AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Bowl History: The AutoZone Liberty Bowl  …. was established in 1959 and the game has been played annually since that time! The first game in this bowl series took place on December, 19, 1959 … Penn State beat Alabama, 7-0 while last year’s game featured, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt, a game won by the Bearcats (Cincinnati), 31-24! . Finally, the conference tie-ins are C-USA/SEC or Big East & the Bowl Pay out is $1,700,000.00!

Teams: Tulsa: Conference Affiliation: C-USA; Overall Record 10-3, Conference Record 7-1, Divisional Record 4-1 (C-USA’s West Division) vs Iowa State: Conference  Affiliation: Big 12; Overall Record 6-6, Conference Record: 3-6!

Bowl Location: Memphis, Tennessee … played @ the Liberty Bowl, the seating capacity @ the facility is 61,008. Last year’s game which featured Cincinnati and Vanderbilt, was attended by 57,103 or 93.60% of the Liberty Bowl’s capacity.

Day, Date, & Time: Monday, 12/31/12 @ 2:30 p.m. CST

Network: ESPN

Best Wins:Tulsa: beat Central Florida twice, 23-21 (regular season) & 33-27  in OT   (C-USA Championship Game), & Fresno State, 27-26: Iowa State beat TCU, 37-23, & Baylor, 35-21!

Worst Losses: Tulsa: lost to a weak Arkansas team, 19-15; Iowa State: handled by a struggling Texas, 33-7

Common Opponents: Only Bowl game … that I am aware of …where the teams played in the regular season … you got it …. a rematch! ISU won the September 1st meeting, 38-23!

Las Vegas Hotsheet: The Bowl opened @ Tulsa -3 and has flip flopped to ISU -1

Offensive Team Data: Tulsa: Total Yards, 461 YPG; Passing Yards, 221 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 240 YPG; Scoring Average 35 PPG, Turnovers, 1.69 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 39.1%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 78% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 64%

Offensive Team Data: Iowa State: Total Yards, 372 YPG; Passing Yards, 218 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 154 YPG; Scoring Average 25 PPG, Turnovers, 1.92 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 40.2%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 77% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 69%

Defensive Team Data: Tulsa: Total Yards, 354 YPG; Passing Yards, 233 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 121 YPG; Scoring Average 24 PPG, Turnovers, 1.92 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 39.1%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 67% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 55%

Defensive Team Data: Iowa State: Total Yards, 445 YPG; Passing Yards, 280 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 165 YPG; Scoring Average 23 PPG, Turnovers, 2.08 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 41.5%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 78% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 54%

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 Tulsa’s total yards on offense, add it to what Iowa State 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 ISU’s total offense, add it to what Tulsa 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 Tulsa 453 to 363

Passing Yards: Advantage Tulsa 251 to 226

Rushing Yards: Advantage Tulsa 203 to 138

Scoring: Advantage Tulsa 29 to 25

Turnovers: Advantage Tulsa 1.89 to 1.92

3rd Down Conversions: Advantage Tulsa 40.3% to 39.6%

Red Zone All Scores: Advantage Tulsa 78% to 72%

Red Zone TD’s Only: Advantage ISU 62% to 59%

Individuals to Watch: Tulsa: QB, Cody Green has had a solid season, passing for 2,499 yards, 17 TD’s, 10 INT’s, and completed 54% of his attempts. RB’s Trey Watts & Ja’ Terian Douglas have each rushed for 850 yards plus.  Iowa State: QB, Steele Jantz has passed for 1562 yards, 13 TD’s 11 INT’s while completing 62% of his passes. RB

Sully Says: These teams played on opening day … a game won by ISU, 38-23. Tulsa will be trying to win its 11th game for the second time in school history, while Iowa State will be trying to have its first winning season in four years! The Cyclones have lost 5 of their last seven games, while the Hurricanes have won 10 of 12 since losing to ISU. Sully’s CFP Says … The Golden Hurricane will blow the Cyclones from Memphis back to Ames and then some … Take Tulsa and the 1 point!