Champs Sports Bowl: NC State Wolfpack Set to Feast on Distracted Mountaineers

James BrownDec 25, 2010

The West Virginia Mountaineers have a major distraction as they face the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Champs Sports Bowl. Current and beloved coach Bill Stewart will be replaced at the after this bowl game. If that wasn’t enough, it was recently announced that starting center Joe Madsen, defensive lineman Josh Taylor, and defensive back Eain Smith are ineligible to compete in the bowl for academic reasons.

Even with all of the outside distractions, online sportsbook BetPhoenix still have the Mountaineers listed as 2.5 point favorites in this bowl game.

The Mountaineers have share of the Big East title but will not play in a BCS game and instead will host the North Carolina State Wolf Pack and head Coach Tom O’Brien. O’Brien insists that although the team collapsed late in the season they are still excited about this bowl game. "Our team could not be more excited about the opportunity to play in the Champs Sports Bowl," O'Brien said. "A trip to Orlando is a great reward for their hard work this season and we are happy to have a quality opponent like West Virginia. We hope that our fans will paint the town red."

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The Wolfpack have one of the most talented quarterbacks that no one has ever heard of. Russell Wilson is one of the better signal callers in college football, but rarely gets the attention he deserves. Wilson has thrown for 3,288 yards and 26 scores and is mobile enough to put up big numbers on the ground with 394 more yards and nine touchdowns.

The Mountaineers have a very talented running back in Noel Devine who is struggling this year, although his name was mentioned as a preseason Heisman candidate. The Wolfpack defense has excelled this year at stopping the run and only allows 113 yards per game on the ground to the opposition. This will put all the pressure on Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith to get the job done.

Wilson will finally get the national recognition he deserves against a tough Mountaineer defense.

The Wolfpack are 21-8-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 30 games as an underdog, 3-0-1 ATS in their last four Bowl games, and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Mountaineers are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 against an ACC opponent, 1-4 ATS in their last five games as a favorite of 0.5-3.0 and 0-4 ATS in their last four Bowl games as a favorite.

The Mountaineers have too many outside distractions to focus on this game and will leave losers as the Wolfpack and Wilson win in a big way.

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at mregaw@gmail.com.

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