Expect a close contest where both the Temple Owls and the Wyoming Cowboys want to be in this bowl and both want to win and build momentum for 2012.
Temple RB Bernard Pierce tore up the 2009 Eagle Bowl, can he enchant the New Mexico Bowl 2011? (Icon SMI)
Somehow you have to figure that when the game is on the line, Temple’s Bernard Pierce will be the guy to pull them through.
Notes:
Temple
Temple posted a school-record three straight seasons of at least eight victories.
RB Bernard Pierce finished third in the FBS with a single-season school record 25 TDs and 13th with 1,381 rushing yards.
Pierce, who could be playing in his final game before going pro, seems likely to find plenty of running room against a Cowboys defense that’s surrendering 230.1 rushing yards per game – sixth worst in the nation.
Temple’s defense ranks third in the nation with 13.8 points allowed per game.
The Owls are participating in the fourth bowl game in school history.
Wyoming
The Cowboys rank fourth in the country in turnover margin at 1.25 and allowed only 11 sacks – tied for 11th.
Wyoming is headed back to the New Mexico Bowl for the second time in three seasons behind Mountain West freshman of the year QB Brett Smith who finished third in the conference with a 126.2 rating after throwing for 2,495 yards along with 18 TDs and eight interceptions.
Wyoming has split its 12 previous bowl appearances, winning two in a row following six consecutive defeats.
The Cowboys won the only meeting in this series 38-23 in 1990.
Tim Jefferson looking to fly this week versus the Lobos (Icon SMI)
The Lobos do not have a prayer of slowing down many offenses, but throw a triple-option at them and their heads might just implode. TJ could easily end up with 200+ yards on the ground this week, and 5 TDs would not be unreasonable. New Mexico is just. that. bad.
Bret Smith, Wyoming vs San Diego State -- Smith had a quiet week vs UNLV only passing for 96 yards, but he did have 3 TDs. This SDSU game should be fun and Smith should score enough to be startable, but the yards might not be there (he hasnt cracked 300 yet this season)
Ryan Lindley, San Diego State vs Wyoming — Speaking of not cracking 300, Lindley’s highest total on the season is only 273 vs Wazzu in week 3. But on the plus side, the passing game will get back TE Gavin Escobar this week.
Casey Pachall, TCU vs BYU — Pachall had a one-week blip above 300 yards (vs SMU in week 5) but otherwise has been solid-but-unspectacular, content to let the ground game do the dirty work. Probably more of the same is in line this week vs an overrated BYU defense, but if you’re stuck Pachall is an ok play. He shouldn’t impress but he wont disappoint. Read the rest of this entry →
QB:
This is a short list. Kellen Moore, Boise State vs Air Force — He is a must start. I believe the only time he wasn’t MWC POW was when he was hurt vs Nevada and only scored twice.
Casey Pachall, TCU vs New Mexico — A sneaky play here. The Lobos are completely awful, but they play equally bad vs the run or the pass, no reason to think TCU will open up the offense if they don’t have to. Pachall should have a nice – not great – day. Read the rest of this entry →
QB
Normally facing TCU D would spell a must sit, but the Frogs havent quite been themselves on defense yet this season. They have been fine in spurts but against balanced offenses with a star WR and a QB that can get them the ball, they havent fared so well. RGIII to Kendal Wright was THE story of opening weekend vs TCU, and last week vs the Mustangs, SMU’s Johnson torched the Froggies for 152 yards on 12 catches to go along with 2 scores. All the while, Baylor hammered away with the ground game and likewise SMU’s Zach Line steadily wore down TCU’s D, extending drives late in the game.
All this back story is to make you feel comfortable starting SDSU’s Ryan Lindley vs TCU this week. Sure, there are probbaly plays with more upside, but SDSU put quite a scare into TCU last season, they wont be bat an eyelash this time, plus TCU is worse then they were 12 months ago while the Aztecs are on the rise. Sure SDSU doesnt exactly have the ‘star’ power at WR like they did a season ago, but they are solid-to-good, plus add in the pass catching prowess of RB Ronnie Hillman and it all should mean a nice stat like for QB Lindley. Read the rest of this entry →
Moore. start him. duh. in all seriousness, if you dont have Moore and think you can trade for him, that might be wise. Boise has always had the potential to score however many points in whatever fashion they chose. Soooooo many games it seems like Moore could have finished with 600/6 only to have Moore pulled at halftime with only 300/3. Well, maybe this is the year. If Boise cant play in the national title game they at least can get themselves a Heisman winner, and maybe having the Heisman winner will help them get in the title game. So I think the gloves are off for Mr. Moore, expect a balls-to-the-wall stat line every week because no one can stop him in this conference. This week: REVENGE vs Nevada. blow out!
Elsewhere: yeesh….picking are slim. Tim Jefferson vs Navy this week maybe. Colorado State seems like they are a year away…again…Pete Thomas is a talent but the offense hasnt given you much reason to keep him.
New mexico might have a brimming QB battle on their hands, best to stay away unless you are desperate. Read the rest of this entry →
