Bowls: 0-2 Season: 115-49
I went 0-1 in Thursday's picks as Georgia Tech got destroyed by Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Boston College-Boise State First Responder Bowl never left the first quarter. BC led 7-0 when lightning struck. And it never stopped. The game was canceled.
For this post, I'll go through Friday's game.
Thursday
Walk-On's Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana
Temple (8-4) vs. Duke (7-5), 1:30 p.m. ESPN
The Owls had an up and down season. They began with losses to Villanova and Buffalo but went 8-2 the rest of the way, with wins over Maryland, No. 20 Cincinnati, Houston, and South Florida. The other two losses came to Boston College and UCF in competitive-ish games. Like last season, Duke started 4-0, including wins over Army, which went 10-2, and Big Ten West champ Northwestern, but then hit some rough patches. Losses to Virginia Tech and Virginia were never in doubt, and the Blue Devils gave up 54 points to Pitt and were blown out by Clemson and Wake Forest to end the season. A win over Miami was the best thing the team did in the second half.
Temple 30, Duke 24
New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium
Miami (7-5) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), 5:15 p.m. ESPN
These teams faced off last year as more successful squads in the Orange Bowl, Miami's home field, but the Badgers came away with the 34-24 win. The Hurricanes led 14-3 after the first quarter, but Wisconsin scored 21 points in the second to take control. The Hurricanes started 5-1 in 2018, but then lost four straight to UVa, Boston College, Duke, and Georgia Tech. But they ended with easy victories over Virginia Tech and Pitt. N'Kosi Perry was the QB in the past three games but won't start, and it could be related to discipline. Malik Rosier will start instead. He started six games and threw six TDs and five INTs. The Badgers alternated wins and losses for the last half of the year. They beat Purdue in three overtimes but were blown out by Minnesota in the finale. I feel like this one will come down to motivation. Who wants to win more when both teams probably expected to have better seasons?
Miami 27, Wisconsin 24
Friday
Camping World Bowl in Orlando
No. 16 West Virginia (8-3) vs. No. 20 Syracuse (9-3), 5:15 p.m. ESPN
The Orange was one of the biggest surprises in the entire country, forget just the ACC. After a 4-0 start, they gave Clemson absolutely everything it could handle in Death Valley. The other losses were
against Pitt in a close contest and a blowout against Notre Dame. The season ended with a solid victory over Boston College. The Mountaineers lost to Iowa State in midseason, but had an opportunity to get to the Big 12 title game going into the last two weeks of the season. But losses to Oklahoma State and then in a shootout to Oklahoma, playoff participant by a score of 59-56, ended those hopes. WVU QB Will Grier is sitting out the game to get ready for the NFL draft. Eric Dungey is playing for Syracuse, which does have Alton Robinson sitting out. He recorded 10 sacks this season. I like Syracuse to end its storybook season with a good win.
Syracuse 37, West Virginia 30
I went 0-1 in Thursday's picks as Georgia Tech got destroyed by Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Boston College-Boise State First Responder Bowl never left the first quarter. BC led 7-0 when lightning struck. And it never stopped. The game was canceled.
For this post, I'll go through Friday's game.
Thursday
Walk-On's Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana
Temple (8-4) vs. Duke (7-5), 1:30 p.m. ESPN
The Owls had an up and down season. They began with losses to Villanova and Buffalo but went 8-2 the rest of the way, with wins over Maryland, No. 20 Cincinnati, Houston, and South Florida. The other two losses came to Boston College and UCF in competitive-ish games. Like last season, Duke started 4-0, including wins over Army, which went 10-2, and Big Ten West champ Northwestern, but then hit some rough patches. Losses to Virginia Tech and Virginia were never in doubt, and the Blue Devils gave up 54 points to Pitt and were blown out by Clemson and Wake Forest to end the season. A win over Miami was the best thing the team did in the second half.
Temple 30, Duke 24
New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium
Miami (7-5) vs. Wisconsin (7-5), 5:15 p.m. ESPN
These teams faced off last year as more successful squads in the Orange Bowl, Miami's home field, but the Badgers came away with the 34-24 win. The Hurricanes led 14-3 after the first quarter, but Wisconsin scored 21 points in the second to take control. The Hurricanes started 5-1 in 2018, but then lost four straight to UVa, Boston College, Duke, and Georgia Tech. But they ended with easy victories over Virginia Tech and Pitt. N'Kosi Perry was the QB in the past three games but won't start, and it could be related to discipline. Malik Rosier will start instead. He started six games and threw six TDs and five INTs. The Badgers alternated wins and losses for the last half of the year. They beat Purdue in three overtimes but were blown out by Minnesota in the finale. I feel like this one will come down to motivation. Who wants to win more when both teams probably expected to have better seasons?
Miami 27, Wisconsin 24
Friday
Camping World Bowl in Orlando
No. 16 West Virginia (8-3) vs. No. 20 Syracuse (9-3), 5:15 p.m. ESPN
The Orange was one of the biggest surprises in the entire country, forget just the ACC. After a 4-0 start, they gave Clemson absolutely everything it could handle in Death Valley. The other losses were
Syracuse 37, West Virginia 30
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