TWIF Notes 12/28/2020

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Welcome Back!

The bowl season is off to a fantastic start!  There have been 10 played so far, and while the 1st 6 were all won by 14 points or more, 3 of the last 4 were decided by 7 points or less.  Here is my review of each of the bowl games through December 26.  To see who I picked for each one, see my posts from last week.  My Paul's Picks from last Thursday has my picks through December 30.  I will have the rest in this week's Paul's Picks on Thursday.  Let's get to the reviews!

Monday, December 21

Appalachian State got the bowl season started with a 56-28 rout of North Texas.  The Mountaineers finish their season 9-3 and remained a perfect 6-0 in bowl games, while the Mean Green dropped to 4-6, and 2-9 in bowls.  ASU RB Cameron Peoples had a bowl-record 319 yards rushing, and tied a bowl record with 5 rushing TDs.

Tuesday, December 22

Nevada took a 19-0 lead over Tulane and never looked back in their 38-27 win.  The Wolf Pack finish 7-2 and raised their bowl record to 7-11.  The Green Wave fell to 6-6 with a 6-8 bowl record.

BYU routed UCF 49-23, and after building a 35-7 lead late in the 1st half, were never seriously threatened.  The Cougars finished a fantastic season at 11-1, and improved their bowl record to 16-21-1.  The Knights dropped to 6-4, their most losses in a season since 2016, and are now 5-7 in bowls.  

Wednesday, December 23

Georgia Southern crushed La Tech 38-3.  The Eagles had 332 rushing yards while their defense held the Bulldogs to 232 total yards and had 4 INTs.  GSU finishes at 8-5 for the season, and are 3-1 in bowl games.  The Bulldogs end their season at 5-5, and are 8-4-1 in bowls.

Memphis built an 18-0 halftime lead and held on to defeat FAU 25-10.  The Tigers ended a mostly disappointing season at 8-3 and are 5-8 in bowl games all-time.  The Owls dropped to 5-4, with a 4-1 bowl record, as this was their 1st loss ever in a bowl.

Thursday, December 24

Hawai'i defeated Houston 28-14.  The Rainbow Warriors led 21-0 at the half, but allowed the Cougars to score 14 straight, before extending the lead back to the final margin of 14 points.  The Warriors end with a winning record of 5-4, and are 8-6 in bowls.  The Cougars finish 3-5, and are 11-16-1 in bowls.

Friday, December 25

Buffalo scored a TD with 1:14 left to break a 10-10 tie and earn a 17-10 victory over Marshall.  The Bulls were held to only 134 rushing yards, but it was enough to raise their record to 6-1 and their bowl record to 2-3.  The Thundering Herd lost their 3rd consecutive game to fall to 7-3, a disappointing end to what started as a great season.  The Herd held every team to 22 points or less, but lost all but 1 game when they allowed at least 17 points.  Marshall now has a bowl record of 12-4, as they have lost their last 2.

Saturday, December 26

Louisiana scored a TD with 7:16 left in the game to break a tie, then held on for the 31-24 win over UTSA.  The Roadrunners had fallen behind 24-7, then clawed back into the game, scoring 17 straight to tie it on a FG with 13:32 left in the game.  The Ragin' Cajuns finish 10-1, winning 10+ games for the 2nd straight season.  UL is 6-2 all-time in bowl games.  The Roadrunners had a great season, ending up at 7-5, their 1st winning season since 2013, but are now 0-2 in bowls.

Georgia State jumped to a 27-7 halftime lead and never looked back, securing a 39-21 victory over WKU.  The Panthers dominated the time of possession, and were 14-22 on 3rd downs.  GSU finishes 2020 at 6-4 for their 3rd winning record in the last 4 years, and evened their bowl record at 2-2.  The Hilltoppers fell to 5-7, and 4-3 in bowls.

Liberty and Coastal Carolina staged the best bowl game of the season so far, with the Flames prevailing over the Chanticleers 37-34 in OT. The ending was unbelievable, as Liberty was driving for a TD, but didn't want to score too quickly and leave time on the clock for CCU to come back.  Instead, they fumbled on the 1-foot line, struggling to stay out of the end zone with CCU defenders trying to pull the runner into the end zone.  This sent the game to OT, where UL kicked a FG, and then CCU threw 3 incompletes, and had their FG blocked, ending their perfect season at 11-1 and losing their 1st-ever bowl game.  The Flames finished 10-1, and are now 2-0 in bowls.

That's all for today.  Feel free to leave a comment, and come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings.

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!   

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