College Bowl Preview (Part II)
By Corey Hunter
National University Holiday Bowl
Texas Tech Red Raiders Preview:
Nov 28, 2013; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders punter Ryan Erxleben (26), long snapper David Brenner (57), and defensive back Keenon Ward (15) celebrate after scoring a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns in the first quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Tech started the season a perfect 7-0 and had dreams of going to a BCS bowl. The Red Raiders finished the season losing their last five games. It should be noted that of Texas Tech’s seven wins, none of them came against a team that finished the season win a winning record. All five loses came against bowl-bound teams.
Now, Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury is charged with rallying his troops for one more game against a strong Arizona State Sun Devils team. Texas Tech was led by two freshman quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Davis Webb. Both threw for an identical 2,315 yards, while Davis tossed 16 touchdowns to Mayfield’s 12.
In a surprise move, Baker Mayfield decided to transfer at the conclusion of the regular season, leaving the quarterbacking duties to Webb. The Red Raiders ranked second nationally in passing offense at over at 392 yards per game. Their leading pass catcher was their tight end, junior Jace Amaro who reeled in 98 passes for 1240 yards and seven scores. Aside from Amaro, three other Red Raider receivers amassed over 550 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns.
Arizona State Sun Devils Preview:
Dec 7, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly (10) runs the ball under pressure from Stanford Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov (11) in the second half at Sun Devil Stadium. Stanford defeated Arizona State 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Sun Devils came into the season as Pac-12 favorites. They did nothing to diminish those expectations. Once again, Arizona State posted double-digit wins, losing only to Notre Dame and Stanford (twice). This was just the second time the Sun Devils reached double-digit wins in the past 17 years.
The Arizona State offense is led by quarterback Taylor Kelly, who threw 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Also, the Sun Devils averaged nearly 41 points per game, but it was their swarming defense that also had teams uneasy playing against them.
Arizona State is likely to be without leading rusher Marion Grice for the bowl game. Grice rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and scored 20 combined touchdowns.
Bowl Outlook:
The vaunted Arizona State defense should be able to stymie the Texas Tech passing game in this one. Arizona State has shown the ability to slow down the opposing team’s main offensive gameplan. Also, Arizona State head coach Todd Graham has won his last four bowl games by an average of 37 points.
Look for that streak to continue as the Sun Devils take care of business in this one by a rather comfortable margin.
Score: Texas Tech – 23 Arizona State – 41