Military Bowl Presented by GoBowling.com: Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6) vs Tulane Green Wave (11-2)
What you need to know: These teams have gone in opposite directions as the season has gone on. Virginia Tech struggled a lot early on, starting the season 1-3, and even 2-4. The Hokies quietly started to figure things out on offense as the year went on which allowed them to make this game. Kyron Drones has proven to be the solution at QB for the Hokies, once he took over the offense has lift off. The Brent Pry era was off to a rough start but now he has this in the right direction. Tulane was in the driver’s seat for a NY6 bowl most of the year but they lumbered to the finish line, escaping against multiple mediocre to bad AAC teams before it all came crashing down in the conference championship against SMU. Tulane suffered a lot of injuries on both sides of the ball but the offensive line in particular was hit the hardest. Willie Fritz did an impressive job building this program but he’s off to Houston so he won’t be coaching this game. Tulane’s top receiver Chris Brazzell is in the portal and won’t play, this is especially problematic because Tulane might be down 2 of their other top receivers due to injuries. QB Michael Pratt has not hit the portal yet, but it’s something to keep an eye on because he always could. GoBowling.com is exactly what you think it is, it’s a site to promote finding a place to bowl. Very odd sponsor for this particular bowl though.
Previous Meetings: Perhaps the most bizarre thing about these two is they were in a conference together for a decade and didn’t play once! From 1922-1932 they were both in the 20+ team Southern conference. They finally got together later on and they’ve faced off 9 times, Virginia Tech having a narrow lead in the series 5-4. Oddly enough Tulane hosted the first 6 matchups between these two, 4 occurred while Tulane was in the SEC. The most interesting result between the two was in Frank Beamer’s first year at Virginia Tech in 1987, Tulane won that game 57-38!
Motivation Edge: Virginia Tech once held one of the longest bowl streaks in history, but now it has been a while since they’ve been to one, they’re excited to be back. Tulane was expecting to make a NY6 bowl but lost, it really feels like they’re limping to the finish.
Best Bet: This is a stinky line, it’s at Virginia Tech -7.5 currently and it’s grown from -5.5 so the public is riding the Hokies despite them being the team you wouldn’t expect to be favored. Your best bet might be staying away from this game.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: West Virginia Mountaineers (8-4) vs North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4)
What you need to know: West Virginia was one of the surprise teams of the season, everyone buried Neal Brown this offseason saying he was done and going to get fired but instead he led this team back to a good season. West Virginia is led by a strong rushing attack featuring QB Garrett Greene and a pair of RBs. The Mountaineers have a solid defense to pair with that. North Carolina seemed like they were capable of a lot more, at one point the Tar Heels were ranked in the Top 10 and undefeated but it all came crashing down. A big issue for the Tar Heels was their run defense capsized as the year went on. Unfortunately this feels like a pattern for Mack Brown’s squad as this is the 2nd year in a row they fell apart late in the year. The challenge for North Carolina in this bowl game is that Drake Maye will opt out as he’s off to the NFL, the good news is the real star of this offense Omarion Hampton is still around, he was only a freshman in a very deep backfield but his talent was so undeniable that he took over a lion’s share of the carries as the year went on. This bowl is of course a cult favorite among college football fans with a fun interactive Twitter account and of course the Mayo bath for the winning coach!
Previous Meetings: Oddly enough despite the close proximity of these programs they have only met twice and like this game both meetings occurred in bowl games, each team has won 1 of them. The 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl was the most recent one, both teams were 8-4 in that matchup as well. A late Pat White TD pass tied it up, and some kicker named Pat McAfee kicked the extra point that proved to the difference in a 1 point game, wonder what that kicker is up to these days. 🤔
Motivation Edge: I give it to West Virginia here, the Mountaineers are excited to be in this game after rallying all season and proving people wrong. North Carolina has to be disappointed with how their season ended since it started with such promise.
Best Bet: West Virginia -5.5 – This is a bad matchup for North Carolina, West Virginia runs the ball well and North Carolina can’t stop the run. It also doesn’t help that North Carolina doesn’t have Drake Maye for this.
DirectTV Holiday Bowl: Louisville Cardinals (10-3) vs USC Trojans (7-5)
What you need to know: Louisville is in year one under Jeff Brohm and it has gone very well. The Cardinals picked up some wins in close games and made the ACC championship. RB Jahmar Jordan is the key to Louisville’s offense, if he runs well the offense goes. Jack Plummer can get hot at times too. USC had a disappointing season under Lincoln Riley, their offense led by Caleb Williams was still very good but it was the defense that constantly struggled to make stops. Williams as expected will not play in this game but both Miller Moss and freshman Malachi Nelson are promising prospects who could show out in this game.
Previous Meetings: First time matchup!! This is intriguing these are two bigger brands that haven’t played before. Louisville also surprisingly became a factor in recruiting California recently (though that was mostly Satterfield).
Motivation Edge: I don’t know if either team is happy to be here. USC’s goals this season were clear, they wanted a national title and fell well short of it. Louisville thought they were going to the Orange Bowl but Florida State being robbed of a playoff spot took that Orange Bowl birth out from under Louisville.
Best Bet: USC +7.5 or Over 58 – I see USC’s offense being good enough to keep them within a score in this game, if you aren’t convinced of that USC has been a fantastic over team all year and 58 is a very low total for a game involving the Trojans defense.
Taxact Texas Bowl: Texas A&M Aggies (7-5) vs Oklahoma State Cowboys
What you need to know: Texas A&M had yet another disappointing season, this one led to Jimbo Fisher being fired. The Aggies offense struggled a lot of the year and seemingly any time their offense played well their defense struggled. There’s quite a few opt outs and transfers for A&M thanks to the change including a lot of receivers. Oklahoma State was a wild team to track all year, they struggled early on because they rotated 3 QBs, and it hit rock bottom in a 33-7 home loss to South Alabama. Oklahoma State settled on Alan Bowman as the starter, found a rhythm on offense and eventually beat some of the best teams in the Big 12 including Oklahoma in the last Bedlam game. Oklahoma State then fell apart again late with a surprising 45-3 loss to UCF but they still made the Big 12 championship. RB Ollie Gordon is the focus of this offense, and won the Doak Walker award. You know we’re getting close to the New Year when we start seeing bowls sponsored by Tax prep companies.
Previous Meetings: We have a matchup of former Big 12 rivals! These programs were in the Big 12 for several years and played a total of 28 times with Texas A&M holding an 18-10 edge. These teams met in this same bowl as recently as 2019 where Oklahoma State took a 14-0 lead but Texas A&M rallied back to win 24-21.
Best Bet: Texas A&M -3 – A&M opened as favorites by Vegas but nearly 90% of bets are on Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State is inconsistent enough for me to fade the public on this one.
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