The Minnesota Golden gophers and the Washington Cougars travel south to sunny San Diego to face-off in the National Funding Holiday Bowl. The contest is slated to start on Tuesday, December 27th at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on the ESPN Network. Heading into this game, the Cougars are a -10 favorite and the over/under rests at 61.
The Cougars and the Golden Gophers have met up five different times throughout the programs tenures, and it’s Washington state that holds the slight edge 3-2. The last time the schools squared off was in 1988 when Washington State won in Minneapolis, 41-9.
As of now, it wasn’t even a guarantee if the Golden Gophers would play in the National Funding Holiday Bowl. Multiple suspensions to Minnesota’s team were doled out by the big wigs at the top. Unfortunately, there was an off-campus incident that involved an alleged sexual assault that occurred of campus. The Golden Gopher teammates of the suspended players were going to boycott this contest if the penalties were not lifted by the university.
Minnesota (8-4):
In his first year at the helm of the Golden Gophers, Tracy Claeys has done as good of a job as one could have asked for considering the circumstances. Minnesota strung together two different win streaks of four and three games, respectively. In fact, three of the Golden Gophers losses came to top 25 teams Penn State, the Cornhuskers and Wisconsin. The only other defeat was in also in Minneapolis to Iowa on October 8th, 14-7.
Starting quarterback Mitch Leidner has not had the productive season that he was expected to have from the pocket this season. In 2016, Leidner has completed a lowly 56.4 percent of his passes for 2,040 yards, seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In large part to the lack of talent the Golden Gophers had at the wide receiver position.
The running game is where Minnesota hangs its hat and tail back Rodney Smith has been efficient. The bruising runner has toted the rock 223 times this season, racking-up 1,084 yards and a team-high 15 trips to pay-dirt. Quarterback Mitch Leidner also found ways to make plays with his feet, running for almost 400 yards and another 10 scores.
The wide outs were a constant weak spot for the Golden Gophers offense. Only one receiver could find his way into the open field to help balance Minnesota’s attack. Senior Drew Wolitarsky managed to grab 61 balls for 787 yards and five touchdowns.
Minnesota’s defense has consistently kept the Golden Gophers in football games. The unit as a whole ranks 32nd in the country in scoring defense, allowing 22.9 points per game. The secondary was their weak spot, ranking 68th in the nation allowing almost 230 yards per contest.
Washington State (8-4):
The Cougars were in the running to make the PAC-12 title game and all they had to do was beat their rivals the Washington Huskies. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan-out as Washington State was destroyed 45-17. However, Mike Leach’s club was able to string together an eight-game winning streak before that. Now, they find themselves in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.
The strength for the Cougars lies at the game’s most important position, quarterback. Signal-caller Luke Falk has been stellar in 2016, completing 71 percent of his passes for 4,204 yards and 37 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. In fact, his productivity was good enough for NFL scouts to move him into the first round for the upcoming draft.
Washington State can move the chains via the ground also. A three-headed monster in the backfield leads the way for the Cougars. Gerard Wicks leads the trio with 11 rushing touchdowns, and he’s picked up 449 yards on 83 carries. His partner in crime Jamal Morrow also has pitched in 562 yards and five scores and has caught 43 balls for another four touchdowns.
Three receivers do most of the damage when Luke Falk looks to gash opposing teams down the field. Altogether, they have reeled in almost 220 catches for almost 2,300 yards and 25 scores. Wide out Gabe Marks leads this unit with 85 catches for 867 yards and 13 touchdowns. Receiver River Cracraft who has over 50 catches for 700 yards is also out for the season.
Defensively, the Cougars are strong up front, allowing only 133 yards over the ground (28th). Their weakness is their secondary, where Washington State is giving up 283 yards a contest which is 121st in the nation.
Trends and Notes:
The Golden Gophers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. PAC-12.
The Cougars are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. Big Ten.
The Under is 6-2 in the Golden Gophers last 8 non-conference games.
The Over is 4-1-1 in the Cougars last 6 games overall.
Former NFL players Phil McConkey, Steve Young and Barry Sanders all were Holiday Bowl MVP’s.
The Holiday Bowl was started in 1978 and has been played every year leading up to this match-up.
Game Prediction:
Well it’s official, the Minnesota Golden Gophers boycott of their bowl game has ended. Also, the previously suspended players will remain just that, out. That hurts this Golden Gopher team, as key pieces to their secondary will be missing against the pass-happy Cougars.
Washington State closed out 2016 with two big loses after an eight game winning streak got them on the verge of a PAC-12 title. Now, the Cougars must regroup and get back to their winning ways against a feisty, but under-manned Minnesota club.
The one real problem for the Cougar’s defense, is their secondary is horrible against the pass. Colorado and Washington exposed that during the Cougar’s two defeats to end the year. Fortunately for Washington State, that is the one thing that Minnesota can’t do.
Instead, they will rely on their solid run stop defense (28th), and keep the Golden Gophers one dimensional. Jump on this game early and take the Cougars to be up on a depleted Minnesota team by a touchdown at half-time. Take Washington -6 at half-time and get paid before the Golden Gophers knew what hit em’.
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