Texas Bowl: Illinois and Baylor Meet As Coaches Try to Get First Postseason Win
Texas Bowl: Illinois and Baylor meet as coaches try to get first postseason win.
When Illinois Coach Ron Zook takes on Baylor Coach Art Briles in the Texas Bowl, they will both be trying to achieve the same goal. Neither coach has won a bowl game in their tenure as both are 0-3 in postseason play. Both teams have had successful seasons, but Baylor is the slight favorite coming into this bowl game.
The Baylor Bears are listed as slim one-point favorites by online sportsbook BetPhoenix for this bowl game.
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Illinois finished the year with a 6-6 record, just managing to get bowl eligible. They stumbled down the stretch, losing three out of games to end the season. One of the reasons for the stumble was the poor play of the Illini defense that surrendered at least 25 points or more in the last four games. This could be a problem in this bowl game as they go up against one of the most talented quarterbacks in the game.
Baylor Sophomore signal-caller Robert Griffin III is a dual threat under center. He ranks seventh nationally in total offense and can score on the ground or through the air. He passed for 3,195 passing yards and 21 touchdowns and added 591 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.
Illinois has had trouble with mobile quarterbacks this season. They allowed Michigan’s Denard Robinson to rush for 62 yards and pass for over 300 yards when they lost earlier in the season, surrendering 67 points. If they have another defensive lapse like that one, Baylor will win easily.
However, Baylor has struggled on defense this year and limps into this game at 0-3 to end the season. Granted those three losses were against ranked opponents, but Baylor did surrender at least 42 points in those losses.
The offense of Illinois is fueled by running back Mikel Leshoure who has amassed 1,513 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Redshirt freshman Nathan Scheelhaase will call the plays from under center in an attempt to get the win.
The Sports Betting trends favor Baylor in this game. The Fighting Illini are 3-13 against the spread (ATS) in their last 16 non-conference games, 1-5 ATS in their last six against the Big 12 and 2-5 ATS in their last seven neutral site games.
The Bears are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games following a loss and 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a favorite.
Illinois will not have an answer for Griffin and the Baylor Bears will get the first postseason win for Coach Art Briles.
Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at mregaw@gmail.com.
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