Welcome back to 2024 bowl season, oh great and wonderful college football fans. Last night, we had our first of four straight bowls named for the city with the Frisco (TX) Bowl. Memphis was favored and I wrote they should cover up to 13 points. The Tigers jumped on top of West Virginia 17-0 within the first 20 minutes on the way to a true blowout. But West Virginia had other things in mind, coming back to just a 28-17 halftime deficit. A couple of TDs and a missed 2-pt conversion in the 3rd set up 4th quarter with Memphis up 35-23. With 4:53 to go in the 3rd, the Mountaineers got the ball on their own 10-yard line following a punt. 19 plays later, after nearly 8 minutes and 90 yards, on a 4th and 1, WVU makes it 35-30. A holding call on the return put Memphis on their own 10, but an 89-yard non-TD catch on first down gave them 1st and goal from the 1. 2 plays, 1 minute and 5 seconds, and the game is 42-30. Credit West Virginia players and coaching staff. They played uphill the whole game and didn’t quit. After a touchback with 10:42 to go, they used 13 plays to once again score on a 1-yd play to tighten the game 42-37. Memphis tried to kick a 50-yard FG with 0:56 to go but missed. With 69 yards to go for the win in 56 seconds, WVU got to the Memphis 37 with 8 ticks. The Tigers intercepted the ball on the 16 and appeared to fumble back to West Virginia; however, replay showed the defensive back had started a slide before the ball came out. Memphis ball for a kneel down. Final 42-37 Memphis. It was worth staying up late to watch.
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Today we have a double header beginning at 5:30 (all times Eastern) when W Kentucky (8-5/79), runner up in Conference USA takes on the Sun Belt East’s 3rd place team, James Madison (8-4/73). The Hilltoppers started fast going 7-2 before losing 3 of the last 4. Their only win during that stretch was over Jacksonville St (9-4/61) in the final game of the regular season before losing to them in the rematch of a conference championship game the next week. They faced 6 bowl-bound teams this season going 3-4 against them. JMU also started quickly at 8-2 before losing their final two games to App St and eventual Sun Belt champion Marshall. The Dukes only faced 4 bowl-eligible teams splitting 2-2. They did beat North Carolina which prompted Mack Brown to swear he was going to quit, only to back off on that threat until the season was over. Vegas likes JMU-7.5 and the GCR fully agrees on the Dukes winning 53% of the time, but the Hilltoppers have been here before too. WKY covers.
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At 9:00, we continue the “couldn’t think of a cool name for the bowl, so let’s just call it our town” trend. Although the Art of Sport LA Bowl is actually played in Inglewood, it is in the greater Los Angeles area. We have ACC newcomer (and 14th place finisher out of 17) California (6-6/77) taking on the Mountain West runner up UNLV (10-3/34). California was a streaky team winning their first 3, then losing their next 4, and winning their next 2. 5 of their losses were to the 5 bowl teams they played with the 6th loss being the only FBS victory for Florida St. UNLV had two 4-game win streaks during the season. They also only lost to two teams: Syracuse and Boise St (twice). In fact, both teams lost to Syracuse with the Golden Bears losing by 8 and the Rebels by just 3. Overall UNLV was 2-3 vs team with winning records. Vegas likes UNLV-3.5 add the GCR is in full agreement to win (60%) and to cover.
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Tune in tomorrow for information on the New Orleans Bowl (hire a Marketing guy – c’mon!). I’ve attached the info about tonight’s games below for reference. Thank you for reading and for sharing with others. G
Time | Bowl (Location) | Team | Team | Vegas | GCR Win | GCR Cover |
5:30 | Boca Raton (Boca Raton, FL) | W Kentucky (8-5/79) | James Madison (8-4/73) | JMU-7.5 | JMU 53% | WKY |
9:00 | Art of Sport LA Inglewood, CA) | California (6-6/77) | UNLV (10-3/34) | UNLV-3.5 | UNLV 60% | UNLV |