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The Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl featuring Illinois and Louisiana Tech doesn’t figure to set any ratings records on TV, but it could wind up being one of the more entertaining bowl games of the season.
The reason it could be so entertaining is because both teams have, at times, been able to light up the scoreboard but not necessarily play much defense (a familiar theme throughout all of college football).
The 6-6 Illini found a way to salvage what was once a lost season with a soon-to-be-fired head coach, despite QB Wes Lunt missing most of the second half of the year with a broken leg. Despite the adversity, they found a way to beat teams like Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State down the stretch that just barely managed to eek them into a bowl game for the first time under Beckman, who was almost assuredly set to be fired without a bowl berth this season.
Tech, who finished 8-5 after losing 26-23 to Marshall in the Conference USA title game, could’ve been seeded much higher had a few things gone differently this year, the second of the Skip Holtz regime. Yes, losses to then-#4 Oklahoma and then-#5 Auburn were expected. But if the Bulldogs didn’t inexplicably lose to FCS Northwestern State (after leading by 10 in the 4th) in week 4, and if they had managed to beat fledgling Old Dominion in OT, this would’ve been a 10-win team. And just imagine if they had then beaten Marshall in the title game. There’s a very real chance this team could be in the Fiesta Bowl instead of Boise State.
Tech has a fairly well balanced offense, though it suffered from inaccuracy under center and from too many turnovers. QB Cody Sokol will look early and often to WR Trent Taylor, and RB Kenneth Dixon will continue his quietly impressive year against the soft front seven of the Illini.
The big question offensively for the Illini, who will play QB? Is it Lunt, who hasn’t quite been the same since injuring his leg? Or the senior Reilly O’Toole, who’s ability to make plays with his feet opened a new dimension on the offense? My guess is a lot of O’Toole and a little bit of Lunt, especially in 2-minute drills.
So who wins? I’m going with the Illini because I’m just not sure how jacked up the Bulldogs can get for this game coming off that heartbreaking loss in the conference championship game. The Illini are thrilled just to be here while the Bulldogs are wondering ‘what if?’.
Final Score Prediction: Illiniois 34, LA Tech 28.
Rick Stavig is an NFL Draft Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickstavig or add him to your network on Google+.
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