Monday Bowl Games

[Smitty]

posting this now in case i don't get a chance before the game.

music city bowl

nc st (+7) 1 unit. if tom o'brien was still coaching, this would be a bigger play. that man was incredible in bowl games. but without him, it's difficult to trust this team, because you don't know if you'll get the team that beat fsu or the team that was blown out at home by virginia. that said, at least this team has a big win this year. vandy has some very impressive losses (3 of their 4 losses were to top-10 teams), but no impressive win.*

vandy has only faced one other top-20 passing attack this season, but they shut down tennessee. however, how excited will they be for another bowl game in their home state? this is their 3rd bowl game since 1982, and all 3 were in tennessee. if they aren't focused on stopping glennon, he could have a big day.

i guess what it really comes down to for me is that i have to take 7 points from an anemic offense.

under (51.5) 2 units. vandy's defense should make enough stops and their offense should also make a few stops (that's right). interesting note - in nc st games this year when the total was less than 53, the under was 5-0.


*side note - beating nc st would hardly qualify as an "impressive win."

 

[Smitty]

Sun Bowl

Sun Bowl

usc (-7) 1 unit. really don't llike this play. this is the 3rd underacheiving team i've played this bowl season, and i feel like i got very lucky with va tech and texas. but georgia tech was just so bad this year. and as we've seen with air force and navy, it's easier to prepare for the option when you have 4 weeks. i gotta believe wittek is looking forward to showing what he can do and georgia tech's defense ain't notre dame.

i can't even figure out how georgia tech is bowl eligible. here's their wins:

presbyterian
virginia
boston college
maryland
north carolina
duke

don't you need 6 wins over D1 schools? i know technically BC counts, but presbyterian doesn't. so how is la tech sitting home this bowl season and ga tech is playing? in fact, how awesome would la tech vs. usc have been?

 

[SixFive]

You get to count a non DI school victory every other year I think as it concerns bowl eligibility.

usc (-7) 1 unit. really don't llike this play. this is the 3rd underacheiving team i've played this bowl season, and i feel like i got very lucky with va tech and texas. but georgia tech was just so bad this year. and as we've seen with air force and navy, it's easier to prepare for the option when you have 4 weeks. i gotta believe wittek is looking forward to showing what he can do and georgia tech's defense ain't notre dame.

i can't even figure out how georgia tech is bowl eligible. here's their wins:

presbyterian
virginia
boston college
maryland
north carolina
duke

don't you need 6 wins over D1 schools? i know technically BC counts, but presbyterian doesn't. so how is la tech sitting home this bowl season and ga tech is playing? in fact, how awesome would la tech vs. usc have been?

 

[Smitty]

Liberty Bowl

Liberty Bowl

GIVE ME A SPONSOR OR GIVE ME DEATH!!**

** slight paraphrase of patrick henry

tulsa (+1) 2 units. this is an interesting rematch from the season opener. tulsa was laying a point or two at iowa st. after falling behind 7-0, they scored the next 16 points. and then promptly gave up the next 24 points. they scored early in the 4th to get back within 8 points and were driving with a few minutes to go when green threw a pick that was returned to the tulsa 5 yard line. game over. i believe tulsa will look at this game like they have some unfinished business.

under (51.5) 1 unit. both teams have a solid defense, and i think the rematch will be much lower scoring than the first game.

 

[Smitty]

Chick-fil-A Bowl

Chick-fil-A Bowl

lsu (-6) 1 unit. as i mentioned in my vandy write-up, i hate laying points with anemic offenses. but i have a strong feeling lsu's offense is going to look very capable against clemson.
clemson faced one real defense all season, and south carolina shut them down. in fact, clemson had all of 3 points after the first quarter. auburn's defense didn't have the season they expected, but they were the only other team to keep clemson under 38 points. so against the sec, clemson averaged 21.5 points. against everybody else, they averaged 46.5 points. this ain't rocket science. good defense still beats good offense.

over (59) 2 units. ok, lsu's defense may not be fired up for the chick-fil-a bowl on 12/31. so clemson may put up a few more points than lsu normally gives up. but as i alluded to above, i think lsu is going to look like a completely different team on offense. a large part of that is facing clemson's "defense". mettenberger showed some signs of life late in the season, and he may have a big game today.

 

[Smitty]

You get to count a non DI school victory every other year I think as it concerns bowl eligibility.

holy shit, that's hilarious.

"hey, guys, you don't have to make your schedules TOO hard." - the ncaa

 

[Smitty]

in nc state's "defense", the wildcat is very complicated to defend.

snap ball to guy

guy runs with ball

sure, that SEEMS simple enough to defend, but that guy could run to the right, the left, or even up the middle.

not so simple now, is it smart guy?

 

[fla]

in nc state's "defense", the wildcat is very complicated to defend.

snap ball to guy

guy runs with ball

sure, that SEEMS simple enough to defend, but that guy could run to the right, the left, or even up the middle.

not so simple now, is it smart guy?

:mj07: