The Bowl Case for Buffalo Over WKU

There are going to be between 79 and 83 Bowl eligible teams. Yesterday, using my fingers and toes, I figured out that UB needs to be picked over 1-4 of these teams.

The first candidate was UTSA

So which 6-6 other teams are worse bowl Candidates than UB? Well by pretty much every measure, WKU falls below the Bulls. Buffalo “tops” Western Kentucky in the key metrics one might consider when picking a bowl team.

The Bulls had a strong finish to the season, going 3-0 and beating an 8 win bowl bound Ohio Bobcats team on Black Friday.

Western Kentucky, on the other hand limped into the post season conversation with a 1-3 record that included a win over six win Middle Tennessee, and we will get to them tomorrow.

WKU doesn’t do anything particularly well. According to ESPN they have the 111th ranked offense and the 113th ranked defense. And they did it against a schedule ranked 106th “most” difficult.

Speaking of Rankings, let’s mention that UB’s Sargin ranking of 94 is significantly better than WKU’s 126.

Perhaps most damning is that Western Kentucky has no wins against teams over 500. They have literally feasted only on the bones of teams who cant win more than they lose.

The Bulls have the 44th most proficient offense and did it against a top 100 strength of schedule. UB defeated two 8 win teams, including Florida Atlantic who won WKU’s conference.

The Bulls bring one of the best receivers in college football catching throws by one of the hottest young quarterbacks in college football. They bring the second most prolific tackler in college football.

They bring a team on a hot streak now. They also being a team who, in their losses, were always fast passed, exciting, and fun to watch.