It's the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, it's Christmas season, but it is also college football bowl season. This year I plan on providing a preview of each bowl using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided at www.cfbstats.com. First on the list is the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl pitting the Troy Trojans from the Sun Belt Conference against the North Texas Mean Green out of Conference USA!
Prediction
The game will be
determined by whether Troy's Top 25 defense can stop North Texas' Top 25
offense. Given the overall productivity of the two programs, the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model would give the edge to the Troy Trojans. Below is a look at each of these two football programs during the 2017 regular season.
North Texas Mean Green
The Mean Green finished the regular season at 9-3 and played in the
Conference USA championship game, losing to Florida Atlantic to enter
the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl game at 9-4. North Texas played
against
an "average" strength
of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning
that North Texas' SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the
"league's" SOS. The Mean Green's best victory was over #30 ranked
Southern Mississippi by a score of (43-28) and their
worst loss was to #63 ranked Iowa by a score of
(14-31). North Texas had the #69 ranked
team in total production with the #15
ranked offense and the #112 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
Troy Trojans
The Trojans finished the regular season at 10-2 while playing against
an "easier" strength
of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning
that Troy's SOS was between one and two standard deviations greater than the
"league's" SOS. The Trojans best victory was over #17 ranked LSU (24-21) and their
worst loss was to #99 ranked South Alabama by a score of
(8-19). Troy had the #26 ranked
team in total production with the #54
ranked offense and the #11 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.