Owls Preview and Predictions

The Foothill College football team, the Owls, and the Redwoods College football team, the Corsairs, could not be any more different heading into tomorrow’s rematch. With only three weeks left to turn it around, the Corsairs have had a disappointing season so far — finishing it off with a guaranteed losing record. The Owls, on the other hand, have been playing one of their best seasons in recent years. Even though stat comparison favors the Owls, players need to translate those numbers onto the field to get a W. And stats aren’t the only factors at play here: the host Corsairs are currently win-less at home while the Owls are 2-1 on the road, hopefully another sign of victory for our team tomorrow.

The Owls started the season undefeated, 6-0 with good overall team stats, but on October 14th lost to the West Hills Coalinga Falcons. At halftime the Owls gave up 21 points to lose the game, and their undefeated run, 28-14. The Corsairs lost to the Owls on October 7th, and are experiencing one of their worst seasons on record; though they likely hope to bounce back and win their last three games of the season.

Foothill at Redwoods

Kickoff: Saturday, October 21st at 1 p.m. PT

Spread: Foothill -9.5

Two Things to Watch

1. Rushing! Rushing! Rushing!

Both the Foothill Owls and the Redwoods Corsairs lost by two possessions last week, and while the nature of their defeats varied — The Corsairs being far more competitive throughout the game against San Jose, losing 45-33, and Foothill not showing up for the second half of their game against the Falcons and losing 28-14 — the running game seemed to set the tone of the game. The Corsairs rushed for 160 yards on 35 attempts, averaging 4.6 yards a carry; while the Owls rushed for a total of 53 yards on 24 attempts, averaging 2.2 yards per carry.

It seems that in this season, and especially last week’s game, the Corsairs are basing most of their plays around running the ball no matter what — starting by aggressively attempting to move the rock via rushing. After the Falcons rushed for 204 yards on 43 attempts against the Owls, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, expect the Corsairs to come out of the gates with the mindset of run first.

2. More well-rounded Foothill Team

Although the game last week didn’t accurately portray what the Foothill team is capable of they are, statistically, far more impressive than the Corsairs. The Owls offensively are averaging 317.7 total yards, 122.3 rushing and 195.4 passing, and scoring 18.3 points per game. While the Corsairs are averaging 262.2 total yards, 86.5 rushing and 175.7 passing, and scoring 16.2 points per game. On the defensive side, the Corsairs are allowing 391.0 total yards, 158 rushing and 233 passing, and 29.2 points per game. The Owls are allowing a mere 301.1 total yards, 108.3 rushing and 192.9 passing, with 12.4 points per game. If the Foothill Owls can play as well as they’ve been averaging, they can expect an easy win over the Corsairs.

Final Analysis

The Foothill football team is playing well statistically and is on track to have one of their best seasons yet. On the other hand, the Redwoods football team is statistically off track, and seems to be finishing off one of their worst seasons on record. Expect both teams to establish and rely on the running game early to open up the passing game, and for both defenses to stack the box to force the opposing offense to rely on passing.

Considering that this is a rematch, both teams will likely come out with a well prepared — and fresh — game plan. But keep in mind that the Corsairs have been on a four game losing streak, while the Owls haven’t experienced back to back losses yet. Overall, Foothill’s team has been playing better than the Redwoods, so expect Foothill to roll out of this game with a big W.

Prediction: Foothill 20, Redwoods 6