The Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl in Detroit Wednesday night at 7:30 on ESPN has Central
Michigan Chippewas (6-6) against Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-5).
It wasn’t
many years ago that the Hilltoppers were near or at the bottom of all the FBS
schools. Here they are in their first bowl game ever. They started the year 6-2
and struggled in November going just 1-3. The Hilltoppers strength lies in
their defense. Ranked 25th overall, they yield 139.5 ypg on the
ground (32nd in the nation) and 206.2 ypg through the air (29th
in the nation). Offensively, they are
not nearly as good ranking just 68th in the nation. They are 40th
in rushing (186.2 ypg) and 89th in passing offense (205.7 ypg).
The Chippewas are, like their record, pretty mediocre on
both sides of the ball. They rank 65th in the nation in offense.
Their 151.0 ypg rushing is 74th among FBS schools and their 243.1
ypg passing is 52nd. On defense, they are worse. They rank 94th
in the nation overall with 198.3 ypg yielded on the ground (95th in
the land) and 244.2 ypg given up through the air (70th). Central
Michigan began the year 3-6 but a 3-1 November made them bowl eligible. But….
Those last three wins came against teams with losing records. (E. Michigan
(2-10), Miami of Ohio (4-8), and Massachusetts (1-11)) another of their
victories came against Akron (1-11).
My pick: Western Kentucky
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