Houston is hoping to play better against Florida State than the last Group of Five opponent that took on the Seminoles in a prestigious bowl.
In 2013, Northern Illinois was soundly defeated 31-10 by a Florida State team that had better athletes across the board. Houston doesn’t want to suffer the same fate.
Unlike that NIU team, Houston has played its share of tough teams, including ranked Memphis, Navy and Temple programs. But it’s hard to ignore the plethora of talent Florida State has on its roster starting with running back Dalvin Cook.
Cook probably should have earned a trip to the Heisman ceremony in New York after leading the ACC with 1,658 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. The scariest part about those numbers is that many of them came while Cook was either injured or recovering from injury. Cook comes into this game, however, fresh after more than a month to prepare and presents an even more difficult matchup now than he did at the end of the regular season.
Cook is the engine that makes the Florida State offense go. If he’s not producing, the Seminoles tend to idle, especially with Sean Maguire under center.
Houston’s is an aggressive defense and might take its chances with stacking the box since Maguire didn’t exactly light it up in the passing game this season. Maguire, who started the last five games, completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 1,128 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
Houston’s rushing defense allowed 116 yards per game this season, but it allowed an average of 153.3 during the last four games. It’s also allowing just 20.4 points per game and has held five teams 14 points or fewer this season.
Offensively, Houston is led by star quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who enters the game second to only Navy’s Keenan Reynolds in rushing yards (1,034) and rushing touchdowns (19) by a quarterback. Ward’s also a pretty prolific passer completing 68.1 percent for 2,590 yards, 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Ward will have a tremendous challenge against a Seminoles defense that allows 185.8 passing yards per game and just 15.8 points per game.
If Houston wins, it will be the second AAC program to win a major bowl game. Central Florida defeated Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl in 2013.
Via Yahoo! Sports
PREDICTION: FSU 38-UH 21