2017 HEART OF DALLAS BOWL – WEST VIRGINIA vs UTAH
UTAH -7 WEST VIRGINIA (57)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Utah -5
Sagarin ratings – Utah -1
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Utah 32 West Virginia 25
The Game
“Deep in the HEART OF DALLAS, a pair of decent teams square off to decide who will win, and nothing will be left to chance.” (text from a fake MEGALOCKS Heart of Dallas Bowl trailer)
Utah had an “un-Utah-like” season finishing up at 6-6, although to be fair, they did play USC, Stanford and Washington really tough in those three losses. The Utes started out 4-0 but lost six of their last eight games. The Mountaineers were 7-5 and lost two of their final five contests. Those were pretty tough games (Okie St, Iowa St, Kansas St, Texas, Sooners) and they had to play the last game and change without star QB Will Grier.
The Match-Up
Utah offense vs West Virginia defense
QB Tyler Huntley makes everything go. He had over 2,200 yards passing an 15 TD passes whilst rushing for almost 500 yards (4 TDs). Huntley has excellent mobility and is lightning quick. RB Zack Moss is a legit #1 RB (1,023, 9 TD) who is also a capable receiver (28 receptions). WR Darren Carrington has been an excellent addition to the receiver group and should surpass 1,000 yards in this bowl game (918). Utah will try and beat you with the TRIPLETS and keep the chains moving. They were a disappointing #97 in 3rd down conversions and WV was a fine #29 in 3rd down defense. The Mountaineers defense was pretty rotten this season (#110 FBS) and will have to win third downs and try and get QB Huntley to throw some picks. He has 10 on the season and is more than willing to give a ball or two to the opposition.
West Virginia offense vs Utah defense
QB Will Grier was outstanding this season before his HEINOUS late season finger injury. The good news is that he will be back next year and we will be keeping an eye on him for longshot Heisman consideration in 2018. They will also be without #1 RB Justin Crawford but it should be PLUG AND PLAY at RB since K McKoy looked fine in the season finale vs Oklahoma (137 yards, 3 TD). The Mountaineers should also have three (!!) 1,000-yard receivers after this game. The big three (Jennings, Sills, White) have 1,030, 980 and 978 yards respectively. It is anyone’s guess how new QB Chris Chugunov will play but it has to be a good thing that he will get a lot of work in during bowl practices. Utah’s defense has not been as devastating as in past seasons particularly when it comes to the pass rush. They were ranked a fine #31 in the FBS but this WV offense is going to present some problems.
Motivation / Intangibles
Utah – Heart of Dallas Bowl off a 6-6 season ? The good news is that Utah is the ULTIMATE BOWL MACHINE winning 13 of their last 14 (!) bowl contests. HC Whittingham is an eye-popping 10-1. Three of their last four bowl games have been decided by seven points or less.
Grade – Average.
West Virginia – They are similarly hard to gauge. We do know that they can play the “nobody gives us a chance” card. The bad news ? They are one of the more unreliable bowl teams out there (4 straight non-covers). MEGALOCKS readers will remember the 890,000 STAR Russell Athletic Bowl SUPER MAX UNIT NICKEL BOMB winner last season when Miami whipped them 31-14.
Grade – Below Average to Average.
MEGA BOWL BITES
It is worth repeating….Utah is an absolute monster in bowl games BUT laying 7 is not the same as winning SU.
Summary
How many points is star QB Will Grier worth ? This game is tough to handicap when nobody really knows how the back-up QB will perform against a well-coached defense. The Mountaineers still have a lot of weapons on offense but Utah has a much better defense and a winning bowl game pedigree. The spread feels a bit high but it’s tough to know what you may be stepping in when playing this game.
Conclusion
Official play: None
Best play on the game ? Over 57. You could also use Utah in a ML parlay.
Dude, are you playing this game for small potatoes ? No.