Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Gator Bowl preview and pick

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Gator Bowl preview and pick

    We'll go with the Maryland Terrapins to continue their dominance of the West Virginia Mountaineers and win the 59th Gator Bowl this afternoon in Jacksonville, Florida.

    23rd-ranked Maryland won nine of their last ten games after early losses to Northern Illinois and Florida State. They finished second in the ACC behind No. 9 Florida State and have covered four straight. The Terrapins allowed just 16.6 points per game this season while averaging 30.4 ppg offensively.

    The Terps are 20-6 ATS as a favorite the last three seasons. They appeared in the Peach Bowl last season and routed the Tennessee Volunteers 30-3 and in three Gator Bowl appearances have two wins and a tie.

    The 20th-ranked Mountaineers followed a 1-4 start with the best turnaround in school history and a share of the Big East regular season title. They are thin at wide receiver though following the suspension of Travis Garvin and an injury cloud over leading receiver Chris Henry whose 25.3 yards per catch led the nation this season. West Virginia played in last season's Continental Tire Bowl and were beaten 48-22 by the Virginia Cavaliers. They are 0-3 lifetime in the Gator Bowl.

    These teams have met three times in the last three seasons and Maryland has won 34-7, 48-17 and 32-20. They last met back on September 20 this season when Terps QB Scott McBrien led Maryland to four first-half touchdowns and a 27-0 lead. McBrien completed 14 of 24 passes on the day and Bruce Perry rushed for 79 yards and two TD's on 14 carries. Mountaineers QB Rasheed Marshall went 2-for-7 for just 25 yards before being pulled late in the third quarter. Marshall completed just 49.7% of his attempts this season.

    Of course West Virginia have improved since then, but the question is have they improved enough to win or get within a field goal of the Terps? We think not and will back Maryland to win and cover today.

    Recommended Play: Maryland -4
Working...
X