WEEK 14 @INDYBOWL

INSIDE THE I-BOWL

/////////////////////////// OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE INDEPENDENCE BOWL FOUNDATION THE OFFICIAL INSIDE THE I-BOWL NEWSLETTER OF: BLACK FRIDAY & CYBER MONDAY WHAT TO WATCH FOR //////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////// BLACK FRIDAY & CYBER MONDAY DEALS - TEAMS TRYING TO GET ELIGIBLE WITH ONE WEEK LEFT IN REGULAR SEASON DONATE A GIFT OF FOOTBALL TO KIDS’ CORNER BOSTON COLLEGE (5-6) @ PITTSBURGH (7-4) | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 2:30 PM CT | ACCN BOSTON COLLEGE A game with plenty of bowl implications, Boston College travels to Heinz Field to take on a Pittsburgh team that is trying to secure an 8-4 season. The Eagles, on the other hand, need one more win to get to bowl eligibility, and they face a great oppor- This Friday, November 29, through next Monday, December 2, tunity against a struggling Pitt team. Despite the 7-4 record, Pitt has not been playing their best football of the season. They are purchase endzone bench tickets for $15 (50% off)! coming off of a 28-0 loss to Virginia Tech and have a -8 point-differential in their past five games. The Panthers struggle to score – averaging just 20.2 points per game. Boston College has been up and down recently and fell to Notre Dame 40-7 on Saturday. PITTSBURGH They will need to get star RB A.J. Dillon going against a Pitt team that allows just 92.6 rushing yards per game. Fans can also DONATE $15 tickets to Kids Corner, which helps children in need go to the 2019 Walk-On’s Independence Bowl MIAMI (6-5) @ DUKE (4-7) | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 2:30 PM CT | ESPN2 through a number of local Shreveport-Bossier City charities! With a 12-point loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, Duke will not get to 6-6 and only possible avenue to bowl eligibility is a win MIAMI against Miami on Saturday and not enough teams gaining bowl eligibility. Miami, however, had a chance to finish the season 8-4 and in the top-tier of ACC bowls, but they fell in a shocking loss to Florida International on Saturday. The Hurricanes now BUY OR DONATE: sit at 6-5 and possibly in the I-Bowl mix with a loss to the Blue Devils. Miami’s offense posted 52 points against Louisville two www.independencebowl.org/black-friday-cyber-monday/ weeks ago, but outside of that victory, they haven’t surpassed the 30-point mark since October 5 against Virginia Tech. QB DUKE Jarren Williams passed for 249 yards and two TDs but also threw three interceptions. The quarterback play will be the key for their offense getting back on track.

SOUTHERN MISS (7-4) @ FAU (8-3) | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 2:30 PM CT | NFLN This cross-division Conference USA matchup has conference championship game implications. After Marshall’s loss to Charlotte SOUTHERN MISS on Saturday, FAU now leads the East and would host the C-USA Championship Game in Boca Raton with a win over Southern Miss on Saturday. For the Golden Eagles, they are in a three-way tie with UAB and Louisiana Tech atop the West. To have a Wednesday’s chance to play in the conference championship game, Southern Miss needs to win – with Louisiana Tech playing UTSA and I-BOWL WEEKLY RADIO SHOW 6-7 p.m. CT UAB against North Texas. Both offenses in this matchup throw for almost 300 yards per game, so this game should be a great FAU matchup of two good QBs – Southern Miss’ Jack Abraham and FAU’s Chris Robison – and two fun offenses. /////////////////////////////////////////////// 1130 The Tiger CINCINNATI (10-1) @ MEMPHIS (10-1) | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 2:30 PM CT | ABC I-BOWL WEEKLY GAME OF THE WEEK With a win this past weekend, Cincinnati clinched their spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship game, but the CINCINNATI West division is still very much in the air. If Memphis defeats Cincinnati on Saturday, then the two teams would rematch the Nick Saban leads the Alabama Crimson Tide to The Plains to take on next Saturday in Cincinnati in the championship game. If Memphis is to lose to Cincinnati on Saturday, then Navy would repre- the Auburn Tigers, and with Oregon’s loss to Arizona State this past SAT, NOV. 30 @ 2:30 PM CT sent the West in the championship game with a win over Houston this weekend, as their lone conference loss on the season is weekend, the Iron Bowl is once again in the thick of deciding a possible AUBURN, Ala. to Memphis. This game also has New Year’s Six implications, as Cincinnati and Memphis are both still very much in the mix for bid to the College Football Playoff. CBS MEMPHIS the Group of Five New Year’s Six bid. This is a great matchup of differing styles, as Cincinnati prides themselves on defense and Memphis wants to beat you by outscoring you. It should be a fun one. With no Tua Tagovailoa at QB, Mac Jones will get his third career start but his first in a big-time game. Jones has been efficient in his two TULANE (6-5) @ SMU (9-2) | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 3 PM CT | ESPNU starts against Arkansas and Western Carolina – completing 82% of his After starting the season 5-1, Tulane has gone just 1-4 over the past five games and look to finish the regular season with a passes for 510 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions, but Auburn’s 2019 STATS & LEADERS defense is a new animal. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will TULANE winning record with an upset win over nine-win SMU. The Green Wave scored late on Saturday to lose to UCF by three at home, probably try to get Najee Harris going on the ground to help open up but the game was not as close as the score. This is a great matchup of very different offenses that both are explosive. Tulane their fleet of wide receivers for Jones. Harris has been improving as the 10-1 Overall Record 8-3 scored 35 points per game and rush for over 250 yards per game, while the Mustangs average 44 points and 321 passing yards season goes along and has been running great lately – averaging 98.25 6-1 (SEC) Conference Record 4-3 (SEC) per game. This could be a good matchup for the Tulane offense, as SMU is coming off of a week where they allowed 378 rushing yards per game over his last eight games. SMU yards to Navy. The key on defense will obviously be shutting down SMU QB Shane Beuchele, who has passed for nearly 3,500 48.5 Points Per Game 32.7 yards this season. Auburn’s offense has struggled this season in big games, especially 16.2 Pts. Allowed Per Game 16.2 freshman QB Bo Nix, but the Alabama defense has not been what it has NORTH CAROLINA (5-6) @ NC STATE (4-7) | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 @ 6 PM CT | ACCN been in the past. Nix is completing just 57.6% of his passes this tear for 513.2 (344.3/168.9) Total Yards (Pass/Rush) 427.2 (213.5/213.7) 199 yards per game, and it will be interesting to see how much success 315.3 (184.4/130.9) Yards Allowed (Pass/Rush) 306.5 (196.9/109.6) NORTH CAROLINA Another ACC game with massive bowl implications, as North Carolina needs a win over their in-state rivals to get to a he has against an Alabama defense that is starting a number of true bowl game. NC State was looking at this game as a must-win as well until their week 13 loss to Georgia Tech, and they freshmen due to injury. As always, Auburn will try to establish their run M. Jones: 841 yds, 7 TD, 1 int Starting Quarterback B. Nix: 2193 yds, 14 TD, 6 int have now been eliminated from postseason contention. UNC has won just two of their last five games, but two of their game that averages 214 yards per game. If they can do that, it should N. Harris: 158 car, 942 yds, 10 TD Active Rushing Leader J. Whitlow: 131 car, 625 yds, 9 TD three losses have come in overtime and the other one by one score. That has been a theme all season, as the Tar Heels open up more throwing room for their freshman QB and take off some largest defeat came by seven points. True freshman QB Sam Howell has passed for just shy of 3,000 yards and has 32 TDs of the pressure. D. Smith: 60 rec, 1120 yds, 13 TD Receiving Leader S. Williams: 52 rec, 735 yds, 8 TD N.C. STATE to go with just six interceptions. That has helped the UNC offense average 455 yards and 30 points per game.

1 Inside the I-Bowl WalkOnsIndependenceBowl.com @IndyBowl WalkOnsIndependenceBowl.com @IndyBowl Inside the I-Bowl 2 THE OFFICIAL INSIDE THE I-BOWL NEWSLETTER OF: NEWS & NOTES TAILGATE PARTY //////////////////////// /////////////////////////// WEEK 13 SCOREBOARD BOWL PROJECTIONS AFTER WEEK 13 COCA-COLA FAN FEST & TAILGATE PARTY ACC: AMERICAN: PRESENTED BY COORS LIGHT Georgia Tech 28, NC State 26 UCF 34, Tulane 31 Virginia 55, Liberty 27 The 44th Walk-On’s Independence Bowl will kick off at 3 p.m. CST on Thursday, December 26, East Carolina 31, UConn 24 but the party will start at 10 a.m. CST outside of the north end zone of Independence Stadi- Notre Dame 40, Boston College 7 Navy 35, SMU 28 JOE TANSEY BRETT McMURPHY ERICK SMITH um with the improved Coca-Cola Fan Fest and Tailgate Party presented by Coors Light. North Carolina 56, Mercer 7 Memphis 49, USF 10 Virginia Tech 28, Pitt 0 Cincinnati 15, Temple 13 NORTH CAROLINA MIAMI NORTH CAROLINA Coca Cola Fan Fest and Tailgate Party presented by Coors Light will present a new experi- Louisville 56, Syracuse 34 Houston 24, Tulsa 14 ence for fans coming to the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl and will take place from 10 a.m. FIU 30, Miami 24 through 2:45 p.m. in the silver lot outside of the north end zone of the stadium. The official Wake Forest 39, Duke 27 SMU LOUISIANA TECH FIU tailgate experience of the 2019 Walk-On’s Independence Bowl, the free tailgate will feature C-USA: aspects of the Shreveport-Bossier City and Louisiana experience and provide a fun experi- SEC: Charlotte 24, Marshall 13 ence for fans of all ages prior to the big game. Alabama 66, Western Carolina 3 UAB 20, Louisiana Tech 14 Auburn 52, Samford 0 Rice 20, North Texas 14 The Independence Bowl Foundation has partnered with Matt Snyder of PinPoint Local Mar- keting to help make the Official Tailgate Party presented by Coors Light a must-go-to event Georgia 19, Texas A&M 13 W Kentucky 28, Southern Miss 10 KYLE BONAGURA MARK SCHLABACH JASON KIRK for fans of all ages. The event is free to enter and will have food and drinks for sale through- Kentucky 50, UT Martin 7 New Mexico State 44, UTEP 35 out the tailgate. Field turf will be laid throughout the silver lot outside the north endzone of Vanderbilt 38, ETSU 0 MTSU 38, Old Dominion 17 NORTH CAROLINA FLORIDA STATE NORTH CAROLINA the stadium, and all of the fun will take place on the turf. LSU 56, Arkansas 20 Florida Atlantic 40, UTSA 26 Mississippi St. 45, Abil Christian 7 FIU 30, Miami 24 LOUISIANA TECH FAU SOUTHERN MISS The party will start with local band The Good News from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., which will be Tennessee 24, Missouri 20 followed up by a pep rally and battle of the bands by the two school bands in front of the stage in the tailgate area. At 12:30 p.m., the main music, Cha Wa – a Grammy-nominated New Orleans brass Indian band, will take the stage.

As well as the great music, the Official Tailgate Party will have culinary creations by local chef Cha Wa CONFERENCE STANDINGS Jason Brady. There will be entertainment for everyone, as there will be inflatables and other interactive activities. ATLANTIC Ovrl./Conf. COASTAL Ovrl./Conf. EAST Ovrl./Conf. WEST Ovrl./Conf. Clemson 11-0 (8-0) Virginia 8-3 (5-2) Georgia 10-1 (7-1) LSU 11-0 (7-0) Louisville 7-4 (5-3) Virginia Tech 8-3 (5-2) Florida 9-2 (6-2) Alabama 10-1 (6-1) Wake Forest 8-3 (4-3) Miami 6-5 (4-3) Tennessee 6-5 (4-3) Auburn 8-3 (4-3) Florida State 6-5 (4-4) Pittsburgh 7-4 (4-3) South Carolina 4-7 (3-5) Texas A&M 7-4 (4-3) Boston College 5-6 (3-4) North Carolina 5-6 (3-4) Kentucky 6-5 (3-5) Mississippi State 5-6 (2-5) NC State 4-7 (1-6) Duke 4-7 (2-5) Missouri 5-6 (2-5) Ole Miss 4-7 (2-5) Syracuse 4-7 (1-6) Georgia Tech 3-8 (2-6) Vanderbilt 3-8 (1-6) Arkansas 2-9 (0-7)

EAST Ovrl./Conf. WEST Ovrl./Conf. EAST Ovrl./Conf. WEST Ovrl./Conf. Cincinnati 10-1 (7-0) Memphis 10-1 (6-1) Florida Atlantic 8-3 (6-1) UAB 8-3 (5-2) UCF 8-3 (5-2) Navy 8-2 (6-1) Marshall 7-4 (5-2) Louisiana Tech 8-3 (5-2) Temple 7-4 (4-3) SMU 9-2 (5-2) Western Kentucky 7-4 (5-2) Southern Miss 7-4 (5-2) South Florida 4-7 (2-5) Tulane 6-5 (3-4) Charlotte 6-5 (4-3) North Texas 4-7 (3-4) East Carolina 4-7 (1-6) Houston 4-7 (2-5) Middle Tennessee 4-7 (3-4) UTSA 4-7 (3-4) UConn 2-9 (0-7) Tulsa 3-8 (1-6) Florida Intl 6-5 (3-4) Rice 2-9 (2-5) Old Dominion 1-10 (0-7) UTEP 1-10 (0-7)

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