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Armed Forces Bowl: Houston vs. Air Force Football Picks

Written December 30, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Houston Air Force Football

This New Year’s Eve the college football bowl season really gets going, as fans are treated to 13 games and a number of big games in a 3 day span. The game we are going to take a look at is the Armed Forces Bowl that has the Houston Cougars taking on the Air Force Falcons. The Cougars finished the season 7-5, and a big reason for that was the 6-2 mark they put up in Conference USA play this season. As for the Falcons they come in 8-4 with a 5-3 record in the Mountain West this season, but are riding a two game losing streak into bowl play. For those of you looking to do some NCAA football betting this week, the oddsmakers have Houston 3.5 point favorites over Air Force at Bookmaker.com.

Taking a look at what the Cougars bring to the table in this one, the offense is all about the play of sophomore quarterback Case Keenum, who not only led the Cougars this season, but was the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year as well. Keenum is a stud, as he threw for the 2nd most yards in the nation with 4,768 and had 43 touchdown tosses. With all the success through the air, the Cougars bring the nations best over offense to the table, as these guys average a ridiculous 575 yards a game. Keenum’s two favorite targets were Tyron Carrier and Mark Hafner, Carrier led the way with 977 yards with 9 scores, while Hafner had 892 yards and a team best 11 touchdown catches. As for the running game Bryce Beall ran for 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns, but most impressively averaged nearly 6.5 yards per carry. Look for this offense to let it loose in this one, as the school is ride an 8 bowl game losing streak into this one.

The Cougars defense isn’t going to shut opposing teams down, as they rank 102nd in the nation giving up nearly 419 yards a game on this side of the ball, and while they are just as bad against the pass as they are the run, this team doesn’t get a lot of rest with the offense scoring as much as it does. Now even though this unit wasn’t very good as a whole, they did wind up with the Conference USA Defensive Player as well in defense end Phillip Hunt. Hunt comes in averaging a sack a game and nearly 1.5 tackles for loss a game, and was also the team leader with 3 forced fumbles. Other guys making plays for this unit are Loyce Means and Brandon Brinkley, both of whom had 4 interceptions this season. Bet Houston Cougars -3.5 at Bookmaker.com.

For those of you that know college football, you should know that Air Force is a team that runs the ball with the best of them, and this year they averaged 268.9 yards a game, good enough for 5th best in the nation. Under quarterback Tim Jefferson the Falcons only threw the ball 66 times and anything this team can do other than run the football really can throw opposing teams off. The Falcons don’t have a standout back that is running for over a 100 yards a game week in and week out, as they use a bunch of guys to get the job done. Todd Newell led the way with 594 yards with Asher Clark right behind with 531, but Shea Smith led the way with 6 scores.

The Falcons defense is an in your face unit that likes to bring a ton of pressure, and all that has led to 2.75 sacks a game. Teams still managed to score 21.3 points a game this season, and a big reason for that was the 82 points they gave up in their final two losses of the season to BYU and TCU. If you are looking for big plays on this side of the ball its going to likely come from Jake Paulson, who led the team with 8.5 sacks. If you are looking to a stop, then its likely going to be Ken Lamendola, who was the teams top tackler with 112 tackles this season. Overall this defense has the talent to win this game, they just have to find a way to somehow slow down the passing attack of the Cougars. Bet Air Force +3.5 at Bookmaker.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Houston -3.5
I think this is going to be one of the more exciting games to watch on Wednesday, as this one could see close to 70 points go on the scoreboard between these two teams. I really think that the Cougars passing game will be too much in this one, but look for Air Force to keep on scoring as well with their great ground attack.

Predicted Score: Houston 38 Air Force 27

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