The Syracuse Orange will face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 2013 Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium today, with a start time of 6:00 pm (Eastern). The game be will televised on ESPN. Current odds have Minnesota listed as 4.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 48.
Analysis: Following a two-game skid, the Orange secured bowl eligibility with a last second 34-31 win over Boston College. Syracuse is 6-6 on the year and will be playing a Big Ten opponent for the third time this year, after losing to Penn State and Northwestern by a combined 27 points. Terrell Hunt has thrown three touchdowns over the last two games after not throwing for any over the previous six contests, but he is known as a runner as he comes in with 426 yards on the ground an 5 TDs. Hunt, along with Jerome Smith (840 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Prince-Tyson Gulley (440 yards, four TDs) give Syracuse a solid three-headed rushing attack that ranks 39th in the nation. On defense, the Orange have been Solid, ranking 39th overall and 27th vs the run, while allowing 26.1 ppg.
Last year the Gophers played in this game and took a tough last second loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Minnesota comes in at 8-4 on the year, but they did lose their last 2 games of the year vs Wisconsin and Michigan State. Minnesota uses two quarterbacks, Nelson and Mitch Leidner, and the duo has combined for more rushing touchdowns (13) than passing scores (10). The Gophers prefer to run the ball and they come in ranked 34th in the nation in rushing averaging 200.9 ypg. The ground game is led by David Cobb, who has rushed for 1,111 yards and seven TDs, although he rushed for only two scores in Minnesota's last eight games. Defensively the Gphes have been better than average, allowing just 371.3 ypg and 22.8 pp on the year. They really played well in their last 3 games of the year, allowing just 14.7 ppg over that stretch.
Pick: I was looking at this game as soon as the lines came out and I really like the Under here. Both of these teams are all about the rn as they both rank in the top 40 in rushing this year, while ranking 118th and 104th in passing. The Gophers come in to this game ranked 13th in the nation in rushing attempts per game with 45.5 per game. Syracuse isn't all that far behind with 41.8 pg, which ranks 34th in the nation. Minnesota doesn't get a whole lot from their passing game, ranking 118th in passing attempts per game (20.4) and they complete just 10.4 passes per game, which is 120th in the nation. For Syracuse they do throw a bit more than Minnesota, but their yards per attempt is very weak at 5.3, which is 123rd in the nation. Neither team will get much from the passing game, even though both defenses have struggled vs the pass. There will be allot of running in this one which will keep the clock rolling and that should keep the score well below the posted total in this one.
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