Marshall vs. Maryland 1:30 pm ESPN - It is always cool to see teams who have not played in a bowl game for a couple years get the opportunity to play in one again. This is Maryland's first bowl since 2010 and Marshall's first one since 2011. Both teams had respectable years with Marshall nearly winning Conference USA. Maryland had a bounce back year with Randy Edsall, and beat the teams they were supposed for the greater part minus a bad Wake Forest defeat. My only real concern is Maryland's injuries might limit their potential missing C.J. Brown at quarterback and Stefon Diggs at wide receiver. Terrapins will need to find some offense in this one. All of Marshall's four losses came against bowl teams, and the only game they were blown out was the final one against Rice. Quarterback Rakeem Cato is a beast for the Herd, and he can definitely have a big game against an average Maryland defense. I am very tempted to pick Marshall here but I am going to go with Maryland. Tough, gritty win. MARY 23-21
Texas Bowl
Syracuse vs. Minnesota 5:00 pm ESPN - This is Minnesota's second straight trip to the Texas Bowl, but this year, the Golden Gophers are much improved. Sometimes bowl games will display a team on the rise, and they will completely blow out the team they are playing catching the eye of all national media. After years of futility, Syracuse is playing in their third bowl game in four years, and a change of pace this year playing in Houston. The Orange definitely rely on their defense to make plays for the most part. If you look at their wins and it is usually pretty ugly. Same goes for Minnesota meaning we might not see a ton of points in this one. I think it comes down to who can pass the ball better. Both teams are in the 100's when it comes to throwing the football, but if one team can do it better, I think they win the game. Minnesota avoids another Texas Bowl collapse, and wins this one going away. MINN 20-10
Fight Hunger Bowl
BYU vs. Washington 8:30 pm ESPN - To me, this has potential to be game of the day. Basically what I want to watch in this game is Kyle Von Noy versus Bishop Sankey. That's a matchup of a generation there. I expect worlds colliding. Alright, I am making a bigger deal out of it than it already is but still it should be fun to watch these two go at it. BYU needs to find a way to control the clock, and do something on offense. They are a solid defensive team, but their offense is very inconsistent. If the offense comes to play, they can keep Sankey and Washington off the field. As for the Huskies, they are without a coach which always makes me leery. Currently, teams without their head coaches are 1-3 thus far. I feel like Keith Price is due for a big game as he did not really impress his senior year. Washington is a good football team. They lost to Oregon, Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA. No real bad losses there. Huskies take control and win this one going away. WASH 33-21
Bowl Record: 6-2
Charlie.
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