Guaranteed Rate Bowl Prediction
The final game on Tuesday’s college football bowl schedule will take place at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ when West Virginia takes on Minnesota at 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. Will the Golden Gophers cover as a 5-point favorite or is there a better bet on the board?
Game Snapshot
245 West Virginia Mountaineers (+5) vs. 246 Minnesota Golden Gophers (-5); o/u 45
10:15 p.m. ET, Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
TV: ESPN
West Virginia Mountaineers Game Notes
West Virginia redshirt senior QB Jarret Doege completed 16-of-21 passes for 170 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Saturday’s 34-28 win over Kansas. “west virginia football is just a never ending vortex of debates about whether jarret doege is the worst good quarterback of all time or the best bad quarterback of all time,” tweeted the Smoking Musket as this game went into halftime. Doege’s never really showed more than he did his first two years at Bowling Green. And that was just good enough to be a middle-tier, hole-plugging Power 5 starter. West Virginia’s been wondering if the grass would be greener on the other side, and they’ll find out next year with Doege’s eligibility pending exhausting. But first, the 6-6 Mountaineers are going bowling.
Minnesota Golden Gophers Game Notes
Minnesota redshirt senior QB Tanner Morgan announced his intent to return to the school in 2022. Morgan (6’2/215) will indeed return for a sixth and final season with the Gophers, that will come as good news to some fans, and not so good news to others. Morgan has started 38 straight games for the Gophers, with his first start coming on October 26, 2018, and is the winningest quarterback in program history. He enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 when he threw for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns, but took a massive step back in 2021, completing 141-of-236 passes for 1,935 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Minnesota finished with an 8-4 season, but some fans will wonder what might have been, or what 2022 could be, if Morgan were not under center.
West Virginia vs. Minnesota Betting Prediction
The Mountaineers are just 5-17 against the spread in their last 22 neutral site games, are 1-4 against the number in their last five games when facing an opponent with a winning record and are 3-13 at the betting window in their last 16 bowl games overall. On the other side, the Golden Gophers are 4-0 against the spread in their last four bowl games, are 6-2 against the number in their last eight games overall and are 9-4 against the spread in their last 13 games as a favorite.
TAILGREETER CURE BOWL BETTING PREDICTION: MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS -5