Tweet
College Football Betting Info. Saturday 1/4/2014
Compass Bowl: Vanderbilt vs Houston
Chuckedel.com
The Commodores came into this season facing adversity, with one of the team's best players being removed for the program, along with several other players that were involved. They were able to overcome though, beating Florida and Tennessee in four game winning streak that brings them into the bowl. Houston started the season hot, winning five straight before dropping to BYU by a point. A brutal November schedule saw the Cougars go 1-3, but they hung tight with UCF and Louisville before succumbing
Vanderbilt's running game wasnt going to be the same after Zac Stacy headed to the NFL, and Jerron Seymour and Wesley Tate struggled to fill in all the voids for him. Vandy averaged just 3.5 yards per carry this season, as Seymour and Tate averaged 4.4 and 4.1 respectively. The pair combined for just 26 runs of more than ten yards. Its unlikely that It will get better with Austyn Carta Samuels, the regular signal caller, forced to miss the bowl game after having surgery to repair a torn ACL. In his stead Patton Robinette will start, a redshirt freshman who has started a pair of games earlier this year. He completed 58% of his passes this season, for 7.1 yards per attempt with a pair of touchdowns and three picks. It will likely be up to Jordan Mathews though to make big plays if the Vanderbilt offense really hopes to light things up. Mathews is one of the better receivers in the nation, hauling in 107 passes for 1334 yards. He had 28 receptions of more than 15 yards, and moved the chains on 10 of his 17 third down receptions (9-14 on less than third and ten) and converted four of his five fourth down catches. The presence and volume of Mathews helped open up the big play for Jonathan Krause, who averaged 17.2 yards per catch this season.
The Houston offense isn't as exciting as in years past, averaging just 5.85 yards per play, but they still averaged 422.5 yards per game and scored 34 points a game. Freshman John O'Korn had several big games this season, tossing three or more touchdowns in half of his starts this season. He struggled throughout November though, completing just 51.3% of his passes and averaging 5.1 yards per attempt. He also had only four touchdown passes, to go with four interceptions. He had a pair of dangerous receivers to work with in Deontay Greenberry and Daniel Spencer. Greenberry had 1106 yards this season, averaging 14.6 yards per catch. Spencer averaged 15.3 yards per catch, with 20 receptions of more than 15 yards. On the ground, Ryan Jackson took 135 carries for 655 yards. Jackson had 21 runs of more than ten yards, and actually got stronger as games went on, averaging 5.4 yards per carry in the second halves of games.
Vandy's defense allowed 5.1 yards per play this season, while allowing just 352 yards per game. It was largely thanks to a pass defense that kept opponents from getting yards after the catch, allowing only 9.8 yards per reception. Kenny Ladler lead the team with five interceptions, and totaled 87 tackles this season. His play helped keep the big play rate through the air at just 13%. Houston struggled to protect QBs allowing a pressure rate of 13.9%, but Vandy totaled just 24 sacks all season. They made a few plays in the backfield though, with a 9.4% tackle for loss rate. Caleb Azubike and Walker May lead the Commodores in that category, combing for 18 stops behind the line.
The Cougars were mostly successful shutting down run game this season, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry and only allowing BYU and Rutgers to edge of the 200 yard mark. They did it without making a ton of plays in the backfield, with just a 7.4% tackle for loss rate. Houston had a pair of linebackers go over the hundred tackle mark, as Efrem Oliphant and Derrick Mathews totaled 123 and 110 respectively. Both made a ton of solo tackles, 136 between the two of them. The pass defense was boom or bust, allowing 16.4% of the passes thrown against them to go for more than fifteen yards, but intercepting 23 passes. Adrian McDonald had five, while Zachary McMillian and Trevon Stewart each had four picks.
The question in this game will be if Jordan Mathews can take advantage of the big plays Houston leaves on the field, and if O'Korn's November performances were an anomaly or the regular against talented squads. If Cart-Samuels is playing, this game is a big Vanderbilt win. With Robinette playing, its a tight one with Vandy coming up positive in the end.
Chuckedel.com
The Commodores came into this season facing adversity, with one of the team's best players being removed for the program, along with several other players that were involved. They were able to overcome though, beating Florida and Tennessee in four game winning streak that brings them into the bowl. Houston started the season hot, winning five straight before dropping to BYU by a point. A brutal November schedule saw the Cougars go 1-3, but they hung tight with UCF and Louisville before succumbing
Vanderbilt's running game wasnt going to be the same after Zac Stacy headed to the NFL, and Jerron Seymour and Wesley Tate struggled to fill in all the voids for him. Vandy averaged just 3.5 yards per carry this season, as Seymour and Tate averaged 4.4 and 4.1 respectively. The pair combined for just 26 runs of more than ten yards. Its unlikely that It will get better with Austyn Carta Samuels, the regular signal caller, forced to miss the bowl game after having surgery to repair a torn ACL. In his stead Patton Robinette will start, a redshirt freshman who has started a pair of games earlier this year. He completed 58% of his passes this season, for 7.1 yards per attempt with a pair of touchdowns and three picks. It will likely be up to Jordan Mathews though to make big plays if the Vanderbilt offense really hopes to light things up. Mathews is one of the better receivers in the nation, hauling in 107 passes for 1334 yards. He had 28 receptions of more than 15 yards, and moved the chains on 10 of his 17 third down receptions (9-14 on less than third and ten) and converted four of his five fourth down catches. The presence and volume of Mathews helped open up the big play for Jonathan Krause, who averaged 17.2 yards per catch this season.
The Houston offense isn't as exciting as in years past, averaging just 5.85 yards per play, but they still averaged 422.5 yards per game and scored 34 points a game. Freshman John O'Korn had several big games this season, tossing three or more touchdowns in half of his starts this season. He struggled throughout November though, completing just 51.3% of his passes and averaging 5.1 yards per attempt. He also had only four touchdown passes, to go with four interceptions. He had a pair of dangerous receivers to work with in Deontay Greenberry and Daniel Spencer. Greenberry had 1106 yards this season, averaging 14.6 yards per catch. Spencer averaged 15.3 yards per catch, with 20 receptions of more than 15 yards. On the ground, Ryan Jackson took 135 carries for 655 yards. Jackson had 21 runs of more than ten yards, and actually got stronger as games went on, averaging 5.4 yards per carry in the second halves of games.
Vandy's defense allowed 5.1 yards per play this season, while allowing just 352 yards per game. It was largely thanks to a pass defense that kept opponents from getting yards after the catch, allowing only 9.8 yards per reception. Kenny Ladler lead the team with five interceptions, and totaled 87 tackles this season. His play helped keep the big play rate through the air at just 13%. Houston struggled to protect QBs allowing a pressure rate of 13.9%, but Vandy totaled just 24 sacks all season. They made a few plays in the backfield though, with a 9.4% tackle for loss rate. Caleb Azubike and Walker May lead the Commodores in that category, combing for 18 stops behind the line.
The Cougars were mostly successful shutting down run game this season, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry and only allowing BYU and Rutgers to edge of the 200 yard mark. They did it without making a ton of plays in the backfield, with just a 7.4% tackle for loss rate. Houston had a pair of linebackers go over the hundred tackle mark, as Efrem Oliphant and Derrick Mathews totaled 123 and 110 respectively. Both made a ton of solo tackles, 136 between the two of them. The pass defense was boom or bust, allowing 16.4% of the passes thrown against them to go for more than fifteen yards, but intercepting 23 passes. Adrian McDonald had five, while Zachary McMillian and Trevon Stewart each had four picks.
The question in this game will be if Jordan Mathews can take advantage of the big plays Houston leaves on the field, and if O'Korn's November performances were an anomaly or the regular against talented squads. If Cart-Samuels is playing, this game is a big Vanderbilt win. With Robinette playing, its a tight one with Vandy coming up positive in the end.
Comment