LA Bowl – Fresno State -3.5 vs Washington State - Washington State comes in depleted and running oin fumes. The Cougars lost both DC Brian Ward (to DC Arizona State) and OC Eric Morris (to HC North Texas) as coordinators. Washington State will be missing its two best WRs, De’Zhaun Stribling and Donovan Ollie (both to the transfer portal). On top of that, linebacker Daiyan Henley, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, has opted out in preparation for the NFL draft. Two other starting LBs, Francisco Mauigoa and Travion Brown opted for the transfer portal.
The Cougars elect to pass the ball on 58% of snaps, which now becomes a liability. QB Cameron Ward will now have to rely on his ability to elude defenders in the pocket and scramble.
Because of Ward’s ability to elude defenders in the pocket, Washington State ranks third nationally in rush explosive plays. A Ward scramble may be the best offense without Stribling and Ollie.
The Cougars are one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to defending the pass and they played worse in their last three games, giving up more than 350 passing yards per game. The defense has struggled getting to the quarterback and in defending the rush too. Without their starting LBs things will get even worse.
The Cougars elect to pass the ball on 58% of snaps, which now becomes a liability. QB Cameron Ward will now have to rely on his ability to elude defenders in the pocket and scramble.
Because of Ward’s ability to elude defenders in the pocket, Washington State ranks third nationally in rush explosive plays. A Ward scramble may be the best offense without Stribling and Ollie.
The Cougars are one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to defending the pass and they played worse in their last three games, giving up more than 350 passing yards per game. The defense has struggled getting to the quarterback and in defending the rush too. Without their starting LBs things will get even worse.
Fresno State comes into the LA Bowl as one of the hottest teams in the Group of Five, winning eight straight and covering four of its final five. The Bulldogs have been lights out with a healthy Jake Haener at quarterback.
The senior missed four games after getting hurt against USC in Week 3 but was on fire once he returned in the second half of the season. Haener ended the season with 18 touchdowns to just three interceptions and excelled with the play-action pass.
The Fresno State offense is one of the best nationally in standard downs, only to be matched by a defense that had the 16th-best efficiency rate in early downs. The Bulldogs fielded a top-25 unit against the pass and in opponent scoring opportunities.
With a well-balanced offense set to take on a Washington State defense that struggles against the run, expect RB Jordan Mims to have a great afternoon.
The key in this game comes down to Fresno State’s ability to eliminate Ward’s scrambles. History says the Bulldogs will be successful, as they limited Heisman winner Caleb Williams to a single net rushing yard.
The Bulldogs lot to Oregon State and USC back in September. They will get their Pac 12 win today. I’ll put a mini mega on the red hot Bulldogs at full strength to cover.
The senior missed four games after getting hurt against USC in Week 3 but was on fire once he returned in the second half of the season. Haener ended the season with 18 touchdowns to just three interceptions and excelled with the play-action pass.
The Fresno State offense is one of the best nationally in standard downs, only to be matched by a defense that had the 16th-best efficiency rate in early downs. The Bulldogs fielded a top-25 unit against the pass and in opponent scoring opportunities.
With a well-balanced offense set to take on a Washington State defense that struggles against the run, expect RB Jordan Mims to have a great afternoon.
The key in this game comes down to Fresno State’s ability to eliminate Ward’s scrambles. History says the Bulldogs will be successful, as they limited Heisman winner Caleb Williams to a single net rushing yard.
The Bulldogs lot to Oregon State and USC back in September. They will get their Pac 12 win today. I’ll put a mini mega on the red hot Bulldogs at full strength to cover.
Lending Tree Bowl - Southern Miss -6.5 vs Rice – Unlike most bowl games, both teams come into their bowl at full strength. Too bad, full strength is not very good, especially Rice. They stink.
Rice comes into the bowl game reeling, losing four of its last five games of the season. It has given up a combined 107 points in its last three games against Western Kentucky, UTSA and North Texas. The Owls are lucky to be in a bowl game right now, they didn’t get the minimum 6 wins and relied on their brainiac APR to qualify.
Rice has been shuffling through a bunch of different quarterbacks throughout the season. It started out with Wiley Green in the opener. Then, he got hurt, and the Owls went to TJ McMahon, which is when they went on their run in the middle of the season. However, McMahon got knocked out of the game against Western Kentucky and has not returned.
So the Owls are rotating a couple of freshmen in Shawqi Itraish and AJ Padgett the past few games, which has not worked out well. The Owls have scored just 24 points in their last two games and averaged only 4.6 yards per play since McMahon went down.
Rice’s rushing attack really isn’t that effective either, as it averages only 3.9 yards per carry while ranking 86th.
Here’s the main issue with the Rice offense: Its offensive line is abysmal.
It’s ability to pass block ranks 117th in the nation. Even worse is the run blocking which ranks 124th. Almost as bad is the defense which is 123rd.
And when they are blocking or defending they are turning over the ball. Only Northwestern turned over the ball more than Rice’s 30 cough ups.
Rice comes into the bowl game reeling, losing four of its last five games of the season. It has given up a combined 107 points in its last three games against Western Kentucky, UTSA and North Texas. The Owls are lucky to be in a bowl game right now, they didn’t get the minimum 6 wins and relied on their brainiac APR to qualify.
Rice has been shuffling through a bunch of different quarterbacks throughout the season. It started out with Wiley Green in the opener. Then, he got hurt, and the Owls went to TJ McMahon, which is when they went on their run in the middle of the season. However, McMahon got knocked out of the game against Western Kentucky and has not returned.
So the Owls are rotating a couple of freshmen in Shawqi Itraish and AJ Padgett the past few games, which has not worked out well. The Owls have scored just 24 points in their last two games and averaged only 4.6 yards per play since McMahon went down.
Rice’s rushing attack really isn’t that effective either, as it averages only 3.9 yards per carry while ranking 86th.
Here’s the main issue with the Rice offense: Its offensive line is abysmal.
It’s ability to pass block ranks 117th in the nation. Even worse is the run blocking which ranks 124th. Almost as bad is the defense which is 123rd.
And when they are blocking or defending they are turning over the ball. Only Northwestern turned over the ball more than Rice’s 30 cough ups.
Southern Miss comes in at 6-6 but covered five of its last six games and was one of only two teams to beat Tulane this season. Its losses this season came against Miami, Liberty, South Alabama, Troy, Georgia State and Coastal Carolina, so it actually played a pretty difficult schedule for a for a Group of Five team.
The Bulldog offense runs the ball with a solid running back in Frank Gore Jr., who is averaging 5.1 yards per carry this season. He will run all over the poor Rice front seven.
Southern Miss has a fantastic defense, which is the main reason why it made its way to a bowl game. USM has been incredibly stout against the run, allowing only 3.9 yards per carry (15th)
The front four has been getting a tremendous push up front, ranking 26th overall. That will be big against one of the worst run-blocking offensive lines in college football.
The secondary has also been really good this season. But the one weakness it has is giving up big plays, ranking 110th in passing explosiveness allowed. Rice sits 46th in passing explosiveness on the season, but again, it’s on a third-string quarterback.
It’s not like Southern Miss is some kind of juggernaut, they are 119th in scoring offense. But Rice is just bad. I’ll lay the points for a quatloo.
The Bulldog offense runs the ball with a solid running back in Frank Gore Jr., who is averaging 5.1 yards per carry this season. He will run all over the poor Rice front seven.
Southern Miss has a fantastic defense, which is the main reason why it made its way to a bowl game. USM has been incredibly stout against the run, allowing only 3.9 yards per carry (15th)
The front four has been getting a tremendous push up front, ranking 26th overall. That will be big against one of the worst run-blocking offensive lines in college football.
The secondary has also been really good this season. But the one weakness it has is giving up big plays, ranking 110th in passing explosiveness allowed. Rice sits 46th in passing explosiveness on the season, but again, it’s on a third-string quarterback.
It’s not like Southern Miss is some kind of juggernaut, they are 119th in scoring offense. But Rice is just bad. I’ll lay the points for a quatloo.