New Orleans Bowl:
Southern Mississippi vs. Middle Tennessee State
Why you shouldn't miss out on this one:
This bowl could be surprisingly one-sided either way, but at the same time has all the necessary factors to be a sneaky good one. Southern Miss will be making their second consecutive trip to the New Orleans Bowl, in which they are 3-0 all time. This also marks their 12th bowl appearance in 13 seasons. Don't expect Middle Tennessee to take this one sitting down, as they boast a nasty front seven that leads the nation in tackles for a loss at 8.83 and is fourth in the nation in sacks at 3.17. The difference in this one might come down to defense, as Southern Miss is equally strong off the ball. The Blue Raiders have exceeded all expectations this season. After getting off to a 3-3 start, they look to grab their seventh straight victory against the Golden Eagles. Blue Raiders QB Dwight Dasher has been outstanding, recording nearly 300 total yards of offense per game, ninth best in the FBS, and tallying 2,627 yards and 21 touchdowns. Southern Miss will turn to QB Martevius Young, and RB Damion Fletcher (who needs just 63 yards to become the ninth player to reach 1,000 in all four seasons) for the answers on offense. Both teams have had good seasons, but besides a win over Maryland, MTSU's second best win of the year came against ULM. I'll have to take Southern Miss on this one, but not by much ... 30-27.