| FORT
WORTH BOWL
Friday, December 23rd 8:00 PM ET - Amon Carter
Stadium - Fort Worth, TX
Houston Cougars vs.
Kansas Jayhawks
Houston is back in the postseason
after taking a season off following a dreadful
3-8 performance last season. The Cougars finished
6-5 this year which was good enough to get
them to a bowl game but it is still considered
a disappointment. Houston should have been
a major player in the C-USA title chase but
two losses in its final four games by a combined
seven points kept the Cougars in the middle
of the pack. This is an exciting offense but
the Kansas defense will be the toughest test
of the season.
The Jayhawks were sitting at
3-4 and going nowhere but they ended the season
by winning three of their final four games
including the finale against Iowa St. to become
bowl eligible. The final six games for Kansas
came against teams all playing in bowl games,
which certainly explain its 28th ranked schedule
in the country. The Jayhawks are the only
Big XII teams to make a bowl game with a losing
record. The defense was extremely solid but
the offense had its problems.
The Cougars finished 14th in
the country in total offense and it's very
dangerous because of its balance. Houston
was 20th in passing offense and 36th in rushing
offense and its spread offense is one of the
toughest to defend. The Cougars scoring offense
dipped slightly in the second half of the
season but they still managed a 29.4 ppg scoring
average which was 41st in the nation. In their
six wins, they averaged 32.6 ppg but it was
the defense that was troublesome in the losses,
allowing 35.4 ppg.
Kansas finished 3rd in the
Big XII in total defense, which definitely
says a lot, and finished 20th in the country.
The Jayhawks had the 4th best rushing defense
in the country, allowing only 88.1 ypg and
2.5 ypc. They allowed only three teams to
run for more than 100 yards but the stinger
was the 336 yards that Texas piled up on the
ground. That Texas game was the only game
the defense allowed more than 380 yards and
taking that game out, Kansas allowed 277.8
ypg which would have been 5th in the country.
The Jayhawks defense is what
got them to a bowl game as the offense was
horrible in conference action. Kansas averaged
33.3 ppg in its first three games but only
15.9 ppg in its final eight games. It did
put up 40 points on Nebraska but that was
a home game. The Jayhawks averaged a mere
11.8 ppg in four road games. Kansas had trouble
through the air and on the ground, finishing
92nd and 80th in passing offense and rushing
offense respectively. It did finish strong
on the ground, averaging 165.8 ypg in its
last four games.
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That could be an issue for
Houston who finished 88th in the country in
rushing defense, allowing 175.4 ypg. And unlike
Kansas, it didn't finish strong. After allowing
142.6 ypg on the ground in its first five
games, the Cougars allowed 202.7 ypg in its
final six games and that includes a 24-yard
effort against Southern Mississippi. The passing
defense was much better, allowing only two
teams to pass for more than 120 yards in their
final seven games. The problem is the teams
didn't need to throw because of a successful
run game.
Kansas didn't win on the road
this season and it went 1-3 against the number
in those games. The Cougars were much more
successful away from home, going 4-1 ATS.
Houston went 3-0 ATS as a dog this season
with all three games being on the road. Despite
the solid defense, Kansas went over in four
of its final five games but with a total of
48 or more, the Jayhawks went 5-1 under. Houston
went 6-2 under in its final eight games of
the season including 3-1 under on the road.
PLAINS CAPITAL
FORT WORTH BOWL
Fort Worth, Texas
December 23, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium: 44,003
Kansas (6-5) vs. Houston (6-5)
|
Matt Fargo is a documented member of The Professional
Handicappers League.
Read more of his articles and get his premium
plays here. |
