BCS Bowl Statistical Preview - Orange Bowl

The FedEx Orange Bowl

#12 University of Cincinnati
vs.
#19 Virginia Tech University

Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 8:30PM EST
The Orange Bowl - Miami, FL
FOX-TV

Probably the most boring BCS bowl matchup of the year. Really not a big draw for the Orange Bowl. I have to think that even from a ticket sales perspective...no one is really satisfied with this game. Although, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati are both schools that have to be totally stoked to have made it to a BCS bowl. I feel though that this game could end up being a really good one.

Cincinnati has had one helluva season. They play in the less than great Big East. But that aside, they had three wins over ranked teams, #23 S. Florida, #25 W. Virginia and #20 Pitt. They also were trounced by a very good Oklahoma team on Sept. 6. But 11-2 is good for any BCS conference team.

VT had a slightly worse season at 9-4. They did win the ACC title against BC...but that aside, they really don't deserve to be here. BC, Georgia Tech, Florida State and even North Carolina are all superior ACC teams...at least in my opinion. But they won the ACC Coastal division fair and square with a win head-to-head against Georgia Tech on Sept. 13 for the tie-breaker to get into the conf. title game.

There are no common opponents to help us judge these two schools by, unfortunately. So we'll have to simply go by season averages/totals. And of course, numbers courtesy of cfbstats.com.


Scoring: Points/Game 27.3
22.2
Scoring: Games - Points 13 - 355
13 - 289
First Downs: Total 258 220
First Downs: Rushing - Passing - By Penalty 96-144-18 121 - 77 - 22
Rushing: Yards / Attempt 3.63 3.70
Rushing: Attempts - Yards - TD 434 - 1576 - 15
590 - 2183 - 21
Passing: Rating 139.40 108.89
Passing: Yards 3303 1667
Passing: Attempts - Completions - Interceptions - TD 439 - 274 - 11 - 25
268 - 154 - 11 - 6
Total Offense: Yards / Play 5.6 4.5
Total Offense: Plays - Yards 873 - 4879
858 - 3850
Punt Returns: Yards / Return 9.44 9.35
Punt Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 34 - 321 - 0
26 - 243 - 0
Kickoff Returns: Yards / Return 24.18 20.86
Kickoff Returns: Returns - Yards - TD 50 - 1209 - 2
44 - 918 - 0
Punting: Yards / Punt 44.46 39.07
Punting: Punts - Yards 57 - 2534
67 - 2618
Interceptions: Returns - Yards - TD 16 - 333 - 2
16 - 325 - 3
Fumbles: Number - Lost 28 - 15
15 - 8
Penalties: Number - Yards 96 - 873
67 - 468
Time of Possession / Game 30:39.31 32:29.54
3rd Down Conversions: Conversion % 33.94% 37.31%
3rd Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 165 - 56
193 - 72
4th Down Conversions: Conversion % 42.11% 35.71%
4th Down Conversions: Attempts - Conversions 19 - 8
14 - 5
Red Zone: Success % 85.11% 74.07%
Red Zone: Attempts - Scores 47 - 40
54 - 40
Field Goals: Success % 72.7% 80.8%
Field Goals: Attempts - Made 22 - 16
26 - 21
PAT Kicking: Success % 92.9% 93.8%
PAT Kicking: Attempts - Made 42 - 39
32 - 30
2-Point Conversions: Success % 0% -
2-Point Conversions: Attempts - Made 1 - 0
0 - 0

I cannot say that I am totally swayed by the stats. I still think the Bearcats are going to win. It is clear they have much more offense than VT does. But it is also clear that they turn the ball over much more often that VT does too.

Virginia Tech has a better rushing attack, but the passing game could be where UC really comes out ahead. Not only do they have almost twice as many yards passing, but a 25 to 6 TD advantage is HUGE!

I will certainly be watching this game. If for no other reason that it is on New Years Day and there are no other bowls to watch that night. Odds makers are calling this one pretty much even. Maybe a point or so either way depending on who you read. The over/under is set at 40...which seems about right. I'd probably take the over, and I see UC winning by 10 points.

1 comment

  1. Anonymous8:38 PM

    Gee, all those stats and no mention of Va. Tech's defense. You need to go back to the drawing board.

    ReplyDelete

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