Holiday Bowl: Preview, Predictions for Minnesota vs. Washington State

The 2016 Holiday Bowl will feature a solid matchup between the Big Ten and Pac-12 outside of the New Year's Six. The Washington State Cougars finished 8-4 but were a single game away from clinching the Pac-12's North Division before a season-ending loss in what amounted to a North Division championship game against in-state rival Washington.

On the other side of the field, the Minnesota Golden Gophers had their fair share of success this season, also finishing 8-4. Unlike Washington State's win over then-No. 15 Stanford, however, the Gophers' season is notably devoid of "signature wins," as they lost both of their games against ranked opponents.

In the end, the Holiday Bowl will feature two overachieving eight-win teams that won the games they should have won but that came up short on breakout wins as the season wore on. That sets up entertaining finishes to the 2016 season for both programs.

This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the Cougars and Gophers, the first meeting since 1988 and the first game in the series to not be held in Minneapolis. Washington State leads the series 3-2.

Viewing Information

Date: Dec. 27, 2016

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego

TV: ESPN

Odds: Washington State, -5.5

Tale of the Tape

Here, you'll see some of the more bland numbers from the Gophers, especially when juxtaposed to the output of Washington State's offense. Something is going to need to shift for Minnesota in this game to reach that nine-win plateau, but the Cougars haven't faced off against a front seven quite like Minnesota's yet this season.

Keys to Victory for Minnesota

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Be Unpredictable

The Gophers have been fairly bland this season, relying heavily on the run game. The Gophers were second from the bottom in the Big Ten in passing yards this season but managed 186.4 rushing yards per game—fifth in the conference. That all adds up to a ho-hum offense that isn't terribly imaginative. To score points against the Cougars, the Gophers will have to do something other than two halfback dives, an incompletion and a punt on the majority of their offensive drives.

Find a Special Teams Spark

Since neither the offense nor defense has been particularly stellar this season, the Gophers could instead rely on unconventional scoring plays—or at least momentum plays that set up the offense with a short field.

Keys to Victory for Washington State

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Business as Usual

Washington State has been adept at passing the football this season, leading the Pac-12 and placing second in the FBS with 370.8 passing yards per game. The passing attack will challenge a Minnesota secondary that finished 13th in the Big Ten in pass defense.

An Unpeaceful Shalom

Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace and harmony. The Shalom that Washington State is bringing to the field is a bit different. Standout senior safety Shalom Luani is anything but peaceful to opposing quarterbacks, finishing second in the Pac-12 this season with four interceptions and leading the conference with 109 return yards on those picks.

If Luani can get involved in some game-shifting defensive plays, Minnesota's one-dimensional offense will have a difficult time responding.

Players to Watch for Minnesota

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Rodney Smith

One of the few bright spots for Minnesota this season—outside of its eight wins—has been running back Rodney Smith. His ability to find the smallest of holes and exploit them to their fullest has kept Minnesota chugging along this season. Smith enters the bowl season second in the Big Ten with 15 rushing touchdowns. He'll need to continue producing, lest the Gophers have to switch over to their anemic passing offense.

Steven Richardson and Blake Cashman

This dynamic defensive tandem has combined for 13.5 sacks this season. The defensive hopes for Minnesota are almost entirely pinned on disrupting Luke Falk's passing. You can be sure that, if Minnesota has any success in pressuring Falk, it will come from Richardson and Cashman.

Players to Watch for Washington State

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Peyton Pelluer

The team's leading tackler (and sixth in the Pac-12) this season is Peyton Pelluer. The linebacker's nose for the football is unmatched, and his pursuit has led to 89 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Minnesota is going to have to scheme around this guy or risk hearing his name called over and over again.

Luke Falk

No surprise here, as one of the Pac-12's best gunslingers will look to pick apart a mediocre Minnesota secondary that allowed more than 228 passing yards per game this season. Falk has 37 touchdown passes so far this season, and he could easily finish off 2016 north of 40. If he finds those three touchdowns, it will probably be a happy end to 2016 for the Cougars.

What They're Saying

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

Minnesota wide receiver Drew Wolitarsky (per Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press)

"

That'd be fantastic to get nine wins. I mean that hasn't been done here in awhile. Hoping to get it (versus the Badgers), but you know we still have an opportunity. We're a team that never quits, and we're going to get ready for this bowl game. We're going to win it.

"

Washington State head coach Mike Leach (per the Cougars' official website)

"

We are thrilled to be going to the Holiday Bowl. It Is going to be a great matchup against two great teams. The last time we were in the Holiday Bowl we had a tremendous experience and expect the same this time around.

"

Prediction

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

If Minnesota was heading into a game against a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team, this would be a difficult game to predict. After all, most Big Ten teams are built with the ground game in mind, and winning games in the trenches usually leads to winning games on the scoreboard.

This game, however, sees the Gophers taking on one of the nation's most prolific passing quarterbacks. When you combine Minnesota's lack of success against the pass with its lack of exposure to high-octane, pass-first offenses, you start to understand how the deck looks to be stacked against the Gophers.

Prediction: Washington State 42, Minnesota 27