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Just one more Pac-12 team will be competing in a bowl game before Christmas-the Utah Utes. And then USC plays a couple of days after Christmas.
This is the second part of a series which will look at the bowl games for the Pac-12. Next week I hope to look at the remaining Pac-12 bowl games prior to the New Year\u2019s day games. And the final part will look at the two NY6 games featuring Pac-12 teams.<\/em>
The Pac-12 is in action again this Saturday with one team playing in a bowl game: Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl. This will look at both games to compare the teams in that bowl game using advanced stats and show who is favored in the games.
Northwestern fired their head coach back in July and many assumed that Northwestern would struggle. But interim coach David Braun (who later had the interim title removed and is now the head coach) got Northwestern to a 7-5 record.
Most Husky fans are very familiar with Utah since UW played them in November.
In the Massey Composite Rankings<\/a>, Utah is #24 while Northwestern is #55.
Here is how both teams look in some of the advanced stats.
The advanced stats rankings look similar to the Composite Rankings. They all show Utah with a significant advantage.
Here\u2019s what the advanced stats look like for both sides of the ball for each team.
Northwestern doesn\u2019t have a great offense while Utah\u2019s defense is one of the top in the country. This would normally indicate Northwestern should struggle to score points. On the other side, Utah\u2019s offense is better than Northwestern\u2019s, but still not great. And Northwestern\u2019s defense, while not as good as Utah\u2019s, is still good. Utah could still struggle to score, but the stats appear to indicate that it should be easier for them to score.
Several sites are projecting which team will have the advantage in the game.
So, all of these sites see Utah with a significant advantage in the game. As with a lot of bowl games, the outcome could come down to which team has the most motivation and the least impact from opt-outs.<\/p>\n
A lot has already been written about the disappointing season for USC. Despite having the returning Heisman winner and doing well in the Transfer Portal between 2022 and 2023, they did worse. A large part of that was due to a defense that was bad in 2022 and then even worse in 2023-again, despite some significant transfer additions. It was bad enough that it got their DC fired after USC gave up 52 points to UW (and all but snuffed out any hope for winning the Pac-12).
Louisville was one of the surprise teams this season-finishing 10-3 under first-year coach Jeff Brohm. They were ranked as high as #10 in the 3rd-to-last CFP rankings. But then they lost to Kentucky and then to Florida State in the ACC Championship Game-the first time they had ever reached the ACC championship game.
In the Massey Composite Rankings<\/a>, Louisville is #17 and USC is #37.
Here is how both teams look in some of the advanced stats.
Louisville is ranked ahead of USC in all but one, but the teams are close in most of the rankings.
Here\u2019s what the advanced stats look like for both sides of the ball for each team.
Nobody who paid any attention to USC should be surprised by the huge discrepancy between how their offense and defense ranks. Their offense was great (as long as they weren\u2019t turning the ball over) while their defense couldn\u2019t stop anyone. The only teams that didn\u2019t score at least 28 were Nevada and Stanford. And they allowed at least 34 in each of their last 8 games.
Louisville\u2019s offense did well in almost all of their games-with a big exception against Florida State, which has one of the best defenses in the country. Fortunately, Louisville will not be facing that kind of defense in the bowl game. Their defense is good, but it will be a tough test versus USC\u2019s offense.
Several sites are projecting which team will have the advantage in the game.
Obviously not as much agreement compared to the Las Vegas Bowl.
As with a lot of bowl games, the outcome could come down to which team has the most motivation and the least impact from opt-outs. That\u2019s particularly true with this game as USC has about 20 opt-outs including QB Caleb Williams. Louisville has just 10-and none of them are opting-out to prepare for the NFL draft like Williams and WR Brendan Rice.<\/p>\n
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