College Football’s Fifth Quarter: Bowl game previews, Mike Leach

5. The Clash of Cultures

The Holiday Bowl was held on Dec. 28 in San Diego, Calif. The point spread was a pick ’em per the Las Vegas odds makers. The game featured a battle of program and coach styles that are an utter clash. Washington State was headed by Mike Leach.

The Cougars entered the game 9-3 and ranked 18th in the AP poll while 31st per Bill C’s S&P+ analytics. Wazzou quarterback Luke Falk had thrown for over 14,000 yards with 119 touchdowns over his four year career. Falk has had an off year and has been benched at times but he’s the Cougars all-time leading passer but he was unable to go, giving way to Tyler Hilinski.

Leach uses an Air Raid offense that loves four and five wide receiver sets and a focus on throwing to set up the run. The Air Raid uses the bubble and tunnel screen game as an outside running play and Leach uses inside zone for his true run game. He’s a quirky if not gregarious character that we’ll discuss later in this article.

They faced the Michigan State Spartans and their dry intellectual coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans entered 9-3 as well, ranked 16th in the AP poll and 27th per the S&P+ The Spartans are a tight end and fullback based ‘pro style’ offense. Quarterback Brian Lewerke had thrown for 2,500 yards this season in a disappointing offensive output.

The Spartans did upset their rival, the Michigan Wolverines, but the offense let them down more often than not over the course of the season. They differed drastically from the style of play, and the style of coach that Wazzou brought to the table. Michigan State has calm and quiet optimism.

Down in Miami, the Hurricanes sort of host sort of are on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin has only one loss on the season, the Big Ten title game against Ohio State where the Badgers had no offensive output at all. Wisconsin is sixth in the S&P+ at 12-1, while Miami is ranked 19th in the S&P+ rankings. Miami boasts their Turnover Chain and speed while Wisconsin is known for power and toughness.

Alex Hornibrook may revitalize the Turnover Chain with his 15 interceptions on the season and Jonathan Taylor has fumbled almost a half dozen times as well. This is a clash of blue collar Midwest and flashy Miami culture. The Orange Bowl will be held on Dec. 30 down in Miami and the ‘Canes are a six-point “home” underdog.