Top 5 Non-College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six Bowl Games
By Zach Bigalke
5. Russell Athletic Bowl
#16 West Virginia Mountaineers v. Miami Hurricanes
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 28
- Start Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Orlando, FL
- Venue: Camping World Stadium
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
Though West Virginia managed to finish only third in the Big 12, the Mountaineers pulled off their first 10-win season since moving from the Big East in 2012. Dana Holgorsen’s team ranked 30th in passing on the strength of Skyler Howard’s 3100 passing yards. WVU did even better on the ground, as Justin Crawford’s 1168 yards helped the Mountaineers finish 18th nationally in rushing offense. The defense held teams to three touchdowns or less in nine of 12 regular-season games, but West Virginia went just 1-2 when they allowed more than 21 points.
The Mountaineers will be taking on a Miami team that had a rough middle of the season in Mark Richt’s first year at the helm. The Hurricanes won four straight, then lost four straight, before closing out the year on another four-game winning streak. Three of their four losses were by a single score, the only exception a 37-16 blowout at Virginia Tech. A Richt-coached team has never missed out on the postseason, and Miami will bring one of the top defenses in the country to the Russell Athletic Bowl.
This game marks the first time these two former Big East rivals will square off against one another since the Hurricanes bolted for the ACC in 2004. West Virginia will be looking to knock off Miami for the first time since 1997. In terms of past history, the Mountaineers have lost all three times they have played in the Russell Athletic Bowl, while Miami is 2-2 in four previous appearances.