Heart of Dallas Bowl 2014: Top Storylines Going into Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech and Illinois kick off a packed Friday of college football bowl action with the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Neither the Bulldogs nor the Fighting Illini are the most attractive team in the country, and many fans will likely fail to give this matchup any sort of chance. However, it's often the more obscure bowls that are the most fun. The most recent example is the finish to the Bahamas Bowl, which had one of the unlikeliest Hail Marys you're ever going to see.
The Heart of Dallas Bowl probably won't have such a crazy conclusion, but it could be a sleeper pick for one of the more entertaining matchups this week.
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When: Friday, Dec. 26, at 1 p.m. ET
Where: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
How Will Illinois Represent the Big Ten?
It's no secret that the Big Ten is suffering from a perception problem. Most fans and writers rank the conference behind the SEC, Pac-12 and maybe the Big 12 as well. A Big Ten team losing to a Conference USA team won't do the conference any favors, either.
With Illinois representing the B1G, things aren't looking too promising. BTN.com's Tom Dienhart listed his confidence picks for each bowl game featuring a team from the conference, and the Heart of Dallas Bowl ranked at the very bottom. He said the best strategy for predicting a winner was flipping a coin.
Nothing about the Fighting Illini stands out. They rank 102nd in total offense (360.3 YPG) and 112th in total defense (464.3 YPG). Although they own wins over Penn State and Minnesota, they were also beaten by Washington, Nebraska and Ohio State by a combined 97 points.
Head coach Tim Beckman announced earlier in the week that Reilly O'Toole will start the game at quarterback, per Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune:
O'Toole has completed 58.7 percent of his passes and has nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. In short, he doesn't exactly elicit a wealth of confidence among Illini fans. Wide receiver Mike Dudek has emerged in a big way this year with 69 receptions, 965 yards and six touchdowns, but he's only as good as the quarterback throwing him the ball.
Beating Louisiana Tech won't exactly bolster the Big Ten's reputation, but you can bet an Illini loss will be used as a stick to beat the conference.
Do the Fighting Illini Have Any Answer for Kenneth Dixon and Cody Sokol?
Illinois' top objective will be slowing down Kenneth Dixon. The Louisiana Tech running back has run for 1,236 yards and 21 touchdowns this year and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. Illinois gave up an average of 249.6 yards a game on the ground, so Dixon could have a field day.
As Sports Illustrated's Bill Carey wrote, the junior enters the game on a rich vein of form and has history on his mind:
"Dixon enters the bowl game on a hot streak. He has 10 touchdowns in his last four outings, including three against Marshall in the Conference USA championship on Dec. 6. Those scores gave him the school record of 59 touchdowns. Next up: Dixon is just five yards away from Daniel Porter’s program record of 3,352 career rushing yards, a mark that he could snap on his first play from scrimmage.
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Dixon's also caught 26 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns. He's a multifaceted weapon in the Louisiana Tech offense and can beat the Illini in a variety of ways.
If Illinois can neutralize Dixon, then it will heap more pressure on quarterback Cody Sokol. Although the senior threw for 3,189 yards and 29 touchdowns, he also threw 13 interceptions and completed 58.6 percent of his passes. He's prone to making mistakes, and early issues could grow into major problems as the game unfolds.
As a team, Illinois intercepted just seven passes during the season, so Sokol should be able to avoid turnovers. The Illini can at least get some pressure on him to prevent him from getting into any sort of groove.
Sokol's clearly the weaker link in the Louisiana Tech offense, so Illinois will want to make him win the game. By putting the game in his hands, the Illini should be able to get the better of the Bulldogs.
Note: All stats courtesy of NCAA.com unless otherwise noted.
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