Should be an offensive juggernaut of a game today in Miami. Here's a look at the matchup.
Bowl record
Saturday: 4-1
Overall: 213-64 (77%)
Miami Beach Bowl
Western Kentucky (11-2, 8-0 C-USA) vs. South Florida (8-4, 6-2 American Athletic)
Marlins Park, Miami (37,442)
1:30 PM CT/2:30 PM ET
ESPN
Talent: Dave LaMont, Desmond Howard, Quint Kessenich
Whistles: Mid American Conference, Greg Blum lead stripe
Weather: 81 @kickoff, 15% rain chance, Wind E 16 MPH
Line: Western Kentucky by 2 1/2
About the teams:
Western Kentucky
It all starts with quarterback Brandon Doughty, the 6'3", 220 pound fifth year senior for the Hilltoppers. Doughty led the country in completion percentage this year and was second in the country in passing efficiency and second in passing yards. Doughty, in 13 games for the C-USA champs, completed 356-of-496 passes for 4,594 yards, 45 touchdowns and seven ints. His completion percentage was 72%. His 45 TD passes also led the country. He has an excellent arsenal to throw to in wide receiver Taywan Taylor, who caught 79 passes for 1,363 yards and 17 TDs. Jared "I just don't get no respect" Dangerfield caught 76 passes for 752 yards and seven TDs. Wide receiver Nicholas Norris caught 58 passes for 851 yards and four 7's, wide out Antwane Grant caught 48 passes for 620 yards and 7 TDs, and tight end Tyler Higbee caught 38 passes for 563 yards and eight scores. Running back is solid position as well. Tailback Anthony Wales ran for 986 yards on 141 carries (7.0 average) and seven TDs. D'Andre Ferby ran for 604 yards on 151 carries (4.0) and 11 TDs. They have 300 pounders on the offensive line led by redshirt junior Max Halpin (6'3", 295). All five starters are juniors are younger.
****Injury update: Higbee, the tight end, is out this game with a knee injury****
And while the Hilltoppers give up 391 yards per game on defense, they are tied for third in the country in turnovers gained with 31. Utah and Arkansas State led that category this season. The Hilltoppers are tied with San Diego State and West Virginia for third. They're also fourth in the country in turnover margin with a +16 advantage. San Diego State is first, Navy is second and Houston is third.
So this defense is opportunistic. They were down 21-7 to Southern Miss in the C-USA championship game, but with three interceptions and great offense, came back and won 45-28. Their defense is led in tackles by 6'3", 220 pound outside linebacker and UAB transfer T.J. McCollum. McCollum has 100 tackles on the season and leads the team with 11.5 tackles for loss of -30 yards. He also has three sacks. Middle linebacker Nick Holt has posted 84 tackles, 7.5 for loss of -35 yards and leads the team with four sacks. He also has three interceptions, which is second most on the defense. Free safety Branden Leston is second on the defense with 91 tackles. Cornerback Prince Charles (royalty?) Iworah leads the team in interceptions with four.
South Florida
South Florida averaged 33.5 points per game this season, and only gave up 21.1 points per game, good for 23rd in the country out of 128 teams in FBS. They gained 23 turnovers and were 18th in the country in turnover margin at +8. Their defense had 15 interceptions this season, tied for 21st nationally.
Quarterback Quinton Flowers had a solid season completing 149-of-244 passes (61%) for 2,023 yards, 21 TDs against eight ints. He also ran for 883 yards and 10 TDs. Marlon Mack was the workhorse in the backfield carrying it 193 times for 1,273 yards (6.6) and eight TDs. Darius Tice is a solid backup. He ran for 448 yards and four TDs. Rodney Adams led the wide receiving corps with 39 receptions for 692 yards (17.7 average per catch) and eight TDs. D'Ernest Johnson, another tailback, was effective catching passes out of the backfield with 26 for 356 yards (13.7) and four TDs. Tight end Sean Price was a weapon as he caught 19 passes for 296 yards (15.6) and five TDs. The o line is averages around 300-305 with fifth year senior center Brynjar Gudmundsson (6'4",300) anchoring it. This is a very good offense as well.
On defense, sophomore middle linebacker Auggie Sanchez (6'2", 244) led the team in tackles with 106 and added 8.5 tackles for loss of -25 yards. Safety Jamie Byrd added 80 tackles with 1o for loss of -48 yards, and led the team, along with defensive tackle Bruce Hector, (6'2", 295) with five sacks. Cornerback Deatrick Nichols led the team team with four interceptions. He made a house call with one of those ints. Strong safety Devin Abraham added three ints.
USF Coach Willie Taggert played quarterback at Western Kentucky from 1994-98 and was the head coach there from 2010-12. He was 16-20 in three years, but went 7-5 his last two years and led them to the 2012 Little Caesar's Bowl.
Final Analysis:
This game could very well come down to who has the ball last. This should be an explosive game offensively with the team winning the turnover battle having a very good shot at victory as both these defenses are good at generating turnovers. This is a tough one, but Western Kentucky senior kicker Garrett Schwettman is 93% on kicks, 14-of-15, which leads the country. He's 2-for-2 from 40-49 yards with his long conversion of 46 yards. He hasn't tried one from over 50. I like Schwettman (Deutschland native possibly) to knock one through for the victory.
Western Kentucky 38, South Florida 35
Tomorrow (Tuesday)
2 Bowls:
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron vs. Utah State (2:30 PM CT/3:30 PM ET, ESPN)
The Boca Raton Bowl: Temple vs. Toledo (6 PM CT/7 PM ET, ESPN)