Bowl Preview: Poinsettia
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by The Beast
During the regular season, I made previews for the best games each Saturday. With the regular season now history, I decided to do a preview for all 5,432 bowl games, whether you care or not. So without further ado, here is the first preview of the season: the Poinsettia Bowl.
Big wins over rivals Notre Dame, Air Force, and Army, have given Navy one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory, as they'll aspire to cap it off with a Poinsettia Bowl victory tonight. However, they will enter tonight's game against the Utah Utes without their head coach Paul Johnson, who resigned earlier this month to take the job at Georgia Tech. Instead of Johnson, the Midshipmen will have the first Polynesian head coach in Division I-A history, Ken Niumatalolo, pacing the sidelines.
This sudden change at the top doesn't help the Middies too much but neither does Utah's stout defense. Over the course of this season, the Utes have allowed just over fifteen points a game, good for third in the nation, and are 18th nationally in total defense. While Navy does average 40 points per game, they were just 1-3 against bowl teams this season. Because of this matchup or mismatch, Utah should win fairly decisively. Utah 27-10
