Dan: Wake -3When like foes meet in a bowl game, it is generally thought to be an advantage to the loser of the first match up. It’s hard to beat a team twice. I’m not sure I buy that, but Wake played one of its worst games of the year against Navy. I think the weeks off will have given Grobe some time to shake up the players and get them back on course. Plus extra time is always good for practicing defense against the triple option. Expect the Wake defense to play inspired football and cover against Navy fairly easily.
Wake 24 Navy 10
Matt: Wake (-3)
If Jim Grobe is half the coach everyone says he is, there is no way Wake loses to Navy twice in one season. But the Wake game I’m more fired up for is on January 11th when the #1 ranked North Carolina hoops team comes to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Wow! What a game. Wake has quietly risen up to #10 in the rankings, and I’ve been predicting since day one that they would shock the hoops world and beat Carolina at home. Although the Deacs haven’t really beaten anyone yet (Baylor is their best win), I’ve seen them in person a few times and they are really good. They have the athletes to hang with Carolina. In fact, I think they are a legit threat to make it to Detroit and the Final four, along with UNC, Pitt and Louisville.
Wake 21 Navy 20
Matt: Navy (+3)
Wake Forest has been unimpressive all year and I do not expect things to change in an 11:00 a.m. bowl game before what figures to be a pro-Navy crowd in Washington.
Navy 24 Wake Forest 21
Doug: Wake -3
Wow, we debut with the Eagle Bank Bowl! The inaugural edition! Other than the fact that people could care less about college football in DC and that the weather is going to be lousy in late December, DC is a great place to have a bowl game. First thing to work on. A new logo. Cmon, that's the best they could come up with?? That kind of logo is just asking for a Southern Miss-Central Michigan game in a couple years.
I know Navy beat Wake earlier in the year, but Wake had six turnovers in that game. Navy is really not all that good this year. They have their Hawaiian quarterback back now, but Wake has had an opportunity to play against Navy’s option attack and will be better adjusted this time around. Wake’s offense has been lousy this year, but Navy’s defense is turrrrible. If Notre Dame can run it up and down the field on Navy, Wake should be able to put up some points in this game. Wake better be ready to play though because Navy is always ready to play and has come close to knocking off Utah and BC in their last two bowl games.
I remember betting on Connecticut to beat Wake Forest in the Tire Bowl last year, and Wake absolutely blew UConn off the field. I guess I’m holding onto that game in the back of my mind. Maybe Grobe gets his teams ready for their bowl games.
By the way, isn’t it strange that there are so many Hawaiian guys on the Navy team?? Why is that?? Is it a Pearl Harbor thing?? Do Hawaii kids grow up thinking that Navy is the pinnacle? It seems like the best players on the Navy teams in recent years are often Hawaiian guys.
Wake Forest 35 Navy 31
2 comments:
I'm confused Matt. You pick Wake to cover (-3) yet also pick them to win 21-20. Something's gotta give. Is your brain deep-fried from Finals that simple arithmetic becomes derivative equations?
What's the buzz on campus about the bowl game? Has anyone cared about football since hoops started? Are there student bus trips organized for the dozens of Deacon faithful that want to subject themselves to this bright idea of a game?
I can't see the impetus behind the addition of this bowl and selection of the DC site. Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one?? Is sloppy football in grueling outdoor conditions really what DCians are clamoring for? Is there that much support for Navy football?
There seriously needs to be 4-6 bowls lopped off pronto so we can have better matchups in each game and not insult football fans (viewers with money on the game and the scant denizens in attendance) with this garbage.
Good catch - how about we go with Wake 24-20.
There is NO buzz on campus for this game. I don't know a single person who has even talked about the game, let alone made plans to go. Wake is definitely a hoops school.
The people who are probably most pissed about this game is Navy. They used to have a standing invitation to the bowl in San Diego, and now they're going to be loading up a few buses and heading to DC to play in miserable conditions.
Post a Comment