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Ok lets take a look at today's Boca Raton Bowl between the Temple Owls and the Toledo Rockets.
The Toledo Rockets had a very strong year as they come in at 9-2 overall and a win here would give them their first 10 win season since 2001. They are not really happy about how the regular season ended as a 35-30 home loss to the Western Michigan Broncos knocked them out of the MAC Title game. Now they will have an interim HC for this game as Matt Campbell is off to Iowa State. Still it was a very solid year for them and it has been their defense that has been a big part of their success this year. Their defense comes in ranked 52 in yards allowed, but 23rd in points allowed, giving up just 21.1 ppg on the year. They can be thrown on as they are 106th vs the pass, but Temple is more of a running team and the Rockets check in at 13th in the nation vs the run allowing just 118.2 ypg on the ground. QB Phillip Ely leads the offense and he has had a decent year, throwing for 2680 yards with 21 TDs and 10 INTs, but he isn’t terribly accurate as he has hit just 54.9% of his passes. Still this is a balanced offense that averages 250 ypg through the air and 213 ypg on the ground, while putting up 35.3 ppg. They have the clear edge on offensive in this game.
The Temple Owls also had a solid season as they come in at 10-3 on the year, but they also also not happy at how the season ended as they finished 2-2 down the stretch, which kept them from making a trip to a New Year’s Day 6 Bowl. Much like the Rockets, the Owls have done it will a strong defensive effort this year as they come in ranked 17th in the nation in yards allowed and 16th in points allowed, giving up just 19.2 ppg. They have been equally solid vs the pass (39th) as they have been vs the run (20th). The one downfall is that they allowed 210 ypg at home, but 438 ypg on the road. Still this is a very strong defense that has had extra prep time, so they will be ready here. They have needed to be strong on defense as their offense has not been at good, ranking 83rd in total offense. They have put up 30.8 ppg on the year, but that is still very average by the standards of today’s offenses. The Owls also have one of the best special teams units in the nation as well. Temple has the edge in coaching, defense and special teams in this one.
Both of these teams play excellent defense and that should really keep the scoring down. Even vs bowl teams his year the teams have been very strong as the Owls have allowed just 20 ppg vs the bowl teams they they have played, while the Rockets have allowed just 23 ppg in their games vs bowl teams. Both teams also rank 29th or better in terms of yards per play allowed, so they don’t give up many big plays, meaning teams have to work the ball downfield against them. I see both teams having trouble moving the ball on these two strong defenses, which should keep the final score at 42 points or less.
Play Temple/ Toledo Under 49.5
GLA
The Toledo Rockets had a very strong year as they come in at 9-2 overall and a win here would give them their first 10 win season since 2001. They are not really happy about how the regular season ended as a 35-30 home loss to the Western Michigan Broncos knocked them out of the MAC Title game. Now they will have an interim HC for this game as Matt Campbell is off to Iowa State. Still it was a very solid year for them and it has been their defense that has been a big part of their success this year. Their defense comes in ranked 52 in yards allowed, but 23rd in points allowed, giving up just 21.1 ppg on the year. They can be thrown on as they are 106th vs the pass, but Temple is more of a running team and the Rockets check in at 13th in the nation vs the run allowing just 118.2 ypg on the ground. QB Phillip Ely leads the offense and he has had a decent year, throwing for 2680 yards with 21 TDs and 10 INTs, but he isn’t terribly accurate as he has hit just 54.9% of his passes. Still this is a balanced offense that averages 250 ypg through the air and 213 ypg on the ground, while putting up 35.3 ppg. They have the clear edge on offensive in this game.
The Temple Owls also had a solid season as they come in at 10-3 on the year, but they also also not happy at how the season ended as they finished 2-2 down the stretch, which kept them from making a trip to a New Year’s Day 6 Bowl. Much like the Rockets, the Owls have done it will a strong defensive effort this year as they come in ranked 17th in the nation in yards allowed and 16th in points allowed, giving up just 19.2 ppg. They have been equally solid vs the pass (39th) as they have been vs the run (20th). The one downfall is that they allowed 210 ypg at home, but 438 ypg on the road. Still this is a very strong defense that has had extra prep time, so they will be ready here. They have needed to be strong on defense as their offense has not been at good, ranking 83rd in total offense. They have put up 30.8 ppg on the year, but that is still very average by the standards of today’s offenses. The Owls also have one of the best special teams units in the nation as well. Temple has the edge in coaching, defense and special teams in this one.
Both of these teams play excellent defense and that should really keep the scoring down. Even vs bowl teams his year the teams have been very strong as the Owls have allowed just 20 ppg vs the bowl teams they they have played, while the Rockets have allowed just 23 ppg in their games vs bowl teams. Both teams also rank 29th or better in terms of yards per play allowed, so they don’t give up many big plays, meaning teams have to work the ball downfield against them. I see both teams having trouble moving the ball on these two strong defenses, which should keep the final score at 42 points or less.
Play Temple/ Toledo Under 49.5
GLA
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