Russell Athletic Bowl

Bowl History: First, let’s start with the many names this Bowl has been known by a) Sunshine Classic (1990), b) Blockbluster Bowl (1990-93), c) Carquest Bowl (1994 -97), d) MicronPC Bowl (1998),  e) MicronPC.com Bowl (1999-2000),  f) Visit Florida Tangerine Bowl (2001)  g) Mazda Tangerine Bowl (2002-03) & h) Champs Sports Bowl (2004-11)! The present day Bowl/Game was founded in 1990 and has been played annually since that time. The current, official name for the Bowl is the Russell Athletic Bowl! The first game pitted Florida State against Penn State, a game won the by the Seminoles, 24-17, on December 28, 1990! The defending Champion from last year’s game is Baylor, who beat UNC, 49-38, on December 29, 2015! The Bowl conference tie-ins are the AAC & ACC and the Bowl Payout is $2,275,000. 00 as of 2015!

Teams: West Virginia 10-2 (B-12) Miami FL 8-4 (ACC)

Bowl Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Day, Date & Time: Wednesday, December 28, 2016, 4:30 p.m. CST

Network: ESPN

Best Win(s): WV beat, Kansas State (8-4), 17-16; Miami Beat Pitt (8-4), 51-28

Worst Losses: WV lost to Oklahoma (10-2) 56-28; Miami lost to ND (4-8) 30-27 

Common Opponents: None

Vegas Hotsheets Favorite: Miami -1

Offensive Team Data: W Virginia ; Total Yards,  509 YPG; Passing Yards,  270 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  240 YPG; Scoring Average,  32 PPG, Turnovers,  1.58 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 41%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 81% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 56%

Offensive Team Data: Miami FL ; Total Yards,  431 YPG; Passing Yards, 274 YPG;  Rushing Yards, 158 YPG; Scoring Average  35 PPG, Turnovers,  0.83 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 36.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 82% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 59%

Defensive Team Data: W Virginia ; Total Yards,  431 YPG; Passing Yards,  256 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  176 YPG; Scoring Average,  23 PPG, Turnovers,  2.08 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 40.5%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 75% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 50%

Defensive Team Data: Miami FL ; Total Yards,  356 YPG; Passing Yards,  220 YPG;  Rushing Yards,  133 YPG; Scoring Average,  19 PPG, Turnovers,  1.33 TPG; Percent of 3rd Down Conversions, 38.9%; Percentage of all scores in Red Zone, 100% & Percentage of TD’s in Red Zone, 0%

Sully’s CFP Game Simulator is a statistical analysis / predictor of how these teams will preform, based solely on their numbers, when they face off on the gridiron! Keep in mind, these stats were established against different teams and conferences and these differences must be taken into account to get a complete picture when attempting to predetermine a winner. If you are interested in how the Simulator works … read this part … if not … skip it! The process used is … we take Arizona’s total yards on offense, add it to what Nevada gives up on defense, …  get a total and then divide that number by 2 … to get the mean. We then invert the process by taking Nevada’s total offense, add it to what Arizona gives up on defense, get a total and divide that number by 2  to get the second mean… the greater number (with the exception of Turnovers) is then determined to have the advantage ( please note …. statistical advantage). We repeat this process in each of the eight statistical categories assessed!  That said… here are the results of the Head to Head Analysis:

Total Yards Advantage: W Virginia 431.5 to 431

Passing Yards Advantage: Miami FL 265 to 245

Rushing Yard Advantage: W Virginia 186.5 to 167

Scoring Advantage: Miami FL 29 to 25.5

Turnovers Advantage: TIE W Virginia  1.455, Miami FL  1.455

3rd Down Conversions Advantage: W Virginia 39.95 to 38.7

Red Zone All Scores Advantage: W Virginia 90.5 to 78.5

Red Zone TD’s Only Advantage: Miami FL 54.5 to 28

The Game Simulator Says: W Virginia 5, Miami FL 4, however GS likes Miani on the scoring end, 29-26, to win the game. Miami is giving WV a point, The site believes you take Miami and give WV the point!

Individuals to Watch: Miami QB, Brad Kaaya, 23/7  ratio, 270 YPG, WV, Skyler Howard, 26/10 ratio and 266.2 YPG

Sully Says: Miami has the 27th best defense (355.3) in the country while WV is rated as the 79 best (431.2) ; WV has the 12 th best offense (506.9) to Miami 52 rank (431.2 YPG} Take WV and the point!