Birmingham Bowl – Memphis vs Wake Forest
The Game
It’s time for some sweet Birmingham Bowl action Saturday afternoon as Wake Forest takes on Memphis. Get ‘cho popcone. There should be PLENTY of points scored in this contest. Last team with the ball wins? Wake Forest slithered into the bowl season with a 6-6 mark but did manage to take down rivals NC State and Duke (W 59-7) in two of their final three contests. Memphis lost for seemingly the 11th time in the last two years vs UCF and came up short AGAIN in terms of bagging a conference title.
The Details
Memphis -3.5 Wake Forest (72.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Memphis -2
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Memphis 38 Wake Forest 34.5
The Match-Up:
Memphis offense vs Wake Forest defense
Might as well address the elephant in the room, yo. The Tigers will be without superstar RB Darrell Henderson who is off to (hopefully) do some awesome work in the NFL. Henderson finished up this campaign with 1,909 yards rushing and 22 TDs at an impossible 8.9 yards per carry. Good thing they have another (!) 1,000-yard RB in Patrick Taylor who is more than capable of having a big game vs the SOFT UNDERBELLY of the Wake defense. QB Brady White has done some fine work (63%, 25-8 TD to INT) and should be able to do some damage vs a weak Wake secondary. They lose some explosiveness without Henderson but should still be able to get into the high-30s at a minimum. The Deacons have been fairly rotten on defense this year (#116) and only Houston has a worse statistical D among bowlers. Wake will probably go into this contest knowing that they are gonna have to trade scores (and lots of them) to have a shot.
Wake Forest offense vs Memphis defense
The good news for Wake is that QB Jamie Newman has been playing really well down the stetch (7 TD, 0 INT vs NC St and Duke). Newman will definitely miss the services of star WR Greg Dortch in this one (1,078, 8 TD) (!) but the WR group is deep and Memphis can be smoked through the air. It’s going to be up to the OL and rock solid RB corps led by 14th year senior Cade Carney (954, 5.4, 8 TD) to keep the chains moving and ALSO let the defense get some rest. Memphis is probably not going to provide much resistance (#84 total defense) and will have to try and create some turnovers and negative plays. We expect Newman to have a really good game.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Wake is looking to bag their 3rd (!) consecutive winning season under the watchful eye of HC Dave Clawson…….The Deacons finished the last two bowl seasons with wins (Temple, Texas A&M)….Memphis HC Mike Norvell is 0-2 in bowl games with Memphis (WKU, Iowa St).
Summary
It’s hard to call out either team as a tasty wagering opportunity given how poorly these squads play defense. Memphis will be without one of the best offensive players in college football. Wake is definitely gonna miss DORTCH THE TORCH when they attempt to MATRICULATE the ball down the field in the passing game. It’s gonna come down to the defense that can actually make a big play or two. Seems pretty random. We lean to taking the points and will probably just throw some pizza money on Wake ML.
Conclusion
Official play: None.
Side: Lean to Wake Forest.
Total: No leanage to report.
As always:
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game. Nothing more. < but always stay tuned for updates >
‘Slight lean’ implies we are almost certain to avoid the game and/or total from a betting standpoint even for ‘small potatoes’. We give an opinion for those who need to get down and want advice.