Previewing Monday's bowl game: Memphis vs. BYU in Miami

Monday's bowl game — examining the matchup:

Miami Beach Bowl

Memphis (9-3) vs. Brigham Young (8-4)

Time/TV: 2 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Grass.

Glantz-Culver line: . Sagarin difference: Memphis by 2.18.

Bowl records: BYU 13-18-1, Memphis 3-3. Series: first meeting.

Synopsis: Marlins Park will be invaded by a bunch of big cats to christen this new addition to the bowl lineup. Enjoying its best season in years and bowling for the first time since 2008, Memphis might already have won the postseason by inking Justin Fuente to a contract extension. His Tigers, of course, would like to win on the field as well.

They'll face a program that is a much more frequent postseason participant. But BYU needed to redefine its goals for this season when its fast start was derailed by a season-ending leg injury to QB Taysom Hill. But the Cougars regained their equilibrium and closed on a second four-game winning streak. Now at the helm for BYU is QB Christian Stewart, who has a solid receiving corps led by Mitch Mathews and Jordan Leslie. The bad news is there isn't much in the way of ground support, especially since RB Jamaal Williams (knee) also had his season cut short. LB Tank Jakes will lead the Tigers' defensive effort to disrupt the Cougars' passing game. The Memphis offense isn't flashy but keeps the sticks moving, thanks mainly to QB Paxton Lynch and RB Brandon Hayes. They'll keep BYU LB Zac Stout busy.

Jeff Sagarin's power ratings show the relative strength of teams.

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