West Virginia Football: 3 reasons Mountaineers will win Camping World Bowl

Much of the hype around the 2018 Camping World Bowl has centered around Will Grier and his decision to skip it for West Virginia football.

But that doesn’t mean the Mountaineers and head coach Dana Holgorsen are just going to pack it in for the season and let Syracuse win its 10th game.

The two meet in a meeting of Top-20 teams on Saturday from the Camping World Stadium in Orlando. And despite Grier opting to skip the contest to focus on preparing for his NFL future along with offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste and receiver Gary Jennings, West Virginia is still a favorite according to Las Vegas.

Thanks to previous league ties, this isn’t a new rivalry between the Orange and the Mountaineers, as they have met 60 times prior.

Here are three reasons West Virginia will be the victor in the 2018 Camping World Bowl over Syracuse:

3. Dana Holgorsen is bound to win a bowl

The 47-year-old Dana Holgorsen has won more games than he has lost over his coaching career, but bowl-game success has been difficult for the Iowa native to come by. While he is 61-40 overall, Holgorsen has won just two of six postseason contests as the man in charge.

In his first season with West Virginia, Holgorsen guided the Mountaineers to 10 wins, including a victory in the Orange Bowl. Since that time, though, they have gone 1-4 and missed a bowl game completely in 2013. The lone victory was in 2015 when they bested Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl to finish 8-5.

Holgorsen has also made himself available for jobs over the past, showing that he is looking to better his coaching resume. While West Virginia is unlikely to part with him if he comes up empty this year in the postseason, when you factor in his bowl record, there is reason for concern between the two.