Preview: GMAC Bowl

Bowling Green Pulse

I was able to ask Bowling Green fan, Flipper, from Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba some questions and he responded with some of his thoughts on the game:

Passing is nice...we win more frequently when we manage to run the ball a bit. RB/WR/QB Anthoney Turner and TB Willie Geter will get some yards and keep that Tulsa offense on the bench. We''ll get opur share in the air, but we'll win if we can rush for 150 or so..

Special teams are vastly improved. Kick coverage is better...Iovinelli is a solid punter and Vrvilo has strong leg...I'd trust him out to 50 yards

We're missing our top DE, a starting OLB and a back up DT...so yeah, we're worried about stopping Tulsa.

I suspect we'll try to get pressure rushing 4 down linemen while dropping 7 into coverage....we tend to play a soft zone that gives up yards between the 20's. We did a great job in the red zone against Akron, Buffalo and Toledo....so I suspet we'll be very happy if we can contain them between the 20's and then bottle them up when the field gets shorter.

Anthony Turner will be the guy for us on offense....On defense, watch for safety PJ Pope...he's an interception machine

Background Info & History

If you guessed that the GMAC Bowl is sponsored by GMAC, congratulations! Your ability to deduce is worth beholding. GMAC was known as General Motors Acceptance Corporation and it dealt with all of the financial services GM provided. It's headquarters is in Detroit, Michigan. Today, it offers a wide range of financial services and I will, sooner or later, write them a thank-you letter for putting a stop to all of the God-awful Ditech.com commercials (they work together).

The history of this game dates back to 1999, but the most memorable, by far, GMAC Bowl was the game between future teammates, Byron Leftwich and David Garrard. Garrard would eventually become the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he couldn't out-duel Leftwich and the Marshall Thundering Herd as they completed the second largest comeback in bowl history due to the 2006 Insight Bowl. Over the next four games, the bowl was generally lopsided towards the MAC with Marshall beating Louisville easily, Ben Roethlisberger and Miami OH beating Louisville, Bowling Green defeating Memphis easily, and Toledo whipping up on Mike Price's UTEP team. However, the trend would end last year with Southern Miss defeating Ohio 28-7. Let's just say that the GMAC Bowl hasn't provided us with the greatest match ups of all-time.

Bowling Green Storyline

Gregg Brandon was on the hot seat (sort of). And boy, did his team deliver.

One of the biggest issues with Bowling Green since the departure of Omar Jacobs was QB play. In 2005, Jacobs was hampered by an injury and during the stretch he was out, this team didn't produce. In 2006 when Anthony Turner became the full-time starter, Bowling Green was just mediocre. But, Tyler Sheehan was discovered in the game against Minnesota and that would turn the Falcons' misfortunes around taking them bowling for the first time since 2004.

The year began with a thrilling victory against Minnesota. Coach Brandon decided to go all Boise State on everybody and try for the two points in overtime. The conversion was successful and Bowling Green started off the year 1-0. After a defeat against Michigan State, Bowling Green was able to avenge their stunning loss to Temple a year ago with a 48-35 win.

But, soon after, their MAC East hopes would bedashed. After a drilling from Boston College, Bowling Green didn't even show up against Miami OH losing 47-14. That game put Miami in the driver's seat for the division crown and they never looked back. But, besides a loss to Ohio, Bowling Green found a way to win out for the rest of the year, ending the season as one of the hottest teams in the MAC.

Tulsa Storyline

Texas Tech? Hawaii? If you haven't seen Tulsa's offense yet this year, they would be able to give those teams a run for their money, statistically speaking.

The hire that made the most waves throughout C-USA in 2007 was that of former Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Malzahn brought with him a fast-paced, no-huddle spread system that is somewhat similar to Texas Tech's. It turns out the fit was almost perfect unlike his stint at Arkansas where he didn't have the pieces to run the offense to its maximum potential.

So the season started with my ill-fated upset pick of UL Monroe. The Warhawks gave the Golden Hurricane a 1st half battle, but Tulsa eventually pulled away. In an amazingly high-scoring battle, Tulsa out-lasted BYU 55-47. The reason that score was so shocking was because of BYU's defense. They had a great defense this year, but it goes to show you how potent this Tulsa offense can be.

Even with their ability to put up a ton of points though, Tulsa has had their run-ins with some awful football teams. Marshall, UAB, and SMU really struggled to compete this year, but all of them managed to lose to Tulsa by one score. This alarming trend was really put to rest with an easy shelling of Houston 56-7. That's probably the most stunning score of 2007, Stanford-USC excluded.

But the year ended with a disappointing loss to Central Florida in the C-USA title game. It should be interesting to see how they rebound from that loss in the GMAC Bowl.

Match ups of the Game

Tulsa Passing Game vs. Bowling Green Pass Defense-Tulsa usually wins by throwing and putting in a solid mix of running plays to keep the defense off-balance, but Bowling Green really needs to take their coverage skills to a new level facing off against this high-octane Tulsa attack. Paul Smith was thought to be a square peg to this offense's round hole, but it turns out he was an almost perfect fit becoming one of the most prolific passers in the game. His targets are Brennan Marion, Trae Johnson, Charles Clay, Dion Tolliver, and Jesse Meyer. Bowling Green's secondary might have their hands full trying to cover all of these athletes at WR.

Bowling Green Passing Game vs. Tulsa Pass Defense-As mentioned, there shouldn't be a whole lot of defense in this game. So, with that said, Tulsa's pass defense ranks 108th in the nation with Bowling Green's passing offense checking in at 19th. While the Falcons don't equip an offense quite as capable as Tulsa's, the Golden Hurricane can't play as well against the pass as Bowling Green does. Look for this to be a key match up.

Keep an Eye on...

Charles Clay. With all of the attention being paid to their top receiver, Brennan Marion, Charles Clay is an excellent freshman player.

Todd Graham and Gus Malzahn are always looking for ways to get the ball into his hands whether it be on sweep plays, screens, short dump offs, or options. With the new spread offense at Tulsa, he fits the system like a charm.






Anthony Turner. Since both teams will most likely be lighting up the scoreboard at this point, we might as well focus in on Anthony Turner.

He's the Bowling Green form of Charles Clay, basically. The Bowling Green offense looks for ways to get Turner the ball on sweeps, screens, etc.

The difference between Turner and Clay is that Turner can play a little QB. There are packages for Turner where he kind of does that read option kind of stuff. But unlike many teams with an athletic guy behind center, he's pretty good at chucking the ball, too. This extra dimension has been a pain for defensive coordinators all season long.

Must-See-Ometer

Even though I bet the ratings won't show it, this game should get a 8 out of 10 on the Must-See-Ometer for the casual fan. Defense? Screwwwwwwwww that!

Tulsa doesn't play any defense at all. They're giving up over five touchdowns a game. Five touchdowns a game! The Golden Hurricane are also having a tough time keeping teams from passing the ball at will. They're currently surrendering over 270 yards a game through the air. Bowling Green is statistically much better against the pass ranking 30th in the nation, but the MAC is not chalked full of passing juggernauts. They haven't faced a passing offense with the potency of Tulsa's. Don't forget, even though Bowling Green has a solid statistical defense, Tulsa ranks first in total offense. So this is a shootout of Wyatt Earp proportions.

Prediction

Even though there won't be much defense, the team with the better defensive performance will prevail. That will be Bowling Green. Even though Buffalo and Akron don't necessarily have explosive offenses, they have been much better all season against the pass, specifically. Tulsa will bomb away and come up with 450+ yards of total offense, but Tyler Sheehan and Freddie Barnes will hook up on a number of 15+ yarders.

There is one thing though that turns me off a little bit with this upset pick and that's 3rd down conversions. Tulsa is about 6% better compared to Bowling Green, so that's a thing to keep an eye on. I'll probably regret it, but I'm going with the Falcons by a score of 52-48 (1 confidence point).