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WINNING POINTS
LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA BOWL
Bowling Green over Pittsburgh by 10
In each of the last three years, Pitt’s bowl destination was Birmingham. The Panthers
and their boosters hoped they wouldn’t be shunted back to ramshackle Legion Field
once again and they got their wish, another booby prize. Bowling Green, by contrast,
prizes the opportunity of a repeat engagement at the venue where they won the MAC
title on Dec. 6. The Falcons have won 17 of their last 22 starts while covering the
spread at a 75 percent clip and closed out the 2013 campaign winning their last three
by a combined 176-17 prior to vanquishing Northern Illinois 47-27. QB Matt
Johnson’s season has run on a parallel track. After opening the season on the bench,
he steadily crept up the charts and sits #10 in passing efficiency after daggering NIU
with five TD passes. Johnson, from Harrisburg, PA, reportedly had his sights set on
attending Pittsburgh but was denied a scholarship on the grounds that he was too
short. We anticipate that he will stick a fork in the school that spurned him, but the
departure of Dave Clawson is vexing and it’s disconcerting that MAC schools have
won only four of the last 12 Motor City bowl games.
BOWLING GREEN 24-14.
POINSETTIA BOWL
Utah State over Northern Illinois by 4
This assignment is something of a letdown for Northern Illinois which hoped to crash
the BCS party once again. Utah State brings less to the table than last year’s opponent,
Florida State. But USU is no pushover. The Aggies have allowed only eight rushing
TDs and rank in the top 12 in five defensive categories. Jordan Lynch has statistically
the best wheels of any quarterback in NCAA history, but we doubt that Lynch will
come close to his season average. The Aggies previously faced BYU’s Taysom Hill and
held him to 22 rushing yards excluding sacks. Utah State bowled in Boise last year,
defeating Toledo 41-15. That was Gary Andersen’s last game at Utah State and while
the Aggies lost a splendid coach when he left for Wisconsin, five assistants remained,
preventing a more serious rupture. NIU likewise promoted from within and hardly missed a beat, out-yarding 11 of their 13 opponents. The Huskies are 24-3 SU with
Lynch under center, but Utah State, with 13 players from California, has a regional
site advantage and is the more physical team.
UTAH STATE 30-26.
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