Saturday: 5-1
Overall: 12-6
Military Bowl
Navy (10-2, 7-1 American Athletic) vs. Pittsburgh
(8-4, 6-2 ACC)
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD (34,000)
1:30 PM CT/2:30 PM ET
ESPN
Eamon McAaney, Rocky Boiman, Quint Kessenich
Refs: C-USA, Joe Pester
Weather: Cloudy, 0% rain, wind, ENE 15 MPH
Line: Navy by 3
Keenan Reynolds is the first name that comes to mind when looking at this game. Reynolds, the Navy senior quarterback, has set the all time career mark for rushing TDs in FBS with 85. The 5'11", 205 pounder from Antioch, Tennessee has rushed for 1,229 yards and 21 TDs averaging 5 yards per carry and 102.4 per game this season. He has been dynamite at the Naval Academy. He should have been invited to New York City for the Heisman Trophy along with winner Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey and DeShaun Watson. I would have put Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield in there, too. But his career has been magnificent, and he'll try to finish it off with a bowl win and cap an 11-2 season for the Midshipmen. Reynolds doesn't pass much, but he's pretty decent when he does. He's 52-of-98, 53%, for 1,077 yards and 7 TDs against 1 int. His favorite target is Jamir Tillman, who has caught 27 passes for 570 yards and five, 7's. Fullback Chris Swain is a load to tackle at 6'1", 245. Swain has rushed for 909 yards and 10 TDs. The Panthers are going to have to somewhat slow down Reynolds and Swain to have a shot at victory. On defense, defensive end Will Anthony leads the team in tackles for loss with 11.5 for -82 yards and sacks with 7.5 for a loss of -58 yards. Safety Daiquan Thomasson and cornerback Brendon Clements are tied for the team lead in interceptions with two. Navy has just nine ints on the season.
For Pitt, they can move the chains and get in the end zone both on the ground and through the air. Running back Qadree Ollison has rushed for 1,048 yards and 10 TDs in place of superstar running back James Conner who injured a knee before the season started and was lost for the year. Conner then was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma on Thanksgiving, but seems to be doing as well as can be expected right now.
The 6'2", 230 pound Ollison has been stellar in his place. The redshirt freshman is a load to tackle and is capable of making house calls when he gets into the secondary. In the passing game, quarterback Nate Peterman has completed 180-of-293 passes, 61%, for 2,150 yards and 19 TDs against only five TDs. His main target is 6'2", 200 pound junior wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who caught 85 passes for 873 yards and 6 TDs. Tight end J.P. Holtz, a 6'4", 250 pound senior, has caught 24 passes for 350 yards and four 7's.
On defense, the Panthers can bring some lumber under first year coach Pat Narduzzi, the architect of excellent defenses under Mark Dantonio at Michigan State as Dantonio's long time defensive coordinator. Defensive end Ejuan Price, a 6'0", 250 pound senior, has posted 19.5 tackles for loss of -120 yards, which leads the team. Price also leads the team in sacks with 11.5 for -89 yards. Strong safety Jordan Whitehead leads the team in tackles with 99, and that's not always a great sign if your strong safety is your leading tackler. Pitt gives up 126 yards on the ground and 218 through the air on average. Cornerback Avonte Maddox is second on the team in tackles with 71 and leads the team in interceptions with three.
Final Analysis
Looking at the schedule, I like Pitt's victories more than Navy's. Pitt defeated Virginia Tech, 17-13, at Va. Tech, which was a 55-52 winner over Tulsa Saturday in the Independence Bowl. They also defeated Duke at Duke, 31-13, and Duke was a winner Saturday over Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl, 44-41. Navy's coach Ken Niumatalolo was showing heavy interest in the BYU head coaching job before and after the Army game. The BYU job came open when their coach, Bronco Mendenhall, took the head coaching job at Virginia. That seemed disruptive to the team as they barely got by Army, 21-17, in their final game of the season. They also got dismantled by Houston, 52-31, in the American Athletic Conference Championship game the week before. Pitt looks like the stronger team overall.
Pittsburgh 35, Navy 31
Quick Lane Bowl
Central Michigan (7-5, 6-2 MAC) vs. Minnesota
(5-7, 2-6 Big Ten)
Ford Field, Detroit (65,000)
4 PM CT/5 PM ET
ESPN2
Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb, Kayce Smith
Refs: Big 12, Dan Romeo
Indoors
Line: Minnesota by 4 1/2
Minnesota got into the postseason by having one of the three highest Academic Progress Reports along with Nebraska and San Jose State, which were both winners in their respective bowl games; San Jose State defeated Georgia State, 27-16, in the Cure Bowl two Saturdays ago, and Nebraska defeated UCLA in the Fosters Farms Bowl this past Saturday night, 37-29. So the 5-7 teams have done well.
Minnesota runs the ball pretty well on offense with running back Shannon Brooks leading them in rushing with 644 yards and seven TDs, which is pretty good on TDs, but not overwhelming on yards though he does average 6.2 yards per carry. Rodney Smith is next with 596 yards and two TDs. Quarterback Mitch Leidner has completed 218-of-377 passes, 58%, for 2,478 yards, 13 TDs against 10 interceptions. His favorite target is wide receiver K.J. Maye, who has caught 65 passes for 706 yards and four TDs. Junior wide out Drew Wilitarsky, a 6'3", 218 pound rangy receiver, has caught 36 passes for 472 yards and three, 7's.
On defense, safety Antonio Johnson leads the team with 99 tackles. Linebacker Cody Poock is next with 95. Linebacker Jack Lynn leads the team in tackles for loss with 9.5 for -24 yards, and cornerbacks Briean Boddy- Calhoun and Jalen Myrick lead the defense with 3 ints. Myrick got hurt in November but is probable today.
Central Michigan is led by quarterback Cooper Bush, who has completed 309-of-460 passes, 67%, for 3,703 yards, 25 TDs against 10 interceptions. His favorite targets are wide receivers Jesse Kroll, who has caught 59 passes for 856 yards and four TDs, and Anthony Rice, who has caught 56 passes for 584 yards and four TDs, as well. The running game is not a big part of their offense as their rushing leader is running back Martez Walker, who has rushed for 373 yards on 106 carries for a 3.5 average and 2 TDs.
Safety Kavon Frazier leads the Chippewas defense in tackles with 103 and has an int on the season. Safety Tony Annese leads the defense in interceptions with two as the Chippewas defense only has six total ints on the season. Defensive end Blake Serpa leads the team in tackles for loss with 9.5 for a loss of 41 yards. Sherpa also leads the team in sacks with three.
Final Analysis
Minnesota may have gone 5-7 on the season, but had Michigan on the ropes losing in the last minute of the game when they went for the TD on the one yard line on fourth and one and didn't convert to lose to the Wolverines at home, 29-26. They played Ohio State tough, losing 28-14 in Columbus. They also barely lost to Iowa on Nov. 14th, 40-35, at Iowa City. So they've been close to knocking off the major powers of the Big Ten. Central Michigan lost to a good Western Michigan team, 41-39, on the road. Western Michigan blasted Middle Tennessee in the Bahamas Bowl, 45-31, and was impressive doing it. They also have a close 28-23 home loss to Toledo. Toledo blew out Temple in the Boca Raton Bowl, 32-17.
So this should be a close game. Going with Minnesota to make it the third 5-7 team to get the victory. That will make all three 5-7 teams winners in their bowl appearances.
Minnesota 31, Central Michigan 28
Tomorrow, Tuesday, 12-29-15
Four games to preview and predict
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
California vs. Air Force
1 PM CT/2 PM ET, ESPN
Russell Athletic Bowl
No.10 North Carolina vs. No.17 Baylor
4:30 PM CT/5:30 PM ET, ESPN
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Nevada vs. Colorado State
6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET, American Sports Network; 638 or around there on
DirecTV, WABM, pretty sure that's channel 68, not positive, on Charter
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl
No.20 LSU vs. Texas Tech
8 PM CT/9 PM ET, ESPN