Matt Marcus
2012 TicketCity Bowl Predictions
The TicketCity Bowl is being held in Dallas, Texas, and it will welcome a Long Star State team to play. In fact, one of the potential BCS busters from the regular season will be facing one of the most storied programs in college football – one that has been recently dishonored.
This season’s TicketCity bowl pits Houston, of Conference USA, against the Penn State Nittany Lions, out of the Big Ten Conference.
These programs have met just two time in their histories. Penn State each of the previous meetings, 24-7 (1964) and 31-14 (1977).
The lastest TicketCity Bowl odds show a line of Houston -5.5 points over Penn State, while the total has been posted at 56.5 points..
Houston
The Cougars were on the verge of crashing the BCS party with an undefeated season, but it came crashing down in the Conference USA title game with a 49-28 loss to Southern Miss. Houston is adjusting to the departure of head coach Kevin Sumlin for Texas A&M and the move into the Big East next year. The squad was 6-0 away from home and 8-1 in the state of Texas.
Houston is one of the top offensive teams in the country, ranking first in scoring (51 points per game) and passing offense (444 yards per game) en route to posting 599 yards of offense per contest (155 rushing). Case Keenum is the heart of the offense, completing 72 percent of his passes for 5,099 yards and 45 touchdowns with five interceptions.
The offensive line has allowed 16 sacks. Tyron Carrier leads the receiving corps with 87 catches for 914 yards and five TDs, while Patrick Edwards has 79 grabs for 1,524 yards and 18 scores and Justin Johnson adds 75 touches for 1,081 yards and 11 tallies. Charles Sims and Michael Hayes lead the running game with a combined 1,489 yards and 20 TDs on 62. yards per carry.
Defensively, the Cougars rank 41st nationally in scoring defense (23 ppg) and allow 386 yards per contest (214 passing, 172 rushing) while recording 29 sacks and forcing 28 turnovers – with three returned for touchdownss (Marcus McGraw, fumble; Derrick Mathews and D.J. Hayden, interceptions).
McGraw leads this defense with 131 tackles (34 more than anyone else), while Sammy Brown has 12.5 sacks. Phillip Steward has five interceptions to lead the team, and D.J. Hayden has fourced four fumbles.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions tied for the Leaders Division title in the Big Ten, but lost out on a spot in the conference title game when they lost 45-7 at division co-champ Wisconsin in the season finale. After a seven-game win streak, PSU lost two of their last three in the wake of Joe Paterno’s release. Penn State is 4-1 away from home this season.
The Lions have posted some impressive defensive numbers, ranking fifth in points allowed (16 ppg) and surrendering 301 yards per game (162 passing, 139 rushing) while compiling 29 sacks and forcing 26 turnovers.
Gerald Hodges leads the defensive side of the ball with 97 tackles (20 more than anyone else), adding 4.5 sacks, while Jack Crawford has a team-leading 6.5 sacks. Nick Sukay has three interceptions, Sean Stanley has three forced fumbles and Jordan Hill has three fumble recoveries.
On the other side of the ball, the Penn State offense ranks outside the top-100 in scoring offense (20 ppg) while averaging just 345 total yards per game (180 passing, 165 rushing). Silas Redd leads the offense with 1,188 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry.
Quarterback Matt McGloin has connected on 54 percent of his passes for 1,571 yards and eight TDs with five picks. This offensive line has allowed 12 sacks on the season.. Derek Moye leads the receiving corps with 40 receptions for 654 yards and three scores, while Justin Brown has 34 catches for 448 yards and a TD.
Be sure to visit Betfirms this season for more college football bowl predictions with bowl picks from our resident experts!
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