Holiday Bowl 2016: Minnesota vs. Washington State TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Opposing styles collide when the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Washington State Cougars square off in the 2016 Holiday Bowl on Tuesday.
Minnesota, still rocking from a player boycott of the bowl that ended December 17, ran up a record of 8-4 this season behind a strong ground game.
As most college football fans know, Washington State prefers to do its damage through the air and also made it to 8-4 thanks to one of the nation's most prolific attacks.
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With off-field happenings influencing the action on the field, a strong matchup without the distractions looks even more intriguing, and it will be one of the four Tuesday games fans won't want to miss.
Holiday Bowl 2016
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 27
Time (ET): 7 p.m.
Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 61
Spread: Washington State (-10)
Team Injury Reports
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | DB | Out for season |
| Antonio Shenault | DB | Out for season |
| KiAnte Hardin | DB | Out for season |
| Kobe McCrary | RB | Out for season |
| Mark Williams | QB | Out for season |
| Ray Buford | DB | Out for season |
| Seth Green | QB | Out for season |
| Jared Weyler | OL | Ques Tues |
| Cody Poock | LB | Out for season |
| Alexander Starks | DB | Ques Tues |
| Brandon Lingen | TE | Out for season |
| Dior Johnson | DB | Out for season |
| Carlton Djam | RB | Out for season |
| Tamarion Johnson | DL | Out for season |
| Ace Rogers | DB | Out for season |
| Isaac Dotson | LB | Ques Tues |
| River Cracraft | WR | Out for season |
| Logan Tago | LB | Out indefinitely |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Weathering the Storm
Minnesota prides itself on a strong rushing attack, which will need to be stronger than usual Tuesday to accommodate for the absences of several key defenders.
As one can see from the injury report above, Minnesota will play without several top defensive backs thanks to the suspensions that resulted in the original protest.
Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys noted his team's preparation will decide whether it gets a much-needed win, as captured by STATS LLC (via ESPN.com):
"It would be a great reward for this team and some of our coaches for the things that they have went through this year, but this game of football doesn't give you anything. It's a great team sport, and the team that shows up most prepared, and plays the hardest, and plays as great teammates is usually the team that wins. It doesn't give you anything. We're gonna have to earn it.
"
In theory, Minnesota shouldn't have any problems running the ball. Lead back Rodney Smith bullied his way to 1,084 yards and 15 touchdowns on a 4.9-yards-per-carry average this year. His complement, Shannon Brooks, went for 599 and five. To top it all off, quarterback Mitch Leidner added another 340 yards with 10 touchdowns.
If the Golden Gophers fall behind, though, Leidner will have to lead the team back through the air. He completed just 56.4 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns against 12 interceptions on the year. Five of those scores went to top wideout Drew Wolitarsky.
For Claeys, the key is ensuring his offense doesn't need to take to the air often. As usual, the offense will sink or swim based on how effective the ground game is against a game opponent.
Bouncing Back
Washington State doesn't hit the bowl with much in the way of momentum.
The Cougars' season is bookended by pairs of losses, with the eight wins coming consecutively. Among them, notable victories came against then-No. 15 Stanford, Oregon State and UCLA. The losses to close the season, though, came at the hands of then-No. 10 Colorado and then-No. 5 Washington.
On the whole, it's hard to go unimpressed by Washington State's passing attack. Luke Falk completed 71 percent of his 613 attempts this year, throwing for 4,204 yards and 37 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
That's not to suggest Washington State can't run the ball well. The extensive use of the Air Raid offense usually opens up good lanes, which the Cougars took advantage of by having three different rushers hit minimums of 449 yards, five touchdowns and a 5.4 average.
Over Washington State's eight wins this year, the defense only permitted north of 30 points three times. Considering the offense scored more than 40 in five of the eight, the Cougars have a winning formula at hand.
All that remains is not falling into a confident lull against a desperate team missing defenders.
Prediction
It's hard to disagree with Las Vegas' large spread here.
If the Golden Gophers were fielding their usual starting defense, especially in the back end, this might have a different outlook. But the defense has arguably yet to play a passing attack as potent as what it faces in the bowl, and it does so at the worst possible time.
Falk's task is simple—play his efficient game and don't turn the ball over. Such composure will lead to plenty of scoring even if Minnesota's rushing attack finds success and hogs the time of possession.
Look for Washington State to eventually force Minnesota to the air, widening the gap via mistakes.
Prediction: Washington State 38, Minnesota 24
Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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