Las Vegas Bowl Presented by Geico

Bowl History: The Bowl was first called the California Raisin Bowl (1981-1991) played in Fresno, California. Next, it was known as the Las Vegas Bowl from 1992 thru 2008, then the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl 2009 to 2012. The name changed again in 2013 to the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl and yet again, this time to the Las Vegas Bowl presented by Geico! The current conference tie-ins are with the PAC 12 & Mountain West Conferences (when available)! The first game played in Las Vegas (1992) found Bowling Green beating Nevada, 35-34, while the 2015 game saw Utah surviving BYU, 35-28. The new sponsor, GEICO, is the second largest insurer of Automobiles in the U.S. behind only State Farm! Payout per team is $1,000,000.00!

Teams: Houston 9-3 (AAC) vs San Diego State 10-3 (MWC)

Bowl Location: The Las Vegas Bowl is played annually in Las Vegas, Nevada @ Sam Boyd Stadium (actually in Whitney, Nevada) which has a capacity to seat 40,000 fans! The game’s highest attendance came in 2006, BYU vs Oregon, 44,615 fans attended this Battle won by BYU, 38-8!

Day, Date & Time: Saturday, December 17, @ 2:30 p.m. CST

Network: ABC

Best Win(s): Houston beat Oklahoma 33-23 & Louisville 36-10; San Diego State beat California 45-40

Worst Losses: Houston lost to Memphis 48-44 / San Diego lost to Colorado State 63-31

Common Opponents: None

Las Vegas Hotsheets Favorite: Houston -3

Offensive Team Data: Houston; Total Yards 459,  YPG; Passing Yards 302,  YPG;  Rushing Yards, 157  YPG; Scoring Average 38,  PPG, Turnovers 1.75 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions 47.2,0%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 85% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 68%

Offensive Team Data: San Diego State; Total Yards,  419 YPG; Passing Yards, 146 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 273 YPG; Scoring Average  35 PPG, Turnovers, 1.15 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 42%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 87% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 62%

Defensive Team Data: Houston; Total Yards, 325  YPG; Passing Yards, 227 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 98 YPG; Scoring Average, 23 PPG, Turnovers, 1.5 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 35.1%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 87% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 58%

Defensive Team Data: San Diego State; Total Yards, 320 YPG; Passing Yards,  208 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  112 YPG; Scoring Average,  21 PPG, Turnovers,  1.92 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 36.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 84% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 68%

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 Houston’s total yards on offense, add it to what San Diego 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 San Diego State’s total offense, add it to what Houston 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: This is a statistical advantage, by the numbers only). 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, Houston 389.5 to 372

Passing Yards: Advantage, Houston 255 to 186.5

Rushing Yards: Advantage, San Diego State 185.5 to 134.5

Scoring: Advantage, Houston 29.5 to 29

Turnovers: Advantage, San Diego State 1.325 to 1.835

3rd Down Conversions: Advantage, Houston  42.05% 38.55%

Red Zone All Scores: Advantage, San Diego State 87% to 84.5%

Red Zone TD’s Only: Advantage, Houston 68% to 60%

Results of Game Simulator Assessment: Houston will outperform San Diego State in 5 of the 8 areas assessed!

Individuals to Watch: Houston’s QB Greg Ward Jr, 3328 Total passing Yards, 302.5 YPG, & 22 TD’s/11 INT’s. San Diego State RB, Donnel Pumphery 2018 rushing yards, 155.5 YPG, & 16 TD’s

Sully Says: Houston has played the better schedule and has performed at a high level in those “Big Games” beating Oklahoma, 33-23, the B-12 champ and Louisville, 36-10, the second best team in the ACC. San Diego State has great team speed and this will be a competitive game; that said, Houston will win this one and cover the 3!