass defense isn't quite as good as its No. 6 national ranking might indicate, but it's good enough to keep the Utah passing game from rolling for four quarters. Utah leads the series with Tulsa 2-1 but lost the most recent meeting 21-13 in 1997, when both teams competed in the WAC. Tulsa lost when the run defense struggled getting blown out by BYU and Houston after allowing more than 220 yards, and was 7-0 when allowing 126 rushing yards or fewer. Utah's offensive line will give Ratliff all the time in the world to operate on the Golden Hurricane secondary, while the ground game will get just enough to give the offense a little bit of balance. Utah has a bit more overall athleticism, is better at holding on to the ball, and has a fantastic punting game. Utah has looked good of late and going into this game they are the better team. Tulsa has a good QB but they lack the weapons of last season. I am not sure Smith can make enough plays to give the running game the open room it will need to be the difference. Utah has the QB to make the throws but he has to play very well in order to win this game, he looked sharp over the last few games bt there has been a bit of a lay-off and I do not want rust to be a factor. Utah does not have a running game but they do like to smash the ball and misdirection should be something Tulsa struggles against. Ratliff will also have to see the field, which means the o-line will have to give him time. There is a lot of speed and talent at WR but the o-line has to allow for the routes to develope and I think they have that ability. I like the LB play for Utah, they watch the QB well and Smith does have the tendency to watch his WR's and the LB's and safety can jump a play. This actually will be a very good game and the team that makes the most mistakes will lose and in my opinion I think thats Tulsa.
Re-hit
New Mex (-3) over SJS
94% of the money is on SJS both points and spread and yet the line dropped on the hook? I'll take my chance.
Cheers
Irish
