Well, it’s the last bowl game before we get to the national championship. And it should be a pretty intriguing matchup, as the Miami-Ohio RedHawks meet up with the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns in the Mobile Alabama Bowl. It will take place on Monday night at 7:30 PM ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL.
It’s an ESPN game, and if you’re a BetAnySports customer, you can watch it and place wagers in real-time using the facilities provided by Sports Betting Ultra.
Let’s take a look at the matchup, breaking down each team’s offense and defense:
Miami Offense
They needed someone to replace Gus Ragland, and they recruited someone who may have some upside in freshman Brent Gabbert. But stats are not imposing – just 53.7% completions and 11 touchdown passes. His leading receiver, Jack Sorenson, has just 34 receptions. Freshman running back Tyre Shelton stepped in and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. But this ground game scared nobody. As a team, the RedHawks averaged only 3.5 yards per carry. And only four teams in the nation were “stuffed” (held to no gain or negative yardage) more frequently than they were. They’ve converted only 32.4% of their third downs, and are only 111th nationally in Time of Possession.
Louisiana Defense
While Miami gets stuffed frequently, the Ragin’ Cajuns don’t stop the opposition cold all that often. In fact, they are only 128th in “stuff rate.” But they have managed to get a decent amount of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, with 30 sacks. In fact, Louisiana-Lafayette is 19th in the nation in passing efficiency defense. And this is the kind of thing that could keep Miami’s freshman quarterback back on his heels.
Here are the numbers…
In the college football betting odds posted on this Mobile Alabama Bowl, Louisiana-Lafayette is a big favorite:
Miami-Ohio vs Louisiana-Lafayette Betting Odds
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Ohio | +14 (-110) | 55 (-110) | +425 |  |
| UL Lafayette | -14 (-110) | 55 (-110) | -550 | |
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Louisiana Offense
This is an imposing group. Louisiana averaged 38.8 points per game this season, and they were seventh in the nation in rushing. They don’t have just one star back, but multiple threats. Elijah Mitchell scored 15 touchdowns and topped the 1000-yard mark (1092, to be exact). Raymond Calais not only had 867 yards but was fifth in the nation in kickoff returns as well. And then Trey Ragas (796 yards) is a guy who can take it coast-to-coast at any time. There is a balance here as well. Quarterback Levi Lewis was in the top 25 in passing efficiency, completing 63% and throwing just five interceptions. His top receiver is JaMarcus Bradley (56 catches, 845 yards). So it’s no wonder how they converted 48% of their third-down opportunities.
Miami Defense
Miami won the MAC title, and they had a limited offense. So you know they had to do something right on the defensive end. This D-line gets penetration; they were sixth in the nation in Tackles For Loss per game. And they also had 38 sacks.
There is a flip side, however. Six different teams topped 200 rushing yards against them. And it wasn’t just national powers like Ohio State in Iowa. Ball State ran right through them, for example.
In conclusion…….
Five of Miami’s wins were by seven points or less, so obviously they could have had a record a lot worse than 8-5 (6-7 ATS). They exceeded 400 yards of offense only twice, and lost all of their non-conference games, with the exception of FCS entry Tennessee Tech. It appears as if capable ground attacks could have their way with the RedHawks, and the ground forces of Louisiana-Lafayette are very much for real.
Two of Louisiana’s three defeats (they were 10-3 SU, 9-4 ATS) came at the hands of nationally-ranked Appalachian State, with the other coming at the hands of Mississippi State. This situation is to their liking, and they might even get some fan support. We are going to lay the points.
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