Bowl Prediction: Las Vegas Bowl, San Diego State vs. Houston

Las Vegas Bowl
San Diego State (10-3) vs. Houston (9-3), Las Vegas, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Houston -3.5 – O/U 51.5

Whenever a program loses a coach and gains a coach, there’s always uncertainty regarding its bowl performance. With Houston this year, however, there should be a lot more stability than with other schools in similar situations. Head coach Tom Herman has left the scene for the Texas Longhorns, but former Houston OC Major Applewhite is the new head coach and will simple transition from his offensive duties to lead the entire team. The Cougars will be tested by a San Diego State team that has one of the best running backs in the country in Donnell Pumphrey. If the Cougars who beat Louisville show up, they can absolutely stump Pumphrey, while Houston QB Greg Ward will lead the way to victory on offense. On the other hand, the other Houston team – the one that was crushed by SMU – could also show up, in which case, San Diego State could be in for a very big day. We’re betting that the better Houston shows up enough to win a close one.
Prediction: Houston, 31-27

About Douglas Blaine

Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.

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