A high scoring affair most likely , over/under about 2000.
WHO: Memphis (8-4) vs. Western Kentucky (10-3)
WHAT: The 3rd Boca Raton Bowl
WHERE: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
WHEN: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
THE SKINNY: Western Kentucky ended the 2016 regular season as Conference USA champs, winning eight of their last nine and scoring at least 44 points in every single one of those games. The Hilltoppers scored 50 or more in six of those contests. Memphis, meanwhile, allowed at least 42 points in four of its last six games; you see where this is going, right? This stand-alone Tuesday night bowl game has all of the makings of a defense-optional affair with offensive fireworks as far as the eye can see. To further that point: WKU scored 10 points in a loss to top-ranked Alabama; the only teams to put more on the scoreboard against the Crimson Tide in the regular season were Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Auburn. Both teams had to replace prolific quarterbacks this offseason — Brandon Doughty for WKU, Paxton Lynch for the U of M — and each of the successors were more than respectable, with Mike White throwing for 4,027 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Hilltoppers, Riley Ferguson 3,326 and 28 for the Tigers. Don’t sleep on Anthony Wales, though, as the WKU running back ran for 1,376 yards this season (6.8 ypc) and whose 24 rushing touchdowns were second nationally to Navy’s Will Worth‘s 25. Hell, he averaged exactly four yards a carry against a ‘Bama defense that gave up just 2.03 yards per carry on the season, far and away the best figure at this level of football. Speaking of running the ball, the Hilltoppers were fourth in the country in stopping it, giving up just 99.1 yards per game. Aerially? That same defense was 11oth in the FBS in giving up 268.7 passing yards per game. Again, almost every single sign is pointing toward a shootout.
THE LINE: Memphis, +5
WHO: Memphis (8-4) vs. Western Kentucky (10-3)
WHAT: The 3rd Boca Raton Bowl
WHERE: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
WHEN: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
THE SKINNY: Western Kentucky ended the 2016 regular season as Conference USA champs, winning eight of their last nine and scoring at least 44 points in every single one of those games. The Hilltoppers scored 50 or more in six of those contests. Memphis, meanwhile, allowed at least 42 points in four of its last six games; you see where this is going, right? This stand-alone Tuesday night bowl game has all of the makings of a defense-optional affair with offensive fireworks as far as the eye can see. To further that point: WKU scored 10 points in a loss to top-ranked Alabama; the only teams to put more on the scoreboard against the Crimson Tide in the regular season were Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Auburn. Both teams had to replace prolific quarterbacks this offseason — Brandon Doughty for WKU, Paxton Lynch for the U of M — and each of the successors were more than respectable, with Mike White throwing for 4,027 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Hilltoppers, Riley Ferguson 3,326 and 28 for the Tigers. Don’t sleep on Anthony Wales, though, as the WKU running back ran for 1,376 yards this season (6.8 ypc) and whose 24 rushing touchdowns were second nationally to Navy’s Will Worth‘s 25. Hell, he averaged exactly four yards a carry against a ‘Bama defense that gave up just 2.03 yards per carry on the season, far and away the best figure at this level of football. Speaking of running the ball, the Hilltoppers were fourth in the country in stopping it, giving up just 99.1 yards per game. Aerially? That same defense was 11oth in the FBS in giving up 268.7 passing yards per game. Again, almost every single sign is pointing toward a shootout.
THE LINE: Memphis, +5
