South Alabama vs WKU R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Prediction Game Preview
South Alabama vs WKU prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Wednesday, December 21
South Alabama vs WKU R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Prediction Game Preview
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South Alabama vs WKU How To Watch
Date: Wednesday, December 21
Game Time: 9:00 pm ET
Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: South Alabama (10-2), WKU (8-5)
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South Alabama vs WKU R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 5 Things To Know
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
– South Alabama might be the best Power Five team you didn’t pay any attention to this season. You probably didn’t notice it came this close to beating UCLA, and you probably didn’t notice that it was that 32-31 loss and a 10-6 battle with Troy away from being perfect. It didn’t exactly roll a slew of killers, but it has a solid offense, it controls the clock, and it brings one of the best run defenses in the country.
– WKU brings the fun. No, it doesn’t care about time of possession, and it’ll see your solid offense with a high-octane passing attack. It lost star QB Austin Reed to the transfer portal – he was supposedly headed to Louisville – but he changed his mind and came back. Here comes the offensive show.
– The Hilltoppers have played in eight FBS-level bowl games and won five of them. Head man Tyson Helton won two of his three – including the 2021 Boca Raton with a 59-38 explosion over Appalachian State.
– This is just the third bowl game for South Alabama and the first under head coach Kane Wommack. It’s a showcase moment for him and the program that lost its first two bowl tries and hasn’t been in one since losing to Air Force in the 2016 Arizona.
– The New Orleans Bowl always seems like it should be fun – the matchups are always strong – but the last five have been relative blowouts and seven of the last eight were decided by 13 or more. It’s been the Sun Belt’s world winning the last four.
CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27
Why South Alabama Will Win The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
How did South Alabama get it done this year?
It’s been a rock defensively, it doesn’t make a slew of mistakes or turnovers, and the ground game was one of the best in the nation. La’Damian Webb ran for over 1,000 yards and 13 scores, but he’s not alone in the rotation of runners including QB Carter Bradley.
Run well, rely on the defense, limit the turnovers – which, to be fair, come in bunches, but the team overcomes them. But against WKU it’s about holding up against a ton of midrange passes.
The Jaguars haven’t had too many problems surviving the games against teams that throw a ton. The wins haven’t been easy, but they can handle WKU thanks to a strong-tackling back-seven.
However …
Why WKU Will Win The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Getting back Austin Reed changes the game.
He’s a veteran passer who’s been around the block as a big bomber for West Florida at the D-II level before fitting right in at WKU. The South Alabama defense might be terrific, but it’s about to get thrown on 50 times for at least 300 yards.
But it’s not just about Reed and the air show. The WKU offense can run well enough to mix it up, and the defense isn’t just along for the ride. It might have had a bumpy finish in a blowout loss to Auburn and a tough 32-31 fight with Florida Atlantic, but few teams in the country do more to take the ball away.
WKU’s defense is high-risk/high-reward. It can get run over, but it makes up for it with a ton of forced fumbles. It’ll give up big plays through the air, but it also generates a bunch of picks.
It’s just this simple. For all the good things the offense does, and as good as Reed is, WKU is 7-0 when coming up with two or more takeaways, and 1-5 when it doesn’t.
But …
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, South Alabama vs WKU Prediction, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl History
South Alabama vs WKU R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, What’s Going To Happen
South Alabama is good at keeping the turnovers to a minimum. It gave up 14 all year, but ten came in four games. It won three of them.
Reed’s return might be the difference for WKU if he gets into an early groove, but that’s going to be a problem with a few key offensive linemen in the transfer portal against a rested defense that’s as good as any the Hilltopper offense has faed all year.
Both teams fattened up with wins over a slew of mediocre squads, but they’re both good enough to come up with a terrific back-and-forth battle.
Reed will get his yards, but the Jaguars will hold up against the run, get their own offense efficiently going, and the time of possession battle will matter. Even more important will be the loss of a slew of Hilltoppers.
South Alabama will have the ball for over 35 minutes with the defense holding up just well enough.
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South Alabama vs WKU R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, Prediction, Line
CFN Prediction: South Alabama 35, WKU 30
Line: South Alabama -4.5, o/u: 56
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Must See Rating (out of 5): 4
CFN Bowl Expert Picks: Dec 16-19 | Dec 20-27
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R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl History
Dec. 18, 2021 Louisiana 36, Marshall 21
Dec. 23, 2020 Georgia Southern 38, Louisiana Tech 3
Dec. 21, 2019 Appalachian State 31, UAB 17
Dec. 15, 2018 Appalachian State 45, Middle Tennessee 13
Dec. 16, 2017 Troy 50, North Texas 30
Dec. 17, 2016 Southern Miss 28, Louisiana-Lafayette 21
Dec. 19, 2015 Louisiana Tech 47 Arkansas State 28
Dec. 20, 2014 Louisiana-Lafayette 16 Nevada 3
Dec. 21, 2013 Louisiana-Lafayette 24 Tulane 21
Dec. 22, 2012 Louisiana-Lafayette 43 East Carolina 34
Dec. 17, 2011 Louisiana-Lafayette 32 San Diego State 30
Dec. 18, 2010 Troy 48 Ohio 21
Dec. 20, 2009 Middle Tennessee 42 Southern Miss 32
Dec. 20, 2008 Southern Miss 30 Troy 27 (OT)
Dec. 21, 2007 FAU 44 Memphis 27
Dec. 22, 2006 Troy 41 Rice 17
Dec. 20, 2005 Southern Miss 31 Arkansas State 19
Dec. 14, 2004 Southern Miss 31 North Texas 10
Dec. 16, 2003 Memphis 27 North Texas 17
Dec. 17, 2002 North Texas 25 Cincinnati 19
Dec. 18, 2001 Colorado State 45 North Texas 20
