This bowl thing is becoming an annual event down in Denton, as the North Texas Eagles will be making their third straight bowl appearance. Coach Darrell Dickey has done a tremendous job at North Texas. He took over the job of guiding this Sun Belt Conference School back in 1999, inheriting a team that had won only three games the previous year.
It took him a couple of years to get the recruiting in place as he won only five games his first two seasons. Then in 2001 the Eagles found themselves in a bowl game. Yeah, they were the laughing stock of the bowls as they qualified despite posting a 5-6 record. It showed as they were demolished by Colorado State 45-20, not coming close as 12-point dogs.
Last year they again earned the bowl invite but this time it was more legitimate as they were a respectable 7-5 conference champ. This time the Eagles showed they belonged as they upset Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl 24-19 as 8-point dogs.
North Texas showed additional improvement this season as they won eight games while losing only three and finished the season on an eight game winning streak. If you review their game logs, you?ll find that two of their three losses game against bowl invitees Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The Memphis Tigers posted an 8-4 season, their best record since 1973. Congrats to coach Tommy West, who in only his third season appears to have the Memphis football program headed in the right direction. After losing to Mississippi State at the half waypoint of the season the Tigers were at 3-3 and the possibility of heading south looming in Memphis.
Behind a solid defense the Tigers right themselves, going to Houston and Tulane and recording easy wins. They went on to string three more wins together for a five game winning streak. However, the streak was snapped in the final game of the season as they were upset at home by South Florida 21-16 as 9-point home favorites.
The Sportsbooks have Memphis as 4.5-point favorites. North Texas just can?t get any respect. The Tigers have some significant trends in there favor as we note that they are 16-3 ATS after playing a conference opponent in their previous game. But don't discount the fact that Memphis rebounds very well off a close loss having posted a 9-1 ATS record after losing by seven or less points to a conference opponent.
It took him a couple of years to get the recruiting in place as he won only five games his first two seasons. Then in 2001 the Eagles found themselves in a bowl game. Yeah, they were the laughing stock of the bowls as they qualified despite posting a 5-6 record. It showed as they were demolished by Colorado State 45-20, not coming close as 12-point dogs.
Last year they again earned the bowl invite but this time it was more legitimate as they were a respectable 7-5 conference champ. This time the Eagles showed they belonged as they upset Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl 24-19 as 8-point dogs.
North Texas showed additional improvement this season as they won eight games while losing only three and finished the season on an eight game winning streak. If you review their game logs, you?ll find that two of their three losses game against bowl invitees Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The Memphis Tigers posted an 8-4 season, their best record since 1973. Congrats to coach Tommy West, who in only his third season appears to have the Memphis football program headed in the right direction. After losing to Mississippi State at the half waypoint of the season the Tigers were at 3-3 and the possibility of heading south looming in Memphis.
Behind a solid defense the Tigers right themselves, going to Houston and Tulane and recording easy wins. They went on to string three more wins together for a five game winning streak. However, the streak was snapped in the final game of the season as they were upset at home by South Florida 21-16 as 9-point home favorites.
The Sportsbooks have Memphis as 4.5-point favorites. North Texas just can?t get any respect. The Tigers have some significant trends in there favor as we note that they are 16-3 ATS after playing a conference opponent in their previous game. But don't discount the fact that Memphis rebounds very well off a close loss having posted a 9-1 ATS record after losing by seven or less points to a conference opponent.
