The Last Weekend

Well, we have reached the last weekend of the 2013-14 college football season and we have two more bowl games before the BCS National Championship between Florida State and Auburn.  Today's game is the BBVA COMPASS BOWL at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and it features Vanderbilt (SEC) versus Houston (AAC) at 1:00 PM Eastern on ESPN.  Legion Field was the annual site of the Iron Bowl between 1948 and 1988, and it currently serves as the home field of the UAB Blazers of Conference USA.  As for today's game, both teams entered the post-season with 8-4 records, though Houston has a 5-3 conference record as opposed to Vanderbilt's 4-4 standing.  But the Commodores, for the first time in the history of their football program, defeated Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee in the same season.   The Commodores' head coach, James Franklin, currently a candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Penn State, is hoping to lead his team to its second-straight 9-win season.  The question is how well the Commodores offensive line can perform without their starting quarterback, Austyn Carta-Samuels, who recently underwent knee surgery for a torn ACL.  Franklin will instead start Patton Robinette, who has already played quarterback in two games.  Fortunately, Robinette can still rely on the Commodores' star wide receiver, Jordan Matthews, the SEC's leader in receptions and yards. 

As for the Houston Cougars, this season represented a major improvement over last year.  In Tony Levine's second season as head coach, the Cougars finished 8-4 after going 5-7 in 2012.  Houston comes into today's game with a defensive line that has only given up an average of 20.2 points per game (12th best in the country) as well as an offensive squad that has averaged 422.5 total yards per game.  The Cougars' offensive line, led by freshman quarterback John O'Korn (26 TD, eight interceptions) and wide receiver Deontay Greenbury (caught 76 passes, accumulated 1,016 yards, scored ten touchdowns)  has also averaged roughly 34 points per game.  Though Houston lost three out their four last games, two of those losses were by narrow margins against teams like Fiesta Bowl champion Central Florida (final score:  19-14) and Louisville (final score:  20-13).  Houston ended its season with a morale-boosting 34-0 shutout of in-state conference rival Southern Methodist.  ESPN's Mark Schlabach predicts a close game with Houston having a 3-point advantage.  Projected final score:  27-24.    


Sunday's game is the GoDADDY BOWL between Arkansas State (Sun Belt) and Ball State (MAC). Kickoff is at 9:00PM on ESPN.  Arkansas State earned a 7-5 record under head coach Brian Harsin, but since he left to become the new head coach at Boise State, interim head coach John Thompson will lead the team for the second consecutive postseason interval.  In last year's GoDaddy Bowl, Thompson led the Red Wolves to a 17-13 victory over Kent State.  But, win or lose, Thompson will only coach the team during this one game.  In replacing coach Harsin, Arkansas State hired North Carolina offensive coordinator Blake Anderson.  One can only hope Arkansas State will be able to retain him after one season.  Since 2011, Arkansas State has had three "one-and-done" head coaches.  I cannot recall any other FBS-level football program having this kind of turnover in such a short period of time.  But this situation does remind me of a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts position at a notable wizarding school. 

As for the game itself, Ball State's offensive line is 9th in the country in passing, with an average of 333 yards per game.  The Cardinals quarterback Keith Wenning has completed 65.2% of his passes with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions.  The question here is whether or not Arkansas State's defensive line, which currently allows an average of 26.7 points per game, can overcome Ball State's passing game.  Though Ball State's defense is little better in terms of points allowed (24.8), they will still have to face a balanced Red Wolf offensive line that rushes the ball as much as it passes it (passing:  208.2 yards per game, rushing:  206.0 ypg).  Mark Schlabach gives Ball State a fourteen point advantage.  Projected final score:  34-20.