Final Score Prediction for BYU vs. Memphis in Miami Beach Bowl

Miami Beach is already lovely in mid-December, but compared to Memphis and Provo, it is a veritable paradise. BYU signed on to play in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl way back in April, so it is no surprise to see the Cougars make the trip to South Florida, but anybody who said that they had Memphis getting to Miami after winning a share of the AAC title is either lying, or a wizard.

While it’s certainly not one of the marquee matchups of the bowl season, the game should be an interesting one.

Bronco Mendenhall’s Cougars had a promising start to the season. A demolition of Texas made it seem that BYU was a serious contender, and the Cougars were playing as well as anybody in the country until the injury bug hit and sidelined quarterback Taysom Hill. BYU subsequently lost four straight games, but managed to rebound and finish with an 8-4 record.

Quarterback Christian Stewart and wide receivers Mitch Mathews and Jordan Leslie have found a dangerous rhythm, and if the trio can keep up the pace against a swarming Memphis defense, the Cougars will have a great chance of taking home the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl crown.

Head coach Justin Fuente’s Memphis Tigers are one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2014 season. Prior to the start of the year, nobody would have projected the Tigers to have a shot at a 10-win season, but that is exactly what Memphis has managed to do. The Tigers’ fifth-ranked scoring defense has not only allowed Memphis to stay in games against heavyweights Ole Miss and UCLA, but dominate conference opponents.

With the exception of the win over Temple, every Tigers victory has been by double digits, and if Memphis can hold BYU’s explosive offense relatively in check, it would allow the Tigers’ hit-and-miss offense to stay in the game long enough to give the Cougars a run for their money.

All things considered, this is a truly intriguing, lower-tier bowl matchup, and should be an excellent game. Ultimately though, BYU is still the team that beat up on Texas early in the year and outscored Cal to close the season, and that should be enough to get past the scrappy Memphis Tigers.

Prediction: BYU Cougars 27, Memphis Tigers 20