The Central Michigan Chippewas will square-off with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Marlins Park in the Miami Beach Bowl. The game is scheduled to go off on Monday, December 19th at 2:30 p.m. ET and will be telecast live on the ESPN Network. As of this article, Las Vegas bookmakers have the Golden Hurricane as a -11.5 point favorite and the over/under set at 68.
The Chippewas might best be remembered in 2016 for their controversial triumph against the Cowboys from Oklahoma State. The victory occurred on a Hail Mary pass with an untimed down that shouldn’t have counted. Besides that game on opening day, Central Michigan has been a .500 ball club that has lost six of their last nine football matches.
Central Michigan (6-6):
Quarterback Cooper Rush finished second in the MAC conference in passing yards per game (275.8 ypg) and third with 23 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also served-up the second most interceptions to conference opponents. To make matters worse, Rush couldn’t muster up a single touchdown throw in two of his last three contests. To his credit, the signal-caller was constantly pressured and was also sacked 34 times.
The running game for the Chippewa’s running attack wasn’t much of a help in 2016. Running back Devon Spalding led the team with 748 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Jahray Hayes contributed in the red zone, tallying another eight scores for the nation’s 116th ranked run game.
Three wide outs did 90 percent of the heavy lifting for Central Michigan throughout the season. Together, the trio snagged almost 150 catches for 1,100 yards and 19 scores. Corey Willis certainly did his part, catching a team-high 68 balls for 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns.
Like the Chippewas record, the Central Michigan defense was as average as it gets. They finished-off the regular season ranking 49th in the country against the pass (214.8 ypg). The front seven also was mediocre, wrapping up the 2016 campaign as the 56th best run stop unit.
Defensive end Joe Ostman was solid on the defensive side of the coin, and was second in the MAC with nine sacks. The talented pass rusher will need to put pressure on Tulsa’s quarterback if the Chippewas hope to slow their explosive offense.
Tulsa (9-3):
The Golden Hurricane proved that they can play competitive ball with most FBS teams in the country. Their 9-3 record is proof of that. Tulsa got walloped by the Buckeyes who are in the College Football Playoffs 48-3. The Golden Hurricane also fell to Houston and Navy, which won the AAC West tiebreaker over them at the end of the season. Not a bad three losses to have on your resume’.
Tulsa was a potent and balanced offense that finished the 2016 campaign ranked 4th in the nation, putting up 529.8 yards per contest. Quarterback Dane Evans headed up the passing attack that accumulated almost 260 yards a game. For the year, Evans completed 231 passes for just over 3,000 yards with 27 scoring strikes and 12 picks.
This year, the Tulsa ground attack was responsible for 261.8 yards of the total offense. James Flanders 1,529 yards rushing are good for ninth in the country and his 17 touchdowns are tied for seventh. Flanders and his partner in crime D’Angelo Brewer each have a 200-yard game this season as Brewer also added another 1,330 yards for the year.
Senior wide outs Keevan Lucas and Josh Atkinson, were a two-man wrecking crew against opposing school’s secondaries. Together, the skilled receivers snatched 140 passes out of the sky for over 2,000 yards and 19 scores. Both will be playing in their last college football game in South Beach on the 17th.
Tulsa’s defense was a disaster throughout the 2016 season. They constantly gave teams the chance to stay in games even though the offense was putting up more than their fair share of points. The Golden Hurricane finished 91st in the nation in points allowed (31.5) and were 80th in the nation, allowing over 430 yards per game.
Trends and Notes:
The Chippewas are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
The Golden Hurricane are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Bowl games.
The Under is 6-2 in the Chippewas last 8 games as an underdog.
The Over is 35-17 in the Golden Hurricane last 52 games overall.
This is only the second edition of the Miami Beach Bowl played in Marlins Park.
The Memphis Tigers beat the BYU Cougars in double overtime by a score of 55–48 in last year’s Miami Beach Bowl.
Game Prediction:
Tulsa proved to be a force throughout the season, with an offense that produced effectively through the air and over the ground. The Golden Hurricane also is healthy and ready to score at will on the Chippewas.
Central Michigan finished off the later half of their season average. Quarterback Cooper Rush was inconsistent and the Chippewas suffered for it. Luckily, Tulsa doesn’t provide much of a defensive threat in this match-up.
Both squads will find plenty of points in the mellow winter weather of Miami. The total 68 isn’t high enough for these two teams. Take the over 68 and expect the Golden Hurricane to finish off their 2016 campaign with a 14 point victory. Tulsa 44, Central Michigan 30.
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