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 that 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, the El Paso All stars beat the Texas Rangers, 25-21, while last year’s game featured, Washing State and Miami, a game won by WSU , 20-14! 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: Stanford 9-3 (P-12) UNC 8-4(ACC)

Bowl Location: Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas

Day, Date & Time: Friday, Decemner 30, 2016, 1:00 p.m. CST

Network: CBS Sports

Best Win(s): Stanford beat USC (9-3), 27-10;UNC beat FSU (9-3), 37-35

Worst Losses: Stanford lost to Washington State (8-4), 42-16 & Washington (12-1), 44-6, UNC lost to Va Tech, (9-4), 34-3

Common Opponents: None

Vegas Hotsheets Favorite: UNC -1

Offensive Team Data: Stanford ; Total Yards,  374 YPG; Passing Yards,  159 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  216 YPG; Scoring Average,  27 PPG, Turnovers,  1.5 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 85% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 56%

Offensive Team Data: UNC ; Total Yards,  368 YPG; Passing Yards, 192 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 176 YPG; Scoring Average  25 PPG, Turnovers,  1.25 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 32.1%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, % & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, %

Defensive Team Data: Stanford ; Total Yards,  366 YPG; Passing Yards,  219 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  147 YPG; Scoring Average,  20 PPG, Turnovers,  1.42 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 37.1%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 78% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 33%

Defensive Team Data: UNC ; Total Yards,  453 YPG; Passing Yards,  310 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  143 YPG; Scoring Average,  35 PPG, Turnovers,  1.92 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42.1%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 100% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 75%

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: Stanford 413.5 to 367

Passing Yards Advantage: Stanford 234.5 to 205.5

Rushing Yard Advantage: Stanford 179.5 to 161.5

Scoring Advantage: Stanford 31 to 22.5

Turnovers Advantage: UNC 1.335 to 1.71

3rd Down Conversions Advantage: Stanford 42.5 to 34.6

Red Zone All Scores Advantage:

Red Zone TD’s Only Advantage:

The Game Simulator Says: Stanford 5, UNC 1, GS Stanford wins and covers

Individuals to Watch: 

Sully Says: Stanford wins and covers the 1 point