And lo our eyes do fall upon the Birmingham Bowl, the first of the big money bowls leading up to New Year’s day and beyond. This year as the South Florida Bulls (10-2) face off against South Carolina (6-6) at Legion Field in Birmingham Alabama on Dec. 29. Kick off is at 2 p.m.
The Game: South Florida at South Carolina (+10. 62.5 O/U)
South Florida (10-2)
It’s no accident that the Bulls are favored in this game. They bring a dominant offense to the Birmingham Bowl, averaging 43.6 points per game. And they’ve not played a cupcake schedule, either. Their only losses were to then No. 13 Florida State and Temple. Against the Seminoles USF still scored 35 points and put up 30 against the Owls. USF made its final push at the end of the season, winning four straight including a 52-45 win over No. 22-ranked Navy.
Junior quarterback Quinton Flowers is a one-man highlight reel. He’s completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,546 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six picks. He’s also the team’s leading rusher with 1,425 yards and 15 touchdowns. The primary running back is no slouch either. Marlon Mack is a legit NFL prospect if he declares, probably going somewhere after the fourth round. He’s 6-foot-0, 210 pounds and rushed for 1,137 yards and 15 touchdowns himself, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. When Flowers throws the ball, his favorite target is Rodney Adams. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior caught 60 passes this season for 755 yards and five touchdowns.
Defense? Well, the Bulls don’t claim to have much of one. They give up more than 30 points a game and can’t seem to manufacture a pass rush without blitzing. Middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez actually leads the team with six sacks to go with his 111 tackles, 8.5 for a loss, one pick, three pass defenses and one fumble recovery. The real NFL prospect on the South Florida defense is junior cornerback Deatrick Nichols. Nichols, at 5-foot-10 and 189 pounds, has four interceptions, seven passes defended, two tackles for a loss and 47 tackles.
South Carolina (6-6)
Head coach Will Muschamp and the Gamecocks somehow stumbled into bowl eligibility and into a money game seemingly in defiance of God’s will. South Carolina stumbled out of the gate 2-5, but held on against UMass before Muschamp could get his annual win over the University of Tennessee. The Volunteers seem to have single-handedly kept Muschamp’s coaching career alive over the last seven years or so. The Gamecocks finished the season 1-2, with losses to Florida and a blowout at the hands of Clemson, but they finished .500 and earned a bowl. Congratulations, I guess.
On offense, the Gamecocks average a pathetic 19.2 points per game. For a high school team that would be an atrocity, all but guaranteeing the school would be looking for a new Driver’s Ed teacher the next year. For South Carolina, it was good enough to make a bowl game.
They’re led, if you can call it that, on offense by running back Rico Dowdle who averaged 5.9 yards per carry with 714 yards and six touchdowns. Who’s the quarterback? It all depends on the day. South Carolina played three different guys this season and will probably go with Jake Bentley. Bentley completed 63.3 percent of his passes in the six games he played, passing for 1030 yards, six touchdowns and two picks.
If you’re looking for a high-round NFL prospect in this game, you’ll find him on South Carolina’s defense. Defensive end Darius English is the real deal. He’s 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, had nine sacks, 12.5 tackles for a loss and 57 total tackles. He’s probably a second round pick.
The Gamecocks are solid all through the defense with role players at most of the positions with the exception of linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams. The junior from Ellenwood, Fla. has 73 tackles, 8.5 for a loss, two sacks and a pick. He’ll probably be in the NFL draft mix next season.
Trends and Notes
The Birmingham Bowl has been played since 2006, though it’s had different names. From 2006-2010 it was the PapaJohns.com Bowl. No, not the Papa John’s Bowl, the PapaJohns.com Bowl. From 2011-2014 it was the BBVA Compass Bowl. That’s a bank, apparently.
The Birmingham Bowl has been aligned with the SEC since 2013, but SEC teams played in the bowl twice before that, losing both games (UConn beat South Carolina 20-7 in 2010 and Pitt beat Kentucky 27-10 in 2011). Since the official alignment, the SEC has won four straight including last year’s 31-10 win by Auburn over Memphis.
The last non SEC team to win the Birmingham Bowl was SMU. They beat Pitt 28-6 in 2012.
The Pick
It’s a mystery how South Carolina won six games, but Will Muschamp continues to find a way to blunder into victories. It shouldn’t happen in this game. I don’t like the over, but I do like the Bulls. South Florida 34, South Carolina 27
