GMAC BOWL
BOWLING GREEN vs. MEMPHIS ? December 22nd, 7:00 pm
Believe it or not, this game should be one of the more entertaining bowl games this year. While many may not be familiar with these two offenses, let me tell you that they are both going to score early and often. The total for this game opened at 70 which is the 3rd highest for a bowl game this season behind only the Hawaii and Liberty Bowls. That is because the Bowling Green Falcons have averaged 43.6 points per game while the Memphis Tigers have put up an average of 36.5 points this season. Both schools come in with identical 8-3 records with Bowling Green losing only to Oklahoma, Northern Illinois and Toledo while Memphis? losses came against UAB, Cincinnati and Louisville. That?s some pretty tough company.
Bowling Green lost phenom QB Josh Harris to graduation last year and you would think that they would have seen a letdown at that position but Omar Jacobs has stepped in and put up 3,637 passing yards which is the 2nd highest in the nation. Add to that obscene number the fact that he has 36 passing touchdowns and only 3 interceptions all year. His stellar play has been complimented by RB P.J. Poe and his 947 yards rushing. This MAC team actually put up 20 points on Oklahoma in their opener in Norman. The Falcons also dropped 56 points on Marshall who only allowed one other team to score more than 25 points all year. Pretty impressive numbers all around.
The Memphis Tigers? offense stacks up nicely as well. DeAngelo Williams at running back has romped his way to a total of 1,828 yards against defenses throughout the CUSA this year and QB Danny Wimprine added 2,568 yards passing along the way. Williams averaged 6.2 yards per carry and has scored 21 rushing touchdowns. Wimprine has thrown 18 touchdowns this year to bring his total to 77 in his four years at Memphis. That kind of balance is rare and numbers like that will keep any defense guessing. Just ask Louisville as the Tigers were the only team besides Miami to give them any trouble all season. They were down to the Cardinals by only two points at the half and went on to lose a tough 56-49 game on November 4th. This team will stick around until the end.
Wow! Two potent offenses face off in Mobile and something has to give somewhere. My feeling is that it will be the defenses of each team that will struggle against these well balanced attacks. While I lean toward Memphis and the points, I would sooner bet on the outcome of the coin toss for this game than to lay money on either side to cover. This game opened at Bowling Green -6 and has been bet down to -3. That is a fairly significant move but you will notice that while the total for this game opened at 70, that has also been bet down to 65 and may go lower as game time approaches. Bowl games with high totals have historically had Over tendencies and it has been my experience that when the number crunchers in Vegas put out a number like 70, it is for a reason. It looks like the public thinks the number was too high. Not me.
I think that we can expect an exciting game full of fireworks tonight and it may very well be the team that has the ball last wins this one outright. Although Bowling Green has only turned over the football seven times all season, they have taken the ball away from their opponents twenty-two times. Memphis has committed eighteen turnovers and thirteen of them have been interceptions. In Mobile, they are experiencing heavy thunderstorms which are supposed to give way to light showers by game time. The field is already soaked which will provide poor footing for defenders as they react to the direction of the offensive play. Don?t be surprised if the final score is in the neighborhood of 38-35 which is way over the current number of 65.
The Verdict: BOWLING GREEN/MEMPHIS OVER (65)
BOWLING GREEN vs. MEMPHIS ? December 22nd, 7:00 pm
Believe it or not, this game should be one of the more entertaining bowl games this year. While many may not be familiar with these two offenses, let me tell you that they are both going to score early and often. The total for this game opened at 70 which is the 3rd highest for a bowl game this season behind only the Hawaii and Liberty Bowls. That is because the Bowling Green Falcons have averaged 43.6 points per game while the Memphis Tigers have put up an average of 36.5 points this season. Both schools come in with identical 8-3 records with Bowling Green losing only to Oklahoma, Northern Illinois and Toledo while Memphis? losses came against UAB, Cincinnati and Louisville. That?s some pretty tough company.
Bowling Green lost phenom QB Josh Harris to graduation last year and you would think that they would have seen a letdown at that position but Omar Jacobs has stepped in and put up 3,637 passing yards which is the 2nd highest in the nation. Add to that obscene number the fact that he has 36 passing touchdowns and only 3 interceptions all year. His stellar play has been complimented by RB P.J. Poe and his 947 yards rushing. This MAC team actually put up 20 points on Oklahoma in their opener in Norman. The Falcons also dropped 56 points on Marshall who only allowed one other team to score more than 25 points all year. Pretty impressive numbers all around.
The Memphis Tigers? offense stacks up nicely as well. DeAngelo Williams at running back has romped his way to a total of 1,828 yards against defenses throughout the CUSA this year and QB Danny Wimprine added 2,568 yards passing along the way. Williams averaged 6.2 yards per carry and has scored 21 rushing touchdowns. Wimprine has thrown 18 touchdowns this year to bring his total to 77 in his four years at Memphis. That kind of balance is rare and numbers like that will keep any defense guessing. Just ask Louisville as the Tigers were the only team besides Miami to give them any trouble all season. They were down to the Cardinals by only two points at the half and went on to lose a tough 56-49 game on November 4th. This team will stick around until the end.
Wow! Two potent offenses face off in Mobile and something has to give somewhere. My feeling is that it will be the defenses of each team that will struggle against these well balanced attacks. While I lean toward Memphis and the points, I would sooner bet on the outcome of the coin toss for this game than to lay money on either side to cover. This game opened at Bowling Green -6 and has been bet down to -3. That is a fairly significant move but you will notice that while the total for this game opened at 70, that has also been bet down to 65 and may go lower as game time approaches. Bowl games with high totals have historically had Over tendencies and it has been my experience that when the number crunchers in Vegas put out a number like 70, it is for a reason. It looks like the public thinks the number was too high. Not me.
I think that we can expect an exciting game full of fireworks tonight and it may very well be the team that has the ball last wins this one outright. Although Bowling Green has only turned over the football seven times all season, they have taken the ball away from their opponents twenty-two times. Memphis has committed eighteen turnovers and thirteen of them have been interceptions. In Mobile, they are experiencing heavy thunderstorms which are supposed to give way to light showers by game time. The field is already soaked which will provide poor footing for defenders as they react to the direction of the offensive play. Don?t be surprised if the final score is in the neighborhood of 38-35 which is way over the current number of 65.
The Verdict: BOWLING GREEN/MEMPHIS OVER (65)
