Belk Bowl

Bowl History: This Bowl was first played in 2002, the NCAA certified the Bowl as the Queen City Bowl …. even though it has never been called that …. it remains the Official Name of the bowl! The Queen City Bowl has been known as the Continental Tire Bowl …2002 through 2004 … Meineke  Care Car Bowl …. 2004 – 2010 …. and when Belk took over sponsorship in 2011 …. the Belk Bowl. The Bowl tie-ins are ACC vs Big East! On December 28, 2002, the inaugural game was played between Virginia & West Virginia …. won by Virginia, 48-22! Last year’s game (2015) featured Cincinnati against Duke… Cincy prevailed, 48-34! The Belk Bowl payout is 1.7 million per team!

Teams: Arkansas 7-5 (SEC) Virginia Tech 9-4 (ACC)

Bowl Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

Day, Date & Time: Thursday, December 29, 2016, 4:40 p.m. CST

Network: ESPN

Best Win(s): Virginia Tech beat Miami (8-4) 37-16 & UNC 34-3; Arkansas beat Florida (9-4), 31-10

Worst Losses: Virginia Tech Syracuse (4-8) 31-17; Arkansas  Alabama (13-0), 56-3

Common Opponents: None

Vegas Hotsheets Favorite: Virginia Tech -6

Offensive Team Data: Arkansas ; Total Yards,  438 YPG; Passing Yards,  263 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 175  YPG; Scoring Average,  31 PPG, Turnovers,  1.75 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 78% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 60%

Offensive Team Data: Virginia Tech ; Total Yards,  448 YPG; Passing Yards, 263 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 185 YPG; Scoring Average  35 PPG, Turnovers,  1.85 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42.3%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 87% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 57%

Defensive Team Data: Arkansas ; Total Yards,  429 YPG; Passing Yards,  219 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  209 YPG; Scoring Average,  31 PPG, Turnovers,  1.58 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 45.3%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 83% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 68%

Defensive Team Data: Virginia Tech ; Total Yards,  343 YPG; Passing Yards,  194 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  149 YPG; Scoring Average,  23 PPG, Turnovers,  1.62 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 28.4%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 79% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 55%

Sully’s CFP Game Simulator is a statistical analysis / predictor of how these teams will preform, 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 Arizona’s total yards on offense, add it to what Nevada 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 Nevada’s total offense, add it to what Arizona 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: Virginia Tech 438.5 to 390.5

Passing Yards Advantage: Virginia Tech 241 to 228.5

Rushing Yard Advantage: Virginia Tech 197 to 162

Scoring Advantage: Virginia Tech 33 to 27

Turnovers Advantage: Arkansas 1.685 to 1.715

3rd Down Conversions Advantage: Virginia Tech 43.8 to 35.2

Red Zone All Scores Advantage: Virginia Tech 85 to 78.5

Red Zone TD’s Only Advantage: Virginia Tech 62.5 to 57.5

The Game Simulator Says: Virginia Tech 7, Arkansas 1; GS thinks Va Tech wins, 33-27. the 6 points is what VT is giving Arkansas. GS game is a push 33-33

Individuals to Watch: VT QB, Jerod Evens, 27/7 ratio to Arkansas’ Austin Allen’s 23/12

Sully Says: Take Arkansas and the 6 points, the Razorbacks will be able to run the ball!