Middle Tenn St - Southern Miss

New Orleans Bowl December 20, 8:30pm New Orleans, LA

Middle Tenn St (9-3) ___________ SunBelt _________ 136.35 ____ ___________YPG = 419.3 (101%) → +3% PPG = 31.2 (98%) __________dYPG = 351.6 (95%) → -15% ________dPPG = 23.0 (96%) → -13% _____ Wk Opponent oPts Score 1 Clemson 149.95 L, 14-37 2 Memphis -278.07 W, 31-14 3 Maryland -282.65 W, 32-31 4 North Texas -345.58 W, 37-21 6 Troy 179.89 L, 7-31 7 Mississippi St 14.07 L, 6-27 8 Western Kentucky -540.84 W, 62-24 9 Florida Atl -101.06 W, 27-20 10 Florida Intl -235.04 W, 48-21 11 LA-Lafayette -71.89 W, 34-17 12 Arkansas St -183.23 W, 38-14 13 LA-Monroe -50.43 W, 38-19

Southern Miss (7-5) ______________ CUSA __________ 18.75 ____ YPG = 398.9 (98%) +13% ← PPG = 31.3 (111%)__________ dYPG = 408.8 (110%) dPPG = 26.7 (109%) ____ Wk Opponent oPts Score 1 Alcorn St -532.68 W, 52-0 2 UCF 122.39 W, 26-19 3 Virginia -207.42 W, 37-34 4 Kansas -89.35 L, 28-35 5 UAB -71.06 L, 17-30 6 Louisville -108.86 L, 23-25 7 Memphis -278.07 W, 36-16 8 Tulane -246.99 W, 43-6 9 Houston 213.71 L, 43-50 11 Marshall -30.18 W, 27-20 12 Tulsa -112.30 W, 44-34 13 East Carolina 177.10 L, 20-25

The big thing here is that while Middle Tennessee State has beaten the bad teams & lost to the good, the same can't be said for Southern Miss - the Golden Eagles have lost to UAB, Kansas, and Louisville, three non-bowl teams. They're gonna need a big game on D to hold the Blue Raiders under their usual 30 points - whenever State's offense has gone over 4 TD's, their D has been able to step up to seal the win. It's not an impossible request - the Eagles held 3 of their 4 toughest opponents under 26 points, so it could happen. But it's not likely.

And while CUSA is tougher than the SunBelt this year, the two schedules are equally weak. But Southern Miss is still giving points...

The Line: Middle Tennessee State +3.5

The Call: Middle Tennessee State by 7

The Result: Middle Tennessee State 42-32

Yeah, the CUSA isn't faring too well right now. Solid season overall for the Blue Raiders - well done.