Miami’s Bowl Game Track Record Is Not Good

The Miami Hurricanes find themselves in their fourth consecutive bowl game, but will it turn out better for The U this time around? Miami has lost its past six bowl games, which includes being outscored 80-44 the past three years. The Hurricanes look to end their bowl drought when they take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

Miami’s offense has been Jekyll and Hyde so far this season, averaging 42.5 points in victories compared with 18.8 in losses. Quarterback Brad Kaaya has hit his stride over the month of November, as the junior has thrown for 1266 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one pick in Miami’s past four outings. Tight end David Njoku has been the biggest beneficiary of Kaaya’s improved play, with the junior catching five TDs in the past four games.

The ’Canes defense has been stingy all season long, limiting opponents to 18.9 points per game, and has allowed more than 21 points on only three occasions. Miami is one of the best run-stopping units in the nation, holding opponents to just 3.5 yards per rush.

West Virginia runs a well-balanced offense that ranked inside the top 30 in the nation in both passing yards and rushing yards. Aside from a couple of poor outings, Skyler Howard has been a consistent presence at the quarterback position. Howard has only thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in a game three times this season and has thrown for seven TDs with no picks in the past two. Running back Justin Crawford has been an anomaly at running back, as he has five games of 100-plus rushing yards and five of 40 or fewer yards.

The Mountaineers have played an aggressive, bend-don’t-break style of defense that has them ranked 77th in yards allowed but 36th in points against. Cornerback Rasul Douglas has been great for West Virginia, recording 62 tackles and eight interceptions on the season.   

Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick

The West Virginia Mountaineers were listed as 1.5-point underdogs on the Sportsbook NCAA football line at Sportsbook and most sportsbooks tracked by Odds Shark. No total was available early in the week, check out the odds pages here or Sportsbook for updates.

Handicapping prediction models run by the computers at Odds Shark picked a 36-34 result in favor of the Mountaineers. Check the picks page or matchup report during the week as factors may cause that prediction to be re-run. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NCAAF matchups here.

West Virginia Mountaineers vs Miami-FL Hurricanes Matchup

Team Betting Records & Power Rankings

The Miami-FL Hurricanes currently sport a record of 8-4, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 8-4 ATS. The West Virginia Mountaineers are 10-2 and 5-7 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Miami-FL Hurricanes post a 6-6 over under record this season, while the West Virginia Mountaineers have gone 5-7 against the number. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Miami-FL vs West Virginia injuries news.

This game matches up the No. 24 (Miami-FL Hurricanes) and the No. 30 (West Virginia Mountaineers) teams in the league, according to our current NCAA football Power Rankings at Odds Shark.

Statistical Matchup

The game also pits Miami-FL's No. 35-ranked offense, averaging 34.58 PPG, against a West Virginia defense that ranks No. 36 this week at 23.42 PPG. The Miami-FL aerial game is averaging 273.5 yards per game, more than the West Virginia Mountaineers secondary allows through the air, 255.67 YPG per game.

In comparing defenses, the West Virginia Mountaineers own the league's No. 21-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 131.75 yards per game when on the road. Miami-FL, on the other hand, rates No. 50 this week in generating rushing yards at home.

Brad Kaaya throttled the Blue Devils defense in his team's most recent action, throwing for 396 yards as Miami-FL handed Duke a 40-21 defeat.