Vanderbilt Commodores (8-4 SU, 6-6 ATS) vs. Houston Cougars (8-4 SU, 10-2 ATS)
Compass Bowl Preview
Date and Time: Saturday January 4, 2014 1pm EST
Where: Legion Field, Birmingham AL
TV: ESPN
by Tim, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Van. -3/Hou. +3
Over/Under Total: 54
The word on the street is Vanderbilt produces educated idiots. I wish to dispel this ugly rumor immediately. Ive known quite a few Vanderbilt Grads and not one of them is educated! Houstonwell, Houston got off to a jack-rabbit start winning around 42 in a row before being Kiffened by BYU 47-46. The BVDs BBVA Compass Bowl is coming at ya this Saturday! What the crap is a BBVA Compass?you might ask? Well, its a bank! So BBVA Compass is hosting a Bowl using other peoples money (often called interest) in that beautiful vacation getaway haven, Birmingham, Alabama! all the while the players from both teams are left wondering, What did we do to deserve this? Theres no stinkin BVDs or BBVA Compasses in Bama; theres just red clay soaking up the state motto: Roll Tide, baby, Roll Damn Tide!
Vanderbilt serves up a balanced attack for opponents. Unfortunately, instead of force feeding their enemies sour meals, Vanderbilt busts out a Bobby Flay Throwdown leaving their guests wanting more and more! Vandy sits 98th in rushing for opposing defenses starved for individual stats. When the time came to pass, Austyn (momma misspelled)ala carte Carta-Samuels peppered defenses with chicken wing flings bathed in medium-heat teriyaki sauce to the tune of 11 TDs, 9 INTs, and 21 sack-a-rooskys! Ala Carte will be on official siesta for the BBKingwhatever it isBowl finally succumbing to a torn ACL suffered in October. In is bad-boy Freshman QB Patton Robinette who has thrown 69 passes in 2013; 2 for TDs and 3 for INTs. But Ohhhhhhh, what about that Vandy Defense?? 26th in the Nation in total D—they have to be good! Uhhhh no, its a lieVandy had the BY FAR weakest schedule in probably SEC history (adding out-of-conference Monsters like; Austin Peay, Massachusetts, UAB, and Wake Forest!). When Vanderbilt did play a few high quality SEC teams, the Commodores (not the band; mind you) got stage-fright giving up 579 yards in a loss to South Carolina, closed shop allowing 523 in a loss to Missouri, and was buried under 558 total yards to Texas A&M (loss). The Commodores (not the band) play a great song with stats (defensively), wear pretty costumes, and have a V surrounded by an Ace Fraley Star on their helmets; what Vandy doesnt have is a highly competitive team. Vandys named for a shipping magnate named Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt who blew a million bucks to start a college and heal wounds caused by the Civil War. Nice gesturewrong motivation; no one ever appreciates a freebie; it breeds entitlement. That particular hat has stayed put after all these years. But you did get an SEC Team nicknamed after ya!!! I wonder when theyll nickname a team for General William Tecumseh Shermanor is that cryptically associated with Roll Tide? Hmmmm
I love the smell ofyou know, the smell of gasoline in the morning. It smells like Victorywhen Air-Cav man Bobby Duvall uttered those lines, he could have been thinking of Houston! The two faces of Houston are smelly petro-chemical plants and, now that I think about it, theres only one face to Houston; smelly petro-chemical plants. The Cougars have a history of high octane offensesqueezed in-between NCAA sanctionsand the 2013 Cougar offense is (wait for it!), along those lines (high octane offense). Houston is 23rd in the nation in overall passing but they run the ball with quiet disdain at number 93. Houston didnt play anyone worth mentioning (except BYU and maybe Louisville) competing in the American Athletic Conference better known as The Misfits Stuck in Athletic Purgatory Conference (nobody likes you, nobody cares, not enough wealthy benefactors willing to Benefact conference). In deference to Vanderbilt, if Houston would have played in the SEC they would have been O-fer! Freshman John OKorn has been a one of those thousand points of light (so ridiculous!) passing for almost 3,000 yard, 26 touchdowns, with only 8 picks! WR Deontay Greenberry is a legitimate beast on the boundary with speed, size, and the desire to go over the middle, or over the top to get his yards (averaging a little over 110 yards per game). On defense, the Linebackers led by Derrick Mathews have played take-away forcing 40 turnovers in 2013.
Tough pick here; one team (Houston) facing more cupcakes than a diabetic Baker on a bender, and the other team (the other team) led by a Sigma Chi pledge! Vandy did have 2 players named to the 2013 First Team All-SEC; offensive lineman Wesley Johnson and wide receiver Jordan Matthews. Miraculously, Vandy had 2 CBs named to the All-SEC Second Team; Andre Hal and Kenny Ladler in a conference LOADED with WR and CB talent! Evidently, this pick comes down to which team will score the least in this potential snore fest. Two All-SEC 2nd teamers locking up with the Cougars best (and only) weapons (wide-outs) combined with an unproven freshman directing traffic for Vanderbilt? Go with the UNDER and run for the hills!
Tims Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Pick the UNDER
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