Ironically, this college football season’s Cotton Bowl game won’t be held at the actual Cotton Bowl venue in Dallas. Instead, the historic venue will feature a match between the C-USA West Division champion Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Pac-12 middleweights in the Washington Huskies.
Can the surprising Golden Eagles record a win over a quality Power Five opponent, or will the Huskies prove to be that much better than their Group of Five competition? Let’s take a look at this riveting matchup below.
Afterwards, get to know more about the other bowl games on Saturday’s slate with our previews for the Military Bowl and St. Petersburg Bowl.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Heart of Dallas Bowl Preview
Where: Cotton Bowl, Dallas
When: Saturday, December 26, 2:20 PM ET
Line: Southern Miss Eagles (+8.5) vs. Washington Huskies (-8.5); total: 55.0 – view all NCAA Football lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (9-4)
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Give a ton of credit to head coach Todd Monken for turning the Southern Miss Golden Eagles into a nine-win team just a couple of years removed from his one-win coaching debut with the program.
Monken guided Southern Miss through the waters of Conference USA behind a superb passing offense led by quarterback Nick Mullens. The 6-foot-1 junior had quite a campaign, throwing for over 4,000 yards with 36 passing touchdowns, with senior wideout Mike Thomas as his favorite target downfield. Thomas accounted for 1,200 receiving yards for the season, and was the recipient of exactly a third of Mullens’ TD passes.
With such a prolific aerial attack, the Golden Eagles offense finished the regular season with roughly 40 points and 500 yards of total offense per game, winning their contests – albeit mostly against Group of Five opponents – by an average margin of 16 points. They also finished eighth in the nation with a season average of seven yards per play.
However, the Huskies are no pushovers and have shown much promise despite their .500 record to date having competed in the heated Pac-12 conference. That means that Southern Miss’ defense best prepare Washington’s balanced attack.
The team’s front seven on D will be put to the test on Saturday, with that unit having some impressive feats this season already. Led by linebacker Brian Anderson and defensive end Dylan Bradley, the Golden Eagles defense racked up 31 sacks and a total of 91 tackles for loss on the season.
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Betting on the Washington Huskies (6-6)
Wins over Oregon state and Apple Cup rivals Washington State capped off a solid regular season by the Washington Huskies. One of the youngest teams in the country, the Huskies had to muscle their way through the crowded Pac-12 and even got a solid victory over daunting USC to finish with a .500 record entering Saturday’s bowl game.
Don’t let the middling record of the Huskies fool you. They actually led their conference in scoring and total defense, and their pass defense efficiency ranks amongst the top 20 teams in the country.
Behind outstanding backfield defenders in corner Sidney Jones and safety Budda Baker, Washington allowed just nine passing TDs in 12 regular season contests. Throw in their stout front line into the mix, and Southern Miss’ offense may just experience what it’s truly like to face a Power Five program.
On offense, the Huskies will likely turn to freshman running back Myles Gaskin for the brunt of their production rather than the passing game. Gaskin ran for 1,121 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns, while team QB Jake Browning garnered only about half of his counterpart Mullens’ output (2,671 passing yards, 16 TDs, 10 INTs) this season.
Washington has been to 13 more bowl games lifetime than Southern Miss, and the team will likely exhibit its big-game expertise in this showdown in Dallas.
Writer’s Prediction
The Huskies finish the season with a winning record after a narrow 25-21 victory, with the Golden Eagles covering (+8.5).
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