There’s no way to sugar coat it, the Camping World Bowl wasn’t exactly the postseason game West Virginia had in mind when it began the 2018 season just a few months ago. Syracuse, well, that’s another story. They’re quite happy to be here today. And so we’ve got a very interesting matchup in this year’s game for all the leagues at Wannamakeabet.com
WVU was a team with Big 12 Championship Game aspirations. But a pair of tough losses to end November vs. Oklahoma and Ok State kept the Mountaineers just out of reach of the final four Bowl picture. As a result, star quarterback Will Grier, wide receiver Gary Jennings and offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste will be skipping the bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft. A sad testimony to the state of affairs in post season college football these days.
But that doesn’t change the fact that this is an old Big East matchup against historical rival Syracuse. And there’s certainly a lot to play for with the Orange. They can cap off their best season since 2001 and can also get their first 10-win effort in the same span.
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The Line: Syracuse -3.0 ( O/U 66.5)
Another way to view this game for the Mountaineers is that it’s almost a preview of next season. And this may be the new normal for Bowl games. Grier is out, so coach Dana Holgorsen will turn to backup Jack Allison to run the offense. Allison, a former quarterback at Miami, only attempted 10 passes this season but is being groomed to be Grier’s replacement and seems ready to take the baton.
West Virginia won’t be the only team missing key players for this bowl. The Orange will be without defensive end Alton Robinson and nose tackle McKinley Williams for what is only being deemed as “personal reasons.” Are those NFL prep classes? We’re not sure. Robinson, in particular, is a huge loss as he was tied for second in the ACC with 10 sacks (only 0.5 sacks behind conference leader Clelin Ferrell from Clemson).
While the Cuse offense gets most of the attention, their pass rush has been great all year and was second in the ACC only to Clemson. With Cajuste out for West Virginia, Robinson could have been a factor off of the edge. Williams’ absence is big in its own right, however, as the interior of West Virginia’s line has been suspect all season.
The Prediction
When the game first posted Vegas put West Virginia as a 6.5 point favorite. And this looked like an pretty close game on paper before all the announcements of key players planning to miss. While neither team is at full strength, the losses of Grier, Jennings and Cajuste appear bigger to the betting public. The two losses on the Cuse defensive line aren’t as significant. Take Syracuse for the win and cover.