After a brief hiatus due to the craziness of school, I'm bringing the blog back with a healthy dose of college football! Each week I'll be previewing the bowl games in the week ahead. As always you can check out my work for Bleacher Report by visiting my writer profile here
For this week, the slate is rather light. There are only three bowl games this week, all of them kicking off on Saturday. Here are the matchups:
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
December 17th, 2 p.m.
ESPN
Temple vs Wyoming
Outlook: The Gildan New Mexico bowl places the Mountain West third place team Wyoming team against the #4 team in the MAC, Temple.
Wyoming should consider it a considerable leap forward for their program to be in a bowl game, especially in light of star quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels unexpectedly transferring at the beginning of the year. Versatile freshman quarterback Brett Smith has stepped in nicely at the position, starting every game this year for the Cowboys. Smith is an exciting quarterback who has shown he can get things done with his arm and his athleticism after throwing for 18 touchdowns and rushing for 645 yards and 10 more touchdowns. The Cowboys will look to spread the ball around in the passing game while using the two headed monster of Smith and runningback Alvester Alexander to set up play action.
MAC representative Temple looks to cap off Steve Addazio's first year as head coach with a bowl victory behind a strong effort from star runningback Bernard Pierce. Pierce has been a stud for Temple since becoming the starting tailback his freshman year. Pierce has rushed for 25 touchdowns this year and has recovered nicely from last year's campaign where he struggled with injuries.
Prediction: Wyoming has a nice story and the Brett Smith era seems to be starting off rather nicely. With three more years as a starter and all of the best teams in the Mountain West Wyoming is definitely a team to have an eye on in the next few years. However, Temple has played really well this year and Bernard Pierce is one of the two best runningbacks nobody has heard of (more on that later). Temple's physical defense and ground game will prove too much for the Cowboys of Wyoming.
Temple 24 Wyoming 10
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
December 17, 5:30 p.m.
ESPN
Ohio vs Utah State
Outlook: Nothing says "opening day of bowl season" quite like the "famous" Idaho Potato Bowl. This year's matchup features the 9-4 Ohio Bobcats and the 7-5 Utah State Aggies. Don't let the records fool you, this could be a very close matchup and a good game.
Ohio and Utah State couldn't be more opposite. Ohio, likes to let breakout quarterback Tyler Tettleton get out and throw the ball. Tettleton has passed for over 3,000 yards with 26 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions; all while adding over 600 yards on the ground and 9 rushing touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how the Utah State defense will try to slow Tettleton down.
Utah State has been inconsistent this year, but they bring a great ground attack to the table. The Aggies have ranked 6th in the nation in rushing, compiling a team average of 277.5 rushing yards per game. The running attack is led by playmaking runningback Robert Turbin. The junior ran for 1,416 yards and 19 scores on the year and will look to test Ohio's defense (ranked 29th in the country).
Prediction: Both teams have had their fair share of close games and Ohio has the better record and will come into this game as favorites. If Tyler Tettleton can bounce back from his worst game of the year and play at the level he has played all year he should be able to get the job done. This one could be close and may just be a high scoring game.
Ohio 35 Utah State 31
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
December 17, 9 p.m.
ESPN
San Diego State vs UL-Lafayette
Outlook: Capping off ESPN's Saturday tripleheader of bowl games is the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. This bowl matches up the 8-4 Aztecs of San Diego State against the 8-4 Ragin' Cajuns of UL-Lafayette.
The Aztecs will look to utilize the other best runningback no one has heard of: Ronnie Hillman. Hillman came to San Diego State as the highest rated recruit to come to the school since Marshall Faulk. He hasn't disappointed. The versatile Hillman has ran for 1656 yards and 19 touchdowns in only his sophomore year.
Looking to top Hillman and the Aztecs will be UL-Lafayette and quarterback Blaine Gautier will look to use their efficient offense to control the tempo and keep the ball away from San Diego State's balanced attack. Gautier has an impressive touchdown to interception ratio of 4:1. They will look to force SDSU to make the most of every position.
Prediction: Both of these teams sport the same 8-4 record and both failed to reach their goals in terms of conference play. A bowl win for either would be a nice consolation prize. SDSU has two NFL prospects playing in two of the most important positions on the offensive side of the ball in senior quarterback Ryan Lindley and sophomore runningback Ronnie Hillman. The Aztecs navigated a tougher schedule with the same results as the Ragin' Cajuns. Look for the Aztecs balance to build a nice early lead and the run game to hold on in the second half.
San Diego State 31 UL-Lafayette 17
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