Expect Plenty of Points When SMU and Louisiana Tech Meet in DXL Frisco Bowl
All month long in the Daily Bowl Digest, we’ll be setting the table for each day of bowl action, with game-by-game previews and a quick look back at the previous day’s action.
What happened last night: Florida Atlantic and Lane Kiffin slammed the pedal to the floor in the second half of the Boca Raton Bowl, throttling Akron with a 50–3 win that wasn’t even that close. Devin Singletary ran for 124 yards and three touchdowns, and the Owls went for two late, which of course was premeditated:
On Wednesday night, SMU and Louisiana Tech meet just north of Dallas for the DXL Frisco Bowl. Here’s what you need to know:
DXL Frisco Bowl: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Why you should watch: The Mustangs will be playing their first game without Chad Morris, who left for the Arkansas job, but there should still be excitement surrounding the program as it makes its first bowl appearance since 2012—especially since new coach Sonny Dykes will be on the sidelines just a handful of days after he was formally hired. On the flip side, Louisiana Tech is aiming for its fourth bowl-game victory in as many years, having beaten opponents like Illinois and Navy in recent seasons.
SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton is a special talent, and for those of you hoping to spend the holidays checking out the top NFL draft talent, you have a chance to watch the player who could potentially be the first receiver off the board. In a conference that also included UCF and Memphis, the Mustangs’ offense was perhaps overlooked at times, but it still put up 41.5 points per game. At the same time, it gave up an average of 50, so if the Bulldogs can also put up some points this could be a fun one. The game’s over/under point total of 71, according to OddsShark, is the highest of any bowl game.
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Most interesting player on the field: SMU QB Ben Hicks. The Mustangs had two first-team All-AAC wide receivers (Sutton and Trey Quinn), and that doesn’t happen without a QB who can get them the ball. Hicks grew a lot in his sophomore season, changing his 19:15 TD-to-interception ratio as a freshman to 32:9 in 2017. He’ll go against a Louisiana Tech defense that ranked eighth in the C-USA in passing D but second in picks.
