What could happen in the Military Bowl between Temple and Wake Forest?
On Tuesday night, the college football bowl season will continue with a handful of games after the Christmas holiday. One of them will have the Military Bowl take place between Temple and Wake Forest. This game is set to occur at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD.
The story coming into this game has been about a scandal with Wake Forest off the field. Officially named “WakeyLeaks,” a radio announcer for the school gave the team’s opponents game plan tips on what the Demon Deacons could do during games. This shouldn’t have an effect on the Military Bowl, but it will be a topic of conversation throughout the game on Tuesday night.
Aside from this, Wake Forest struggled mightily to close out the season. They began the year 5-1 but lost five of their last six games to finish 6-6 and barely make it into the bowl season. The team has had trouble scoring points by putting up over 20 just once over the last six games.
To achieve some offensive success, it will likely come down to the running game. Matt Colburn, Cade Carney, and quarterback John Wolford have made this a running team with the latter player only throwing for about 1,600 yards in the 2016 season. He also had more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (7). How many rushing yards can Wake Forest put up to help push forward this offense?
Temple recently lost head coach Matt Rhule to Baylor, as the school signed him away on a multi-year contract. So, Ed Foley will be the interim coach for the Military Bowl.
The Owls had a strong season, which led to Rhule being a coaching candidate for schools in the Power Five conferences. After starting the season 3-3, Temple won out in their last seven games to achieve a 10-3 record, including the AAC Championship game.
The leaders of the pack have been the two-man rushing attack of Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead, both of whom had 918 rushing yards during the season and combined for 27 touchdowns on the ground. Will they add to their totals?
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Temple, despite losing their coach, has been red-hot. Wake Forest hasn’t looked anywhere close to their early season selves and should inspire little confidence in them winning the Military Bowl. This will lead to the Owls walking out victoriously, 31-10.