Today at 1:00 p.m. ET, Vanderbilt (8-4, 4-4 SEC) and Houston (8-4, 5-3 American) go head-to-head in the BBVA Compass Bowl live from Legion Field in Alabama. The game can be live streamed for free here. Vanderbilt fans can hear all of the action on 1510 WLAC while Houston fans can do the same on Sports Talk 790.
Vanderbilt enters their third bowl game in as many seasons and will look to win back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history. The team will be without starting quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels when it attempts to win the BBVA Compass Bowl. Carta-Samuels underwent surgery on his knee at the conclusion of the regular season to repair a torn ACL.
The signal caller suffered the injury on Oct. 19 and sat out the following two games, however he played in the last three games of the season. The school felt it was best for his future to have the surgery prior to the bowl game. The quarterback closed out he season with 2,268 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions
The team has won eight games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1927-28.
"It's dramatic," coach James Franklin told ESPN of the changes to the program. "From a cultural standpoint, from an expectations standpoint, it's a 360-degree difference. We still have a long ways to go, as a whole organization and program. But to think that we have a chance to go to our third straight bowl game, got a chance to have another nine-win season."
Patton Robinette is expected to start. He filled in for the two games that Carta-Samuels was sidelined and went 1-1 while completing 21 of 40 passes for 273 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions
Robinette will try to connect with Jordan Matthews, who is the SEC's all-time leader in receptions and yards. This season, he had 107 receptions for 1,334 yards.
Houston turns to freshman quarterback John O'Korn, who threw for 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions during a strong first-year campaign. His favorite target will be Deontay Greenberry, who had 76 catches for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season.
"We are very excited about our bowl game for a number of reasons," coach Tony Levine said via ESPN. "In no particular order: To play in a January bowl game is certainly an honor, to play a program such as Vanderbilt with coach Franklin and their staff, great respect for them, the job they've done and are doing, and certainly a member of the Southeastern Conference. It will be fun for us to go against Vanderbilt."
Vanderbilt and Houston lock horns in the BBVA Compass Bowl this afternoon
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