College football on Monday night and we will see the BYU Cougars take on the Memphis Tigers in the Miami Beach Bowl at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. The game has a start time of 2:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Current Vegas odds have Memphis listed as 1.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 56.
Analysis: The BYU Cougars shook off losing QB Taysom Hill to win their last 4 games of the year, while posting an 8-4 mark overall. Christian Stewart has done a fine job filling taking over and has turned this team into more of a passing offense. The Cougars are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games in December and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 bowl games, but just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a S.U. win. The Under has gone 7-2 in their last 9 neutral site games, while the Over is 5-1 in their last 6 games on grass. The Cougars have been a solid offensive squad, ranking 26th in total offense, 32nd in passing, 42nd in rushing and 20th in scoring (36.2 ppg). The defense for this team has been average, ranking 56th in total yards allowed, 112th vs the pass, 14th vs the run and 55th in points allowed (25.2 ppg).
The Memphis Tigers had a really nice year, as they went 9-3 overall, which included a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference. After a mediocre 3-3 start to the year, the Tigers have now run off 6 wins in a row as they enter this game. The Tigers are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 non-conference games, but just 5-17 ATS in their last 22 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game and 3-13 ATS in their last 16 games on grass. The Under is 13-5 in their last 18 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game, while the Over is 4-1 in their last 5 games in December. Memphis has been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 53rd in total yards, 63rd in passing, 41st in rushing and 30th in scoring (34.7 ppg). The defense has been excellent for this team as they come in ranked 22nd in yards allowed, 50th vs the pass, 24th vs the run and 5th in points allowed (17.1 ppg).
Pick: I am going to look at the Under in this one. The Cougars have had a nice season offensively, but still they are more of a one-dimensional team with Christian Stewart at QB than when Taysom Hill was under center. We also not that this will be the best defense the Cougars have faced all year and the tigers have had extra time to prepare for them. The BYU defense has had it's issues this year, but it did play very well down the stretch, allowing just 16.3 ppg in their last 4 games. The Memphis offense is not a powerhouse and their defense comes in allowing just 17.1 ppg on the year. the Under is 7-2 in BYU's last 9 neutral site games, while the Under is 15-6 in Tigers last 21 games following a S.U. win. I can see this one just inching over 45 points.
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