Randy Inman
Bruce Bostwick
James Rickard
Winless In Seattle
Robin PottratzMeineke Car Care Bowl
December 27th 2008 00:47
West Virginia and North Carolina were picked earlier this year to face one another in a bowl game. That was early in the football season. Unfortunately, both teams have played erratically and will have to settle for the 2008 edition of the Meineke Car Care Bowl Dec. 27 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
If you read Footballdogz very much, you may call this Randy's team vs. Jim's team. I was afraid it would come to this. None the less, I'll try and be objective!
After you throw out records (both teams are 8-4) one of the first things you look at when trying to predict the outcome of a game are common opponents. Fans are fortunate in this respect. Although the Tar Heels are part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, they are no stranger to West Virginia's Big East and the teams share two common opponents--Rutgers and Connecticut. NC beat both schools by the combined score of 82-24. The Mountaineers also defeated both teams by a total of 59-27.
Head to head competition never hurts. You have to wonder how much of a grudge the players are holding because these teams haven't faced each other since the 1996 Gator Bowl, won by North Carolina 20-13.
If you look at bowl history, things are pretty even. WVU is 12-15 while NC is 12-13. Maybe you'd have to give the "Humility" award to West Virginia.
Although they've been an awesome team at times, the Mountaineers have been a disappointment this year. After beginning the season rated in the Top-10, they've fallen completely out of the national scene much to the chagrin of fans. This has not gone unnoticed by first year coach Bill Stewart who said he has been disappointed in Mountaineer play.
Since the game is played in Charlotte, it's practically a home game for NC!
On the other hand, WVU quarterback Pat White has had some of his best games against Southern universities. Being from Daphne, Alabama, maybe he sees these games as opportunities to show Southern schools what they missed?????
Considering all of this, I'm going to hope the WVU team that shows up for this game is the same team who played in the second half of the WVU-Auburn contest and go with the 'Eers 27-17.
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