SB Nation Projects Houston to Play Rutgers in Armed Forces Bowl

It’s quite possible only Homer Simpson and the guys from The Big Lebowski get more excited about going bowling than the world of college football.

And with last week’s triumph over Tulsa, the Houston Cougars earned that coveted sixth win and are now “bowl eligible.” Granted, 76 of 128 FBS teams (that’s a whopping 60 percent) will play in the postseason this year, but that’s a rant for another day.

For teams like Houston, going bowling means another month of work together to build momentum; and bowl games are usually a swag-filled fun fest right up until kickoff. Here’s what Houston head coach Tony Levine said about that after last week’s game:

“At this point, I’m happy for our student-athletes and our seniors. We had 15 days left to play and now we’ve extended our season. That’s great for our student-athletes and our seniors. …”

This is also an exciting time for all of the prognosticators out there. You can do a Google search for “2014 Bowl Projections” and just about everyone has an opinion. That being said, most everyone has Houston slated to play in the Armed Forces Bowl on January 2, 2015, in Fort Worth.

So now that we (think) we know where Houston will play, what about who they will play?

The Armed Forces Bowl’s first choice is to have a member of the AAC play Army. Well, the Black Knights have only four wins. Next up, the Big 12. It appears that conference won’t have enough bowl-eligible teams this year. Several of the so-called experts predict a match-up with California out of the Pac 12. The only problem there is the Golden Bears don’t have a sixth win yet, and will have to beat BYU Saturday to get it.

As we look to the good people over at SBNation.com, Jason Kirk is predicting the Cougars will play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights out of the Big Ten.

If that really is how the bowl selection process shakes down, I think this will be a fascinating game. Living in Big Ten country, I’ve gotten to see quite a bit of Rutgers this season. The first thing I will say about the Scarlet Knights: defense is optional. Rutgers has lost four of its last five games, giving up an average of 45 points per game. Even in its wins this year, Rutgers gave up 38 to Washington State, 25 to Howard, and 24 to Navy.

Houston and Rutgers do have one common opponent this year in Tulane. The Scarlet Knights crushed Tulane back in September. That’s the same Tulane team that was able to conquer the Cougars in Houston earlier this month.

But let’s go back to those conference losses for Rutgers. There is a common theme. Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Michigan State all can run the ball. In Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska) and Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin), you have two of the best running backs in the country. What does this mean for Houston? Well it just so happens the Cougars have put an extra emphasis lately on pounding the rock with Kenneth Farrow, Ryan Jackson and Greg Ward, Jr.

What about the offense? When Rutgers isn’t playing some of the toughest defenses in the country, they can spread the ball around the field. Quarterback Gary Nova is very confident in the pocket and averages more than 200 yards a game with 16 touchdowns. Nova also has some talented receivers, including Leonte Carroo who is closing in on 1,000 yards this season. Nova, however, does have a tendency to throw interceptions, which should make the Cougars’ defense salivate.

Granted, this is all speculation at this point; but what can’t be denied is how beneficial playing in a bowl game can be to a program like Houston. Need proof? Go no further than Levine’s analysis after last week’s game.

“In the past seven years that I’ve been here, we averaged 10 freshmen every year. This year we’re playing four,” he said. “What that tells you is that we’re starting to get the depth that we need and by extending our season and playing into the end of December or early January, you get 15-18 more practice opportunities for these young guys.”

So no matter the setting or the opponent, Cougars fans should be excited about that sixth win and what it could mean for the team going forward.