The 40 bowl game matchups offer all sorts of details and possibilities. Some games simply figure to be exciting, but exciting is not the same thing as high-scoring. A 56-28 game is relatively high scoring, but no one other than fans of the winning team would view that kind of game as exciting. Late in the college football season, Navy won consecutive games by scores of 66-31 and 75-31. Here are the four best candidates for a high-scoring bowl game:
Boca Raton: Western Kentucky vs. Memphis
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers scored 45 points in last year’s bowl game against another team from the American Athletic Conference. That AAC team was South Florida. This year’s team is Memphis, which has given up 42 points in a game to Navy and 59 to Tulsa. Memphis beat Houston 48-44 in its regular season finale. Western Kentucky won its most recent game, the Conference USA Championship Game, by a score of 58-44 over Louisiana Tech. These teams love to throw the ball all over the field. They don’t have particularly good defenses. They get a trip to Boca Raton just before Christmas. They’re probably going to have a lot of fun. The thing to remember about bowl games as well: Coaches generally take more chances because they have a lot less to lose. Also, Western Kentucky will be led by an interim coach after Jeff Brohm left for Purdue. Expect WKU to play fast, loose and free – not well enough to win the game, but certainly to the extent that it will score plenty of points in a loss. Memphis 55, WKU 41, would be a very realistic score here.
Miami Beach: Tulsa vs. Central Michigan
This is a matchup between a very good team and a mediocre team, but the mediocre team – Central Michigan, at 6-6 – won at Oklahoma State and now gets a chance to beat another team from the state of Oklahoma. Central Michigan will be excited about this game and has a quarterback, Cooper Rush, who can make plays all over the field. Tulsa should hit 49 points in this game if it plays at a reasonably high level on offense with quarterback Dane Evans. As long as Central Michigan’s offense shows up, this game will produce at least 80 points if not more.
Pinstripe: Northwestern vs. Pittsburgh
The question in this game is Northwestern’s offense. Clayton Thorson can blow hot and cold at times. However, Pittsburgh’s secondary has been a weak spot all season long. The Panthers simply do not defend the pass very well and are constantly vulnerable. Pitt allowed more than 35 points in a majority of its games this season. It’s one of the most predictable parts of college football this year. As for Pitt’s offense, the Panthers scored 76 in their most recent game, which was a 76-61 victory over Syracuse. No, that wasn’t basketball. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada was named a finalist for the Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football for the season. Expect a bare minimum of 72 points here, and very likely more.
Belk: Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech
This is a game between two teams which have plainly struggled on defense. The quarterbacks, Austin Allen of Arkansas and Jarod Evans of Virginia Tech, aren’t relentlessly consistent, but going up against these defenses, they should both be highly productive. Neither the Razorbacks nor the Hokies have the defensive studs which can disrupt opposing offenses on a consistent basis.
The Razorbacks were challenged by quality defenses this season but against mediocre ones, they were able to run up the score. They scored 58 against Mississippi State, 31 against Floirda, 34 on Ole Miss, 30 on Alabama and 41 on TCU. Virginia Tech definitely won’t be the toughest stoppage unit they’ve seen.
On the flip side, VA Tech, who enters this game as the No. 22 team in the country, has scored at least 34 points in three straight and scored more than 34 in eight of their final 11 games. They are a team that has come together offensively under head coach Justin Fuente.
This feels like a game which should be played in the 30s, and no one would be surprised if the winning team scores in the 40s.
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