Hyundai Sun Bowl

Bowl History: The Hyundai Sun Bowl  …. was first played in 1935 (second oldest bowl …. along with Orange & Sugar Bowls… behind only the Rose Bowl … which was first played in 1902 and continuously since 1916)! and the game has been played annually since the 1935 game! This Bowl has had a variety of names: the Sun Bowl (1935 to 1985), John Hancock Sun Bowl (1986-1998), Wells Fargo (1999-2003) Helen of Troy Limited (2004-2009) & Hyundai (2010-present).   The first game in this bowl series took place on January 1, 1935… El Paso All stars beat the Texas Rangers, 25-21, while last year’s game featured, Utah and Georgia Tech, a game won by the Utes , 30-27 in OT! The conference tie-ins are PAC 12 /ACC & the Bowl Pay out is a total of $4,100,000.00 split between the respective teams / conferences!

Teams: Georgia Tech: Conference Affiliation: ACC; Overall Record 6-7, Conference Record 5-4, Divisional Record 3-2 (ACC’s Coastal Division) vs USC: Conference  Affiliation: PAC 12; Overall Record 7-5, Conference Record: 5-4, Divisional Record 3-2 (PAC 12’s South Division) !

Bowl Location: El Paso, Texas … played @ the Sun Bowl, the seating capacity @ the facility is 51,500. Last year’s game which featured Utah and Georgia Tech, was attended by 48,123 or 93.44% of the Sun Bowl’s capacity.

Day, Date, & Time: Monday, 12/31/12 @ 1:00 p.m. CST

Network: ESPN

Best Wins: Georgia Tech: beat North Carolina, 68-50; USC beat Syracuse, 42-29, Washington, 24-14, & Arizona State, 38-17 … all three of these teams are in post-season bowls.

Worst Losses: hammered by Middle Tennessee, 49-28 & BYU, 41-17, USC  lost to Arizona 39-36, gave up 62 to Oregon (62-51), & lost the South Division Championship of the PAC 12 to UCLA, 38-28!

Common Opponents: None

Las Vegas Hotsheet: Game opened @ USC -10 and has fallen to USC -9

Offensive Team Data: Georgia Tech: Total Yards, 437 YPG; Passing Yards, 125 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 313 YPG; Scoring Average 35 PPG, Turnovers, 1.38 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 45.6%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 79% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 65%

Offensive Team Data: USC: Total Yards, 446 YPG; Passing Yards, 291 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 155 YPG; Scoring Average 34 PPG, Turnovers, 2.58 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 36.2%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 77% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 62%

Defensive Team Data: Georgia Tech: Total Yards, 387 YPG; Passing Yards, 239 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 148 YPG; Scoring Average 30 PPG, Turnovers, 1.69 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 81% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 64%

Defensive Team Data:USC: Total Yards, 396 YPG; Passing Yards, 240 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 156 YPG; Scoring Average 25 PPG, Turnovers, 2.42 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 37.4%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 80% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 52%

Sully’s Game Simulator: is a statistical analysis / predictor of how these teams will perform, based solely on their numbers, when they face off on the gridiron! Keep in mind, these stats were established against different teams and conferences and these differences must be taken into account to get a complete picture when attempting to predetermine a winner. If you are interested in how the Simulator works … read this part … if not … skip it! The process used is … we take USC’s total yards on offense, add it to what Georgia Tech gives up on defense, …  get a total and then divide that number by 2 … to get the mean. We then invert the process by taking Tech’s total offense, add it to what USC gives up on defense, get a total and divide that number by 2  to get the second mean… the greater number (with the exception of Turnovers) is then determined to have the advantage ( please note …. statistical advantage). We repeat this process in each of the eight statistical categories assessed!  That said… here are the results of the Head to Head Analysis:

Total Yards:  Advantage Georgia Tech/USC 417 to 417

Passing Yards: Advantage USC 265 to 182

Rushing Yards: Advantage Georgia Tech 235 to 152

Scoring: Advantage USC 32 to 30

Turnovers: Advantage Georgia Tech 1.9 to 2.14

3rd Down Conversions: Advantage Georgia Tech 42% to 40%

Red Zone All Scores: Advantage Georgia Tech 80% to 79%

Red Zone TD’s Only: Advantage USC 63% to 59%

Individuals to Watch: Georgia Tech: QB/RB, Tevin Washington has passed for 1173 yards & rushed for another 638 yards … rushing for 19 TD’s and throwing for another 7 TD’s. USC QB, Matt Barkley will not play! WR Marqise Lee & Robert Woods … the most dangerous receiving combination in college football. They have gained a combined 2500 yards and scored 25 TD’s this season. RB, Silas Redd has averaged 5.4 yards per carry and has scored 9 TD’s

Sully Says: USC has had a disappointing season …. probably more related to exaggerated expectations than on field play. SC has only 75 scholarship players available and simply do not have the depth of other top shelf FBS clubs. That said … Georgia Tech is not among that elite group … & Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech’s Head Coach) must have angered the college football gods …. as Tech has / will have played …  Georgia (42-10), Florida State (21-15) & USC (?) … all in a row …  to end their 2012 season!  Sully’s CFP Says … SC will win and cover the 9 points.