Peach Bowl 2015: Houston vs. FSU TV Schedule, Time and Odds
The future comes into focus for two very different programs Thursday when the No. 18 Houston Cougars battle the No. 9 Florida State Seminoles in the 2015 Peach Bowl.
Head coach Jimbo Fisher's team would much rather play in the College Football Playoff, but injuries and an untimely blocked field goal have the young developing team gearing up for a big bowl game regardless.
First-year coach Tom Herman has the Cougars riding high into the future after winning the American Athletic Conference and finishing as the top team from the "Group of Five" conferences.
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Prerequisites aside, this one has the look of quite the chess match featuring star players. Here's everything to know.
Game Details
When: Thursday, December 31, at noon ET
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Television: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 55.5
Spread: Florida State (-7)
Team Injury Reports
| Howard Wilson | CB | Prob Thurs |
| Colton Freeman | OL | Ques Thurs |
| Jeremy Winchester | CB | Ques Thurs |
| Kenneth Farrow | RB | Prob Thurs |
| Kyle Postma | QB | Ques Thurs |
| Ryan Jackson | RB | Ques Thurs |
| Josh Thomas | OL | Out for season |
| Zach Johnson | OL | Out for season |
| Adam Schulz | QB | Out for season |
| Ben Dew | OL | Ques Thurs |
| Everett Golson | QB | Out Thurs |
| Chad Mavety | OL | Prob Thurs |
| Lorenzo Phillips | LB | Doub Thurs |
| Ermon Lane | WR | Out Thurs |
| Jeremy Kerr | TE | Ques Thurs |
| Reggie Northrup | LB | Prob Thurs |
| Mario Pender | RB | Ques Thurs |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Hunting for the Exclamation Mark
One would think taking the AAC and putting the program on the proper path would be enough for the Cougars.
Not even close.
Houston's on a mission to prove not only the depth of the conference, but the non-fluke manner of the program's rise against a powerful team, regardless of whether the Seminoles find themselves in a state of transition.
Herman spoke with Don Coble of the Florida Times-Union about what the bowl means:
"It can’t be understated the level of competition in the American Athletic Conference now. That’s the thing I’m most proud of. We’ve got three teams in the top 25. That’s more than some Power Five conferences. We’ve beaten three top 25 teams, so it’s exciting for our football team to understand the American Athletic Conference has separated itself as the premier non-Power Five conference in the country. I’m excited about the matchup. Their defense is ranked fifth in the country, but we feel like we’ve got a pretty good defense ourselves.
"
Strong defense or not, the focus when it comes to Houston goes to elite dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who helped the team to wins against ranked Memphis, Navy and Temple teams.
Ward completed 68.1 percent of his passes this year with 2,590 yards and 16 touchdowns and also led the Cougars in rushing with 1,041 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Florida State has held its last three opponents to 17 or fewer points and even kept No. 1 Clemson somewhat in check at 23 (though still a loss), but it's safe to say the Seminoles haven't encountered anything like Ward just yet.
It'll be up to Ward to take advantage.
Riding the Rebound
In one of the more predictable occurrences of the season, Florida State came slamming back to earth this year after a large departure of talent.
The only question was when that would happen. A road encounter with Georgia Tech provided the moment, as the Yellow Jackets returned a blocked field goal to the house in the waning moments to secure their only ACC win of the year and send the Seminoles into a skid in which they lost two of three.
"It woke everybody up. Everyone was focused," running back Dalvin Cook said, according to Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post (via NCAA.com). "We came back to practice, the looks on their faces. ... Before that, we were comfortable."
Injuries haven't helped much either, though losing quarterback Everett Golson helped the team unearth junior Sean Maguire, who kept an iron grip on the starting gig after throwing nine touchdowns to two interceptions and only really struggling in the understandable loss to Clemson.
Other than the elite defense, the team hinges most of its hopes on Cook, a man playing out of his mind with a per-carry average of 7.9 after taking 211 handoffs for 1,658 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The Maguire-Cook tandem now has to eat clock and limit the defense's exposure to Ward if Fisher and Co. are to finish the season on a strong note and build toward next year with this new-look core.
Prediction
The thing about a team as accomplished and dangerous as Houston is that it won't enter a game like this fazed any more so than a national-title contender like Florida State would be.
In fact, Houston might tout more experience.
Alas, this game is the Seminoles' to lose. Cook can control the game on the ground, but the focal point here is a stout defense able to somewhat contain Ward after a great showing against Clemson and others.
Look for the Seminoles to ride Cook and the defense, doing just enough to scrape past a game Houston team that, just like the Seminoles, seems to have an unlimited ceiling going into next year.
Prediction: Florida State 27, Houston 24
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.
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