The late, great comedian George Carlin compared football to baseball, the former war-like, the latter gentle and pastoral. One of the lines was “Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park, the baseball park. Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.” The Wasabi Fenway Bowl is a football game played in a park, Fenway Park to be specific, home to the Boston Red Sox. Ironically, playing a football game in a baseball park was started by the Red Sox’s arch-enemy, the New York Yankees in 2010 with the PinStripe Bowl. Not to be outdone, the Sox offered up Fenway for its inaugural bowl game last year. The sponsor is Wasabi Technologies, not to be confused with the awesome spice served with Sushi. Thus, the Wasabi Fenway Bowl preview, a game between SMU and Boston College this year.
Why These Two Teams?
It’s somewhat curious why the Wasabi Fenway Bowl features these two teams. SMU finished their season 11-2 overall and is currently ranked at No. 24 in the country. After the regular season, they went on to win the AAC (American Athletic Conference) championship, beating a good and nationally-ranked Tulane team. Boston College, on the other hand, went 6-6, 3-5 in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). In other words, they seem to be mismatched considering their records. A conference champion would typically get one of the New Year’s Day games in a much warmer climate.
This disparity was not missed by the AAC commissioner. Mike Aresco. In a social media statement, Aresco was not too pleased. “As proud as we were to celebrate SMU’s first conference championship in nearly 40 years last night, we are stunned and disappointed in the College Football Playoff committee’s egregious decision to exclude SMU from a New Year’s Six bowl,” Aresco said on X, formerly Twitter. “It is especially disappointing to see that the committee appears to have applied different standards in SMU’s case than they did with the selection of the top four teams.” Interestingly enough, SMU and Boston College will be siblings as SMU joins the ACC next year.
One thing the BC Eagles have going for them is that they have a clear home-field advantage, which is probably why they are in this bowl. The other thing going for them is that the Mustangs might take their opponent for granted. At any rate, SMU is favored by 11.5 points going into the matchup on December 29th at 11:00am ET on ESPN.
What to Expect from the Mustangs
This was a stellar season for SMU. However, the quarterback that got them to that point, Preston Stone, was injured with a broken leg in their final regular-season game against Navy. Thus, he did not play in their conference championship game. Backup Kevin Jennings will get his second start at Fenway after playing well against Tulane to win the AAC championship.
During the season, the Mustangs averaged 40.6 points per game. But this was with Stone at the helm. It’s unknown how Jennings will fair against the Eagles. Under Stone, they were more of a passing team averaging 285 yards per game, while their running game posted 183.1 yards per game. In his first start, the AAC championship game, Jennings threw 19 for 33 (57.5%) and 203 yards, running 15 times for 63 yards. That’s not too shabby for a backup in his first start.
The SMU offensive positions are pretty deep. There are five receivers with at least 400 yards in receptions and three more with at least 300. Some of the players to watch include tight end RJ Maryland, who led the team with 518 yards and seven touchdowns. Running back Jaylan Knighton leads in rushing with 720 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s followed by LJ Johnson Jr. and Camar Wheaton who have 544 and 410 yards respectively.
On defense, the Mustangs were second in the country with 47 sacks, which should be an interesting matchup to the Eagles’ offensive line. That was one of BC’s dominant features this season. In the SMU secondary, the team has 11 interceptions, led by strong safety Isaiah Nwokobia who has four. The Eagles might be wise to keep it on the ground.
Will the Eagles Soar?
Boston College had a great start to 2023, going 6-3, but lost the last three games of the season to end up 6-6. The Wasabi Fenway Bowl is probably as good as it gets for them.
Offensively, the Eagles are not too shabby. They are primarily a running team, which bodes well for them considering they can counter the strong passing defense SMU puts on the field. They averaged 42 rushes and 191.5 yards per game, compared to an average of 28.6 passes and 6.7 yards per game.
Quarterback Thomas Castellano is a talented signal caller, something their record doesn’t reflect. BC’s rushing dominance is evident in his play as he leads the team with 194 carries and 957 yards. In passing, he threw 178 for 312 (57%) and 2,146 yards. But he has 13 interceptions, something that could prove deadly against a dominant Mustang secondary. Still, the passing yardage is not bad for a team relying on the run most of the time.
Elsewhere in the running game is Kye Robichaux, a dominant rusher with 150 carries and 691 yards.
Defensively, a bright spot is cornerback Elijah Jones. He blossomed starting with game five, allowing only five catches on 21 targets and four interceptions. On the D-line defensive tackle Cam Horsley stands out with 37 tackles, 18 solo, and three for a loss.
But as a unit, the Eagles’ defense went downhill toward the end of the season, reflected in the three straight losses. They were ranked as the seventh-highest pressure rate but dropped to the 25th. They also went from 3.83 sacks per game to 1.58. If that trend continues, BC could be in for a long day at Fenway.
Closer Than the Spread?
This game could be more evenly matched than the records, injuries, or past play indicates. After all, Boston College has been competing within what is considered a more competitive conference than SMU. BC also had the time to reflect on the season. They could recall some of that spark that started them off so well early in 2023. Also, SMU could be dealing with a success hangover and take the Eagles for granted. Don’t underestimate a lack of motivation being overlooked for a New Year’s Day bowl game. In other words, it could end up being a closer game than the 11.5 point spread in favor of the Mustangs indicates.
