New Orleans Bowl: North Texas and Troy go for program-best seasons
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Troy (10-2) vs. North Texas (9-4)
Dec. 16, 1 p.m. ET, New Orleans (ESPN)
Troy -7, O/U: 62
HOW THESE TEAMS GOT HERE:
Troy: The Trojans’ biggest win of the season came against LSU. Troy beat LSU a week after beating MAC division champion Akron to move to 4-1. Then the Trojans lost to South Alabama, a team that parted ways with its coach at the end of the season. The Sun Belt co-champions then finished the season on a six-game win streak.
North Texas: Two of the Mean Green’s four losses came against Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic. UNT is probably happy this isn’t a third game against the Owls. Otherwise, UNT’s season has been extremely successful. Its other two losses came against SMU and Iowa and entered the Conference USA title game on a five-game win streak that included a win against Army.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Jordan Chunn, RB, Troy: Chunn’s ended the season slowly, but he was a big reason the Trojans beat LSU. He had 30 carries for 191 yards in that game. It was a season high in both carries and rushing yards and his second-straight game with over 100 yards. Over the last three games, he has 35 carries for 143 yards.
Nic Smith, RB, North Texas: The freshman is now the Mean Green’s featured back. Senior Jeffery Wilson rushed for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns but missed the final two games of the season with a foot injury. He’s unlikely to play on Saturday. That puts Smith in the spotlight. Smith has 665 yards and six touchdowns in 2017 and had 26 carries for 178 yards against Rice.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH: It’s the first game of the bowl season. And what else are you going to be doing on one of the last Saturday afternoons before Christmas? Both offenses average six yards per play, though North Texas gets a little bump for conference difficulty. Troy, however, has the advantage on defense. The Trojans allow less than five yards per play while North Texas’ defense is ranked No. 96 overall and allows nearly six yards per play. With both teams’ advantages matching up against each other, this should be a close game.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE: History. Both teams are searching for the best season in school history. Troy has won 10 games in each of the last two seasons but has never scored an 11-win season in program history. North Texas, meanwhile, has six nine-win seasons but has never recorded a 10-win season. It’s not very often that you get both teams in a bowl game going for program milestones.
PREDICTIONS
Nick: North Texas 31, Troy 27
Sam: Troy 30, North Texas 28
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
