Bowl season is upon us, as the march to the championship begins. And as teams get ready for the postseason, we’ve highlighted three games that are under the radar, but have a chance to be special. Without further ado, let’s go!
Cure Bowl
Liberty vs Georgia Southern
Line: Georgia Southern -5
Libtery reaches a bowl game for the first time in school history. Georgia Southern is coming off a 7-5 season, which included an upset win over Appalachian State. Teams struggle vs option teams when they’re not use to playing them. Luckily for the Flames they get more time than usual to prepare for the option. Georgia Southern averaged 260.9 rushing yards per game, good for 8th best in CFB. The Flames are giving up 192.7 rushing yards per game, which ranks near the bottom in the FBS. The Flames rank 21st in passing yards per game, averaging 290 per game. Georgia Southern gave up 240.6 yards per game passing this season. So we have a team that’s great rushing the ball but struggles vs the pass (Georgia Southern) going up against a team that’s great passing the ball but struggles vs the run (Liberty). This game is a toss up and should be competitive with two different style of offenses.
• Prediction
Georgia Southern 38 Liberty 31
Boca Raton Bowl
SMU vs FAU
Line: SMU -3
This game has a chance to be a shootout. SMU ranks 9th in Total Offense in 2019 and FAU ranks 33rd. Both teams have QBs who are among the best in the G5. SMU QB Shane Buechele has 33 passing touchdowns this season, and FAU QB Chris Robison has 26 passing touchdowns. Defensively, the Owls have been better than the Mustangs, giving up 370.3 yards per game. The Mustangs, on the other hand, have given up a whopping 438.7 yards per game. The catch in this game is FAU lost their head coach Lane Kiffin to Ole Miss. Will that have any affect on the team?
Prediction: SMU 37 FAU 35
Las Vegas Bowl
(19) Boise State vs Washington
Line: Washington -3.5
I love that in his last game as coach of Washington, Huskies head coach Chris Petersen goes up against his former team in Boise St. The Broncos come in as the ranked team after going 12-1 and winning the Mountain West. Washington enters the game at 7-5 after a disappointing season. Both teams rank in the top 40 in Total Defense, while Boise State ranks 37 spots higher than Washington in total offense. Of course the Huskies play in a tougher conference so you should take that into mind when comparing stats. Overall, the talent comparison isn’t even close with Washington averaging a recruiting class of 21.2 the past five seasons and Boise State averaging a class of 59.2.
Prediction: Washington 27 (19) Boise State 20
