College Football: Russell Athletic Bowl Odds And Prediction

Dec 3, 2016; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Skyler Howard (3) runs the ball during the second quarter against the Baylor Bears at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

Russell Athletic Bowl Odds And Prediction

Now that the holiday is over, we kick into bowl week in earnest! There are four games on Wednesday. Next up is the Russell Athletic Bowl!

More from College Football Odds

You will still get my picks against the spread and point wagers just like I did all season long. I didn’t have a great regular season, but I can make it look a whole lot better with a strong bowl season! It was a decent start on Saturday, but just in case you missed any:
Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Geico Las Vegas Bowl
Raycom Camellia Bowl
AutoNation Cure Bowl
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Miami Beach Bowl
Boca Raton Bowl
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Dollar General Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
St. Petersburg Bowl
Quick Lane Bowl
Camping World Independence Bowl
Zaxby’s Heart Of Dallas Bowl
Northrup Grumman Military Bowl
National Funding Holiday Bowl
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl
New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Oct 29, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Brad Kaaya (15) throws a pass against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 4th quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeats Miami 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

(16)West Virginia vs. Miami(FL)(-3.5) at Orlando, FL(4):

West Virginia(10-2, 7-2 BIg 12(10):

Wins: vs. Missouri(26-11), vs. Youngstown State(38-21), vs. BYU(35-32), vs. Kansas State(17-16), at Texas Tech(48-17), vs. TCU(34-10), vs. Kansas(48-21), at Texas(24-20), at Iowa State(49-19), vs. Baylor(24-21)

Losses: at Oklahoma State(20-37), vs. Oklahoma(28-56)

Record vs. bowl teams: 4-2

The Mountaineers went Oh-for-Oklahoma this year, but beat everyone else. Youngstown State is in the FCS Championship, so that isn’t your garden variety 1-AA cupcake. That said, the consensus is that the Big 12(10) was down this year, and the conference as a whole did little to disprove that. What to we really know about West Virginia? Well, Skyler Howard is a very capable quarterback with good receivers, and Justin Crawford is an underrated back. Rushel Shell is no slouch either. This is a very good offense, and a defense that has looked good against teams without Oklahoma in their names.

Miami(FL)(8-4, 5-3 ACC):

Wins: vs. Florida A&M(70-3), vs. Florida Atlantic(38-10), at Appalachian State(45-10), at Georgia Tech(35-21), vs. Pittsburgh(51-28), at Virginia(34-14), at North Carolina State(27-13), vs. Duke(40-21)

Losses: vs. Florida State(19-20), vs. North Carolina(13-20), at Virginia Tech(16-37), at Notre Dame(27-30)

Record vs. bowl teams: 4-3

Aside from a four game mid-season swoon, the Hurricanes had a nice season. The loss to Notre Dame is a glaring example of how poorly this team can play, but Brad Kaaya held the team together for most of the season. Miami is one of the more balanced teams West Virginia has faced, but they don’t have the freakishly athletic wide receivers that the Mountaineers dealt with in the Big 12(10). Mark Walton has the makings of a special back.

Prediction:

This is going to be a close game, and a pretty low scoring one I would think. Taking the under on 58.5 seems like a safer bet than a spread pick. Looking at this closely, Miami looks a bit more tested that West Virginia does, and this is essentially a home game for the Hurricanes. And we all know the history on Big 12(10) teams in bowl games recently

Pick: Miami(FL)

Next: 2016 Capital One Bowl Mania Picks

Stay tuned for the rest of the bowl picks against the spread, and our DFS picks for the NBA, NFL, and even some NHL action! We have something for everyone.