Previewing Monday's bowl game: Miami Beach Bowl

Miami Beach Bowl

Western Kentucky (11-2) vs. South Florida (8-4)

Time/TV: 2:30 p.m. ET/ESPN. Surface: Grass.

Pregame.com line: Western Kentucky by 3½. Sagarin difference: WKU by 2.74.

The Hilltoppers are the second conference champion to take the field in this bowl season. They rode to the Conference USA title on the arm of QB Brandon Doughty. The senior leads the nation in passing accuracy at 71.8%, a stat that is even more remarkable when you consider he attempts more than 38 passes per game. He has 45 TD tosses with only seven picks, and five of his targets have more than 500 receiving yards. The leaders of the corps are Taywan Taylor, Nicholas Norris and Jared Dangerfield.

The Bulls could have a pretty good scouting report on WKU because they're coached by former Hilltoppers mentor Willie Taggart. They've enjoyed a breakout season themselves, winning seven of their past eight after a 1-3 start. USF QB Quinton Flowers isn't quite as prolific in the aerial game, but he does have 21 TD throws and has added 883 rushing yards. He gets a lot of ground support from TB Marlon Mack, and WR Rodney Adams is his top pass catcher.

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

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