Tag: Bowl Season

Georgia State 39, WKU 21: LendingTree Bowl 10 Things To Know

Georgia State 39, WKU 21. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia State win over WKU in the LendingTree Bowl.

Georgia State 39, WKU 21. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia State win over WKU in the LendingTree Bowl.

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Georgia State 39, WKU 21: LendingTree Bowl

10. It doesn’t matter if it’s the LendingTree, the Dollar General, the GoDaddy or the GMAC – this has been a rough bowl watch for a long, long time. With this 18-point Georgia State win, that makes it five years in a row of games decided by double-digits. Some of these have been better than the final score, but ever since the classic Byron Leftwich Marshall 64-61 overtime win over East Carolina, 16 of 19 have been relative blowouts.

9. This got a bit chippy. There weren’t a ton of penalties – 15 in all – but these two started to get into it as the game went on. WKU got hit with the nine penalties – three more than Georgia State – and was more mistake-prone overall. More on that in a moment.

8. The Georgia State offense was a different animal this year when Destin Coates was able to get moving. The junior RB hit the 100-yard mark four times, and all when he got the ball 20 times or more. He ran 23 times for 117 yards and a touchdown. Is scoring dash at the end of the first quarter go it all going for the Panthers.

7. Georgia State’s Cornelious Brown should be one of the Sun Belt’s biggest stars in 2021. The QB had his problems with picks here and there – he threw one against WKU early on when he tried to make something big happen – and he didn’t get going on the ground with just 40 yards, but he threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He was in control, he kept the chains moving, and again, the big mistakes weren’t there.

6. Turnovers and mistakes continue to be a killer this bowl season – WKU was -2 in turnover margin. QB Tyrrell Pigrome completed 17-of-33 passes for 180 yards, and he ran for a score. There was one big problem, actually two – his two interceptions. Before this, he threw 264 passes in the regular season with no picks.

5. The WKU pass rush stepped it up late in the season, but it only generated one sack against the Panthers. However, there were plenty of big plays made behind the line – ten tackles for loss – and it wasn’t nearly enough. Third down stops were too much of an issue, and they were a big problem against this Panther offense.

4. Georgia State did a better job at controlling the game. It had the ball ten minutes longer, converted 13-of-21 third down tries, and the style never allowed the Hilltoppers to make much of a push after going on a 27-0 run in the first half.

3. Going into next year, WKU needs more of a running game. It averaged under four yards per carry for the season, and while it got the mark against Georgia State, it only came up with 104 yards. There were three touchdowns, and CJ Jones was able to tear off a big scoring dash, but there wasn’t enough of a push.

2. The lack of a consistent WKU offensive punch turned out to be a big deal once again, coming up with just 284 yards. Blowing up on FIU and Charlotte to close out the regular season was nice, but the programs needs a positive identity and style to move the ball more consistently. When the game was starting to get away, there wasn’t the ability to slow things down or answer. It was the sixth time the Hilltoppers gave up more than 21 points, and they lost all six.

1. It’s a winning season for Georgia State. Don’t dismiss just how big a deal that is to a program, especially in this insane season. It was able to finish 6-4 with this win and close out with four wins in the last five games. The team was consistent, it was occasionally explosive, and now it’s a bowl winner two years in a row for the second time in four seasons.

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Louisiana 31, UTSA 24: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl 10 Things To Know

Louisiana 31, UTSA 24. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Louisiana win over UTSA in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

Louisiana 31, UTSA 24. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Louisiana win over UTSA in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

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Louisiana 31, UTSA 24: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

10. The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl was one the best of the last bowl season with a thrilling 23-20 WKU win over Western Michigan, and considering how miserable the start to the 2020 bowl season has been, a 31-24 game with a late score seems like the 2006 Vince Young Texas over USC Rose Bowl. Considering the bowl was canceled due to lightning in 2018 – Boise State vs. Boston College – this thing has been solid.

9. Neither team got into the backfield with any sort of consistency, but UTSA was popping. Safety Rashad Wisdom led all defenders with a game-high 13 tackles with a whole slew of open field stops. The Roadrunners got powered on, but they swarmed to the ball and held up well under the circumstances.

8. The 411 yards of total offense by Louisiana were good enough, but coming off the 227-yard day against Appalachian State to end the regular season, it was a rocky finish for the attack. It was the fourth-lowest offensive output of the season – the Ragin’ Cajuns were outgained by 20 yards.

7. Sincere McCormick was the focus of the Louisiana defense, and it didn’t matter. The UTSA star running back only had a few good runs, but powered his way to 122 yards on a tough 23 carries.

6. It would’ve been nice to have had a sharper passing game out of Levi Lewis – he hit 12-of-22 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns – but he didn’t make any big mistakes. Trey Ragas powered for 98 yards and the game-winning score, but there was a key fumble – more on that in a moment. Elijah Mitchell ran for 127 yards and a score and led the team with two catches for 45 yards.

5. Grind, grind, grind, grind, grind. Louisiana wasn’t flashy, and it didn’t have a whole lot of big plays, but it was able to methodically come up with enough good drives to take over the game late against a team missing the depth to hold up. They had the ball for over five minutes than the Roadrunners, and it seemed like it was over because …

4. UTSA wasn’t a big passing team, but it had its moments. There were a few 300-yard games, and it’s not that it couldn’t throw, but it preferred to roll on the ground. Frank Harris got the team back in the game in the second half with two touchdown passes – he threw for 208 yards with 91 rushing yards and a score – and he pulled the team back because …

3. This was about to be a blowout. Louisiana was up 24-7 in the third quarter and driving, but Trey Ragas fumbled off a perfect helmet-on-ball pop, UTSA recovered, and then it was Game On. UTSA’s offense struggled, but it went on two good scoring drives, tied it at 24 on a field goal, and showed the team showed the heart to hang around because …

2. The Roadrunners were depleted. They didn’t have their head coach, they were missing a slew of players, and the depth wasn’t there. They hung around for a full 60 minutes to close out the season with as tough bowl loss in a 7-5 season. It was a brilliant campaign for Jeff Traylor, whose team played its heart out through all of the adversity. It was a loss, but it was the type of performance that showed what kind of program this is going to be going forward.

1. Louisiana got through the season with only the one loss to Coastal Carolina. It wasn’t always smooth, and it wasn’t dominant, but it had the 31-14 win over Iowa State to start the season, the bowl win over UTSA to end it, and technically, a Sun Belt co-championship on the way to a ten-win run. The veteran team came up with a whale of a season.

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Buffalo 17, Marshall 10: Camellia Bowl 10 Things To Know

>Buffalo 17, Marshall 10. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Buffalo win over Marshall in the Camellia Bowl.

Buffalo 17, Marshall 10. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Buffalo win over Marshall in the Camellia Bowl.

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Buffalo 17, Marshall 10: Camellia Bowl

10. It’s been a really, really rough run for Conference USA. The American Athletic Conference might be having problems this bowl season, but champion UAB got its bowl game canceled, North Texas got run over by Appalachian State in the Myrtle Beach, Louisiana Tech couldn’t handle Georgia Southern in the New Orleans, and Florida Atlantic lost to Memphis in the Montgomery. And now this – this one really hurt.

There are still chances with WKU against Georgia State in the LendingTree and UTSA vs. Louisiana in the SERVPRO First Responder.

9. In an AWFUL start to the bowl season, we’ll take this. There wasn’t any offense, the passing games struggled, and it wasn’t scintillating football, but both defenses were fine and it was close late with a whole lot of drama. It was the first bowl game out of the six played so far that wasn’t a double-digit uggo.

8. Don’t make mistakes, stay in the game, let the defense try to win this. The Marshall gameplan almost worked, but the O needed more out of QB Grant Wells. The Freshman all-star threw five picks against Rice, hit just 35% of his passes against UAB, and he didn’t take too many chances. He set up the lone touchdown with a nice throw, but he finished with just 114 passing yards and no touchdowns.

7. The Marshall offense was inept, but the Bulls was excellent at keeping control of the game when things weren’t working. They held on to the ball for way over 35 minutes, converted 8-of-15 third down chances, and they made the tempo work. It helped that the Herd offense was no threat for a huge chunk of the game, especially in the first half.

6. Now Lance Leipold needs to figure out how to win a MAC Championship. The UB head coach had the best team in the league for the last three years but went 0-2 in the MAC title game. His 2018 lost the Dollar General Bowl, but now he and UB are on a two-game bowl winning streak. On the other side, after going 6-0 in bowls as the Marshal head coach, Doc Holliday and the Herd have lost their last two.

5. It was an interesting late sequence. With the score tied at 10 in the final minutes and with Buffalo with the ball on the Marshall 2, Marshall – with no timeouts left – tried to let UB score to get the ball back, but the Bulls didn’t want to. With Buffalo’s shaky – to be kind – kicking game, it went down on first down, but ran it in on second down rather than run down the clock further. It all worked out in the end for the Bulls as the final Herd drive stalled.

4. Marshall’s offense died down the stretch this season. There weren’t any turnovers, but the production never came back after getting shut out by Rice and struggling against UAB in the Conference USA championship. There was one good second half scoring drive, and there was a chance to take over the game with the ball on the UB 1. The Herd settled for a field goal, and that was it.

3. The Marshall defense put did everything it could until the final UB games-inning drive. It got hit hard by the tough Buffalo running game and the power on the offensive interior, but it allowed just 295 yards of total offense and held up fine despite having to be on the field way, way too long.

2. Neither side had their star. Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson was the marquee name, but he hurt himself in the MAC Championship and sat out. That hurt, but UB had other options – more on that in a second. Marshall couldn’t afford to lose RB Brenden Knox from its struggling offense – he’s leaving to turn pro early – and it showed.

1. Buffalo had Kevin Marks, and Marshall didn’t. With both teams missing their star running backs. anything out of the offenses would be gold. All year long, Marks played second-fiddle to Patterson, but he always rocked when he got his shot. He got his shot against Marshall, ran 35 times for 138 yards and a score, and he carried the O that struggled throughout.

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Hawaii 28, Houston 14: New Mexico Bowl 10 Things To Know

Hawaii 28, Houston 14. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Hawaii win over Houston in the New Mexico Bowl.

Hawaii 28, Houston 14. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Hawaii win over Houston in the New Mexico Bowl.

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Hawaii 28, Houston 14: New Mexico Bowl

10. Houston started cold, and that was it. QB Clayton Tune gave up a weird interception deep in Cougar territory, Hawaii capitalized with a quick touchdown, and that was it … sort of.

There was one burst for Houston coming out in the second half down 21-0, but it was too late. Just when it looked like it was going to make something special with a comeback, Hawaii dropped the hammer with a kick six.

9. As this game showed, turnovers mean everything so far in this bowl season. Houston turned it over three times, Hawaii didn’t. Memphis turned it over three times in the Montgomery Bowl win over Florida Atlantic, but that’s been it so far in the first six bowls. In the other five – including this – the winning side didn’t turn the ball over and came up with a combined 11 takeaways.

8. The American Athletic Conference got that Memphis win, but that was as mismatched a game as it could get so far. Tulane got beat by Nevada in the Famous Idaho Potato, UCF was never in it in the Boca Raton, and now this.

7. You know that cliché about a bowl team wanting it more? Hawaii apparently wanted it a whole lot. It came out with an energy and gameplan that worked from the start. Houston needed a little while to get going, and by then it was way too late. Hawaii did the same thing to Fresno State to start the season, but it was way too inconsistent.

6. You wouldn’t think of Hawaii as tough – it’s the place the world goes to relax – but the teams always play nasty. They might not have the talent, and they might not have the facilities, but there’s a chip on this program’s shoulder.

5. Chevan Cordeiro had a bit of an up-and-down year, and the Hawaii quarterback didn’t connect on any downfield passes other than the backbreaking 75-yard pass play to RB Calvin Turner. But he didn’t turn the ball over – his counterpart Clayton Tune threw three picks – and he completed 15-of-32 passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns with 33 yards rushing.

4. And here’s the really crazy part – the Hawaii offense didn’t really work. The Rainbow Warriors only generated 267 yards of total offense, had little happening with the ground game, and struggled to move the ball. This isn’t the high-octane passing Hawaii of the past, but the team was still able to get the job done.

3. West Virginia famously beat Dabo Swinney’s Clemson team 70-33 in the 2012 Orange Bowl. Since then, Holgorsen has gone 1-6 in bowl games. Even so, he was supposed to be a big upgrade for the Houston program that wanted to take things to a whole other level, and instead it’s 7-13 in two years.

Last season was supposed to be about building up for 2020, and he should get a free pass for now because of the obvious overall issues in the world. A bowl win would’ve done wonders, but after this, 2021 needs to rock.

2. The Hawaii defense was fantastic throughout. It started right away, the pressure didn’t stop, and it was over fast. Hawaii finished with five sacks, nine tackles for loss, and three takeaways, but it was the run D that totally dominated allowing just 58 yards on the ground because …

1. The pass rush was an anomaly. Hawaii only generated 13 sacks on the year before this, with three coming against Fresno State and three more against UNLV. The team had just seven sacks in the other six games, but playmaking safety Khoury Bethley and linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard brought the pressure throughout.

Chalk this up to the players coming up with a big day, and also give credit to Todd Graham and the coaching staff that had a little extra time to work with and showed what they could do.Their team had the far, far better gameplan from the start.

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Memphis 26, Florida Atlantic 10: Montgomery Bowl 10 Things To Know

Memphis 26, Florida Atlantic 10. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Memphis win over Florida Atlantic in the Montgomery Bowl

Memphis 26, Florida Atlantic 10. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Memphis win over Florida Atlantic in the Montgomery Bowl.

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Memphis 26, Florida Atlantic 10: Montgomery Bowl

10. Florida Atlantic got really, really close to making this interesting. It had plenty of chances to come up with late scores, but the Memphis defense held on a goal line stand, came up with a pick in the final minutes, and the 25-10 score looked a wee bit worse than it actually was. Emphasis on the word wee, because …

9. Okay, Memphis should’ve made this a blowout. The Tigers outgained the Owls 469 yards to 290 and had several opportunities to pull away further, but three turnovers – the conditions weren’t perfect, to be fair – made this a wee bit dramatic, at least for those who sat through the entire game.

8. The American Athletic Conference DESPERATELY needed this. Memphis was around a double-digit favorite depending on where you choose to invest, but after Tulane and UCF lost their respective bowls in ugly fashion the day before, and with Houston expected to miss around 20 players for its date with Hawaii the day after the Montgomery Bowl, the league couldn’t afford another clunker.

7. Memphis wasn’t great, but it got the job done. It was a business-like effort, it got up early, and there wasn’t any real drama. However, give the Tigers credit for making the key plays to prevent FAU from getting into a position for there to be any real drama.  It also helped that …

6. The Tiger offense and got out of a few jams. It managed to go on a few long drives when needed to keep the momentum on its side – Memphis had an 18-0 lead at halftime – and rumbled late with a few good runs to close it out. The ground game averaged over five yards per carry and finished with 185 yards against the solid Owl D.

5. That’s the Florida Atlantic offense. It it struggled all year, only scoring against the truly awful defenses. The running game wasn’t awful – James Charles ran for 82 yards – but Nick Tronti isn’t the type of quarterback who’ll bomb away for 300 yards. He completed 16-of-32 passes for 146 yards with a touchdown and a pick, and he ran for 33 yards, but there were a few plays that didn’t click that could’ve been gamechangers.

4. Willie Taggart still hasn’t won a bowl game. It’s one of the stranger trivia tidbits considering all of his success, but he left WKU for USF just before a bowl, lost his one bowl appearance at USF and left before the second, and he left Oregon for Florida State before the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl. Those wins will come – he’s a master of rebuilding programs – and this year’s team had to undergo an overhaul.

3. It might not have been an American Athletic Conference championship season under Ryan Silverfield, and Memphis might not have played in a New Year’s Six game, but it’s a bowl win for the program for the first time since taking out BYU in the 2014 Miami Beach, and it’s the second win in the last nine tries going back to 2005. The Tigers ended this year winning five games in the last six in an interesting run.

2. Defense hasn’t really been a thing around Memphis football over the years, but up 25-10, it had to hold on after a fumble that led to FAU getting down to the Tiger 3. It did, coming up with a 4th-and-1 stop. With just over four minutes to play, Memphis got an interception by Thomas Pickens at the goal line to finish allowing just 290 yards of total FAU offense and ten points.

1. Brady White was a strong recruit for Arizona State, threw 49 passes, and left for Memphis. All he did in his Tiger career was throw for 10,690 yards and 90 touchdowns, and for his entire college experience, he threw for 10,949 yards to close out as the 73rd all-time yardage leader in passing. After this game, he passed up Marcus Mariota, Matt Leinart, Danny Wuerffel and Ben Roethlisberger on the all-time NCAA yardage list.

He led the way to an American Athletic Conference championship, a Cotton Bowl appearance, and another trip to the AAC title game. He was fine, throwing for 284 yards and three touchdowns with a pick in his final game, leading the Tigers to an eight-win season and a bowl victory.

Not bad.

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Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 10 Things To Know

The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia Southern win over Louisiana Tech in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Georgia Southern win over Louisiana Tech in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

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Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

10. The Louisiana Tech offense could never get going. The Georgia Southern offense had something to do with that, a whole slew of mistakes had something to do with that, and this was over fast. Georgia Southern got up 7-0 just over five minutes in, and that was it.

9. Skip Holtz finally lost a bowl game at Louisiana Tech. It’s a far cry from shutting out Miami 14-0 in last year’s Independence, but he got the program to its seventh bowl game in a row after winning the first six. This was a rebuilding year, and all things considered, 5-5 and this bowl trip wasn’t bad.

8. Georgia Southern was totally dominant from the start. Louisiana Tech couldn’t stop the option, it got behind too fast after too many mistakes, and it didn’t have the passing game to keep up. All year long it’s been a struggle for the Bulldogs, they needed to get out to a hot start, and they did anything but.

7. Starting quarterback Luke Anthony couldn’t go for the Bulldogs, Aaron Allen stepped in and gave it a try against one of the nation’s best teams at taking the ball away, and it was a disaster from there. Four interceptions – three on Allen – no takeaways – and no downfield passing game – nothing worked.

6. Don’t put this on Louisiana Tech not showing up. It had issues all year long with its consistency, it was coming off a 52-10 blasting against TCU, and it just couldn’t get anything going. The momentum carries Georgia Southern, but it all started because …

5. Shai Werts was able to go. The Georgia Southern quarterback was questionable at best with a shoulder injury. It seemed like the Eagles would be down to a third-string option, but Werts played, there didn’t appear to be a problem looking and playing like normal, and the offense rolled.

4. The Eagle offense did exactly what it was supposed to. It ran for 322 yards with its option attack, Werts hit on his deep throws when they were available, and it had the ball for way over 34 minutes. Louisiana Tech was never able to get into any sort of a groove because …

3. Those turnovers were devastating. It looked like Louisiana Tech was going to be able to move the ball a little bit early on. It came up with a few nice plays, it seemed like it would take just a little bit to warm up, and then … interception. Interception. And then another – including a key one in the red zone. Georgia Southern only scored seven points on the first three picks, but they were enough to stall the Bulldogs.

2. The Georgia Southern defense generated pressure throughout the game. It came up with three sacks, and more than that, it was able to get to knock around Austin Allen enough to limit him to 41 passing yards on a 10-of-24 passes with no touchdowns and three picks. Israel Tucker was able to run for 123 yards, but it wasn’t nearly enough to carry the offense.

1. Shai Werts closed out his career as one of the most ultra-productive option quarterbacks ever. During his time, he ran for 3,072 yards, 34 touchdowns, and unlike a slew of triple-option quarterbacks over the decades, he threw well, pitching 34 touchdown passes in his four seasons with just 12 interceptions.

So he wasn’t supposed to be healthy? 7-of-12, 126 yards, one touchdown,  and 71 rushing yards with three touchdowns, and with this, he won two bowl games in three tries.

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Valero Alamo Bowl: Texas Longhorns open as two-score favorites per BetMGM

Per BetMGM oddsmakers, the Texas Longhorns are opening as two score favorites for their matchup with the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Texas Longhorns and Colorado Buffaloes will close out their 2020 football season on Dec. 29 in San Antonio, Texas. The Longhorns return to the Valero Alamo Bowl after defeating Utah in last year’s game 38-10. The Buffaloes didn’t qualify for bowl season last year with a 5-7 record, their head coach Mel Tucker then left for Michigan State prior to this season. Colorado’s last bowl appearance came in 2016’s Alamo Bowl that ended in a 38-8 loss to Oklahoma State.

They will be led by quarterback Sam Ehlinger once again, in what could be his last collegiate game. The senior quarterback has yet to make a decision on his future plans.

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According to BetMGM, the Longhorns are two score favorites as betting lines opened for this game.

Line: Texas (-9.5)

Over/Under: 63.5

Money Line: Colorado (+310) Texas (-400)

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BYU 49, UCF 23: Boca Raton Bowl 10 Things To Know

BYU 49, UCF 23. The 10 ten things you need to know about BYU win over UCF in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl.

BYU 49, UCF 23. The 10 ten things you need to know about BYU win over UCF in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl.

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BYU 49, UCF 23: Boca Raton Bowl

10. Was there a more underappreciated running back in the country than Tyler Allgeier? The BYU sophomore started the season hot, ended the season hotter, and finished with 1,130 yards and 14 touchdowns averaging 7.5 yards per carry – and he missed the San Diego State game. Zach Wilson is the superstar of the show, and the offensive line opened up a whole lot of big holes, but Allgeier was brilliant.

9. It’s been a really, really rough run for the Boca Raton Bowl. This was the seventh all-time game and none of them have been closer than 15 points. The seven-year all-time score is 323-138 – an average of 46-20. BYU was up 49-10 with just under 20 minutes to play.

8. No, this isn’t an indictment on UCF football, and for all the great things the program has done over the last few years, this doesn’t mean things are slipping … yet.

Remember, the Knights had a whole slew of player opt out before the season,  they still beat Georgia Tech by 28 – don’t mock it; there weren’t many Group of Five over Power Five wins this year if you take out Liberty and the Sun Belt – and the explosion was still there.

The losses? 50-49 on the road in a heartbreaker against Memphis, Tulsa, Cincinnati, and BYU. The two AAC championship combatants, a BYU team that was painfully close to being in a New Year’s six game, and a wild shootout.

7. All season long, BYU had a knack for ripping off big plays early and taking the heart out of a game. It did that against UCF, but UCF was supposed to be able to keep up. The first BYU scoring drive went 87 yards in under two minutes, and the second went 72 yards in four plays. The Cougars out-UCFed, UCF with a 14-0 lead four minutes in.

6. A 35-7 lead late in the first half, no turnovers, over 33 minutes of possession, and just one punt on the night. This was as perfect a bowl game as BYU could’ve come up with. As it showed throughout the season, when the lines were able to take over and the team was on a mission to make a statement, it was able to do it.

5. BYU didn’t do anything fancy defensively but 1) not let the UCF speedsters gets into space like Coastal Carolina could, and 2) it got off the field. It didn’t generate any takeaways, there wasn’t any pressure from the line, and it allowed UCF to hit 50% of its third down tries. However, it came up with the early stops it needed to, the offense did its thing, and it was 21-0 in the blink of a first quarter eye.

4. It was a bad day for UCF. BYU was totally focused, too physical, and it had an NFL franchise quarterback have an NFL franchise quarterback day. To put how rare this loss was into perspective, it was the first defeat by more than eight points since dropping the 2016 Cure Bowl to Arkansas State four years ago.

3. This was a complete and total disaster for the American Athletic Conference. Not only did Tulane lose big in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Nevada earlier in the day, but UCF was playing in Florida in a game that should’ve been the type of shootout it likes, and it was out of it two minutes in.

Considering Coastal Carolina beat BYU, it was a bad look that UCF didn’t look like it belonged on the same field as the Cougars, who started out the season rocking Navy from the AAC.

2. If you’re an NFL GM and you didn’t already have a hard opinion and scouting thought on Zach Wilson, you’re a bad NFL GM. However, if it’s possible, Wilson just helped himself in a huge way with his 26-of-34, 425-yard, three-touchdown, two touchdown run performance.

He was flawless, he didn’t make any mistakes, he was calm, and he was in command from the start. Now, with this, get ready for the buzz that the Jets might go with him over Justin Fields.

1. Considering what BYU had to do just to get together a schedule, this was a miraculous season. It rolled through it, the only blip was a wonderful game against Coastal Carolina that was put together at the last second, and it turned out to be an 11-1 campaign with a totally dominant performance against a brand-name UCF team. Zach Wilson might be off to the NFL, but it’ll be interesting to see what the program is capable off in normal times now that it showed it could do this.

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Nevada 38, Tulane 27: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl 10 Things To Know

The 10 ten things you need to know about Nevada win over Tulane in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

The 10 ten things you need to know about Nevada win over Tulane in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

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Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Nevada 38, Tulane 27

10. The loss of the top guys on the Tulane defensive front was devastating. Usually this year, the call is to not change up any pick too much, if at all, based on players being out – you never know who’s out on the other side until the game starts – but the Green Wave defensive front had a problem from the start. You can’t just make up for not having Patrick Johnson at one end.

9. Nevada came out running. The Tulane defensive front gave it a try, but couldn’t get the job done. The Wolf Pack don’t run – this has been a passing team all year – and yet it started the game setting a tone by daring the D line to come up with a stop. Toa Taua powered away for 102 yards, Devonte Lee ran for 105, and Tulane got outgained on the ground 209 to 197.

8. Tulane QB Michael Pratt had to press, and it didn’t work. It’s not that Tulane can’t or couldn’t throw this season, but the offense was mostly about being able to run effectively. It was fine on the ground – 197 yards and two touchdowns with over five yards per carry – but it wasn’t nearly enough. Pratt made a few big throws down the field, but he only hit 12-of-25 passes and gave up three picks.

7. This was huge for the Mountain West. Boise State is losing head coach Bryan Harsin to Auburn, conference champion San Jose State is playing Ball State in the Arizona Bowl instead of a good Power Five program, and Hawaii is playing Houston in the New Mexico Bow. That’s it – this is as high-profile as it might get this bowl season. It was a great showing for the bowl game and Nevada.

6. Nevada’s Lawson Hall came up with a gem. The senior linebacker ended up making a slew of plays down the field, and Tulane was able to run well, but he led the team with nine tackles with two sacks as part of a defensive front that came up with eight sacks and bothered Michael Pratt all game long.

5. Carson Strong is a budding star who’ll be a national thing in 2021. The Nevada QB completed 22-of-28 passes for 271 yards and five touchdowns with – almost most importantly – no picks. He didn’t make the big mistake to let the Green Wave into the game.

4. If it seemed like Nevada always had the ball, it’s because it did. This has been an okay team in the time of possession battle this year but for a style that’s not build on running – just 112 yards per game – it was able to control the pace like it needed to with well over 36 minutes of offensive time.

3. The Green Wave looked freaking freezing. It was in the high 60s in New Orleans on Tuesday and in the low 30s with snow and a 20 mph wind in Boise. Football players are some of the toughest humans on the planet, but literally and figuratively, Tulane came out cold.

2. Tulane has a habit under Willie Fritz of pulling games out of the fire in the second half – it did that in last year’s bowl win over Southern Miss – but it dug too deep a hole. The adjustments were good, the team played with a renewed energy in the second half, and it was a good try, but it was too late.

1. That’s the Nevada and the Mountain West that showed up early on this year. It might have lost to San Jose State and didn’t get a shot to win the conference title, but this put an end to a strong season and a great step forward under Jay Norvell. You absolutely take 7-2 with a double-digit bowl this season.

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Myrtle Beach Bowl 10 Things To Know: Appalachian State 56, North Texas 28

The 10 ten things you need to know about Appalachian State win over North Texas in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

The 10 ten things you need to know about Appalachian State win over North Texas in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

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Myrtle Beach Bowl: Appalachian State 56, Tulane 28

10. North Texas QB Austin Aune was out due to COVID concerns. It was a late scratch, but Jason Bean is experienced enough to step in and be fine, but he got banged up early. He ended up completing 21-of-36 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns with a pick – he did what he could.

9. Appalachian State senior QB Zac Thomas went out in style. He only had to throw 16 times, he threw a touchdown pass and he ran for 35 yards. This game was all about the Mountaineer running game, but Thomas took advantage when he had his chances.

8. It also helped that the trick/funky things Appalachian State worked on, worked. Getting out to a 14-0 lead helped make everything else happen on the way to a 35-7 lead as big run after big run kicked in. The North Texas defense held up as well as it could, and then the dam broke.

 

7. The Mountaineer linebacking corps wasn’t perfect, but it came up with a whole lot of big plays. Nick Hampton and D’Marco Jackson combined for 19 tackles with two sacks and five tackles for loss, but …

6. North Texas still had its moments. The offense came up with almost 500 yards, there was and good balance to the attack, and the team kept things moving. It controlled the clock, Tre Siggers ran for 120 yards, Oscar Adaway ran for 97 yards, and the receiving corps and passing game wasn’t bad, but …

5. Not having Jaelon Darden didn’t help. The Mean Green was missing a 74-catch, 19-touchdown target after he chose to opt-out on the bowl game after declaring himself eligible for the NFL Draft. Austin Ogunmakin caught seven passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, but the UNT offense could’ve used a superstar playmaker to keep up the fight.

4. Speaking of fight, after a hit on QB Jason Bean as he was awkwardly sliding, the two teams got into a bit of a rumble. The two teams pushed and shoved as Bean was down, but nothing much came of it. It cranked up the intensity for a bit, but it didn’t help the North Texas defense against the run.

3. The North Texas defense came into the game with a whole slew of problems against the run, and they didn’t get any better. After allowing 927 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns over the previous three games, it got hit for 502 yards and six scores because …

2. The Appalachian State offensive line was dominant. The scheme worked, the backs got in space, and the coaching staff kept rolling with the same plays on both sides until North Texas could prove it could stop it – and it couldn’t. The backs were at the second and third level, made a guy miss, and then boom. Marcus Williams ran six times for 101 yards and a score, and …

1. It was the Camrun Peoples show. The entire Appalachian State running game worked, but it was Peoples who came up took over with bowl-record 319 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries. Before this, he led the team with 807 yards and seven touchdowns on the year, but it wasn’t all him. That offensive line gave him big holes to rumble through.

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