Greetings fellow football fans. I hope everyone has enjoyed/will enjoy their December holiday traditions. Before we get into today’s games, let’s recap. Christmas Eve night, BYU traveled west to take on Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. 2-point favorites, the Cougars fell behind 21-7 early, but roared (pun intended) back in a crazy 34-points-scored 2nd quarter to get within 7 at the half, 31-24. Both teams figured out how to play defense in the second half with BYU tying the game in the 3rd and taking their first and only lead just after the 4th quarter started. A slim 3-point lead with 14:37 to go and it looked like Vegas had it right for the next 13:20 until Hawaii scored the go-ahead TD. The Cougars made a charge but, as so often happens, an interception with 31 seconds to go sealed the fate. Vegas missed, but the great news is the GCR picked Hawaii, so that’s good, right? Going into the games today, 8-4 and 6-3 in the FBS so far this bowl season.
But now let’s talk about the ACC vs Group of 5 games today. First at 4:00 (all times Eastern), we have Miami (34) and Louisiana Tech (60) in what is a near home game for the Bulldogs. Shreveport is just under 69 miles from Ruston and La Tech is not only looking for their 10th win of year, but their 6th straight bowl win. The 9-3 Bulldogs (2nd in the C-USA West) haven’t played a top 25 team this year, but lost to Texas (26) 45-14 early. Their schedule was ridiculously weak (opponent’s were 59-88), and they lost to 2 schools ranked higher than 100, Marshall (101) and UAB (104), in back to back weeks late. They only played 6 teams with winning records. Miami, on the other hand, had the most confusing season in college football. High-expectations pre-season and a hard-fought loss to Florida (8) early…then they beat Virginia (23) who won the division, but lost to both Georgia Tech (125) and Florida International (123). At 6-6 they were 5th in the ACC Coastal (where every team has lost at least 4 so far). Their opponent’s record was a respectable 82-65 with 10 opponents .500 or better. Vegas has the Hurricanes -7.0 and the GCR has to agree even with the near-home advantage 55.3%.
The nightcap kicks off at 8:00 out of Detroit (only 36 miles from Ypsilanti) with Central Michigan (99) pseudo-hosting Pittsburgh (50). Pittsburgh, in contrast to Miami, has done exactly what is was supposed to do. Their 5 losses came to teams with an average rank of 33.0 while their 7 wins were over average rank 88.5. There were no GCR upsets either way for them. Two of their losses were to top 25 teams (Virginia and Penn State). Those 7 wins put them in 3rd place for the ACC Coastal facing teams with a record of 79-67 (8 .500 or better). Facing the Panthers are the Eagles who will take the short bus ride over. Their season was not as cookie cutter as Pitt’s. They didn’t play any top 25 teams, Kentucky (47) a 38-17 loss was their strongest opponent, but they did beat Illinois (52) on the road 34-31. Three weeks later they lost to Central Michigan (91) 42-16. Included in their schedule were 8 .500 or better teams and overall they faced a combined record of 75-74. This game is much more of a mismatch than the earlier game. Vegas has the Panthers -12.0 and the GCR says the consistency of the season continues 62.2%.
That’s today’s games. Tune in next time for a review of the 5 games tomorrow including out first taste of Power 5 on Power 5 (3 of them, even). As always, comment, question, challenge, and above all, it is the season to be sharing, so share the blog with others.
thanks, G
