Big Ten Bowl Preview: National Funding Holiday Bowl

Nov 25, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars run out onto the field before a game against the Washington Huskies at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Golden Gophers travel to San Diego to battle the Washington State Cougars in the National Funding Holiday Bowl.

The Holiday Bowl, year-in and year-out, is typically one of the premier early college football bowl games. In recent seasons, the Holiday Bowl has pitted the Big Ten against the Pac-12. This season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will represent the Big Ten while the Washington State Cougars will represent the Pac-12 conference.

Game: National Funding Holiday Bowl
Teams: Minnesota (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) vs. Washington State (8-4, 7-2 Pac-12)
Time: December 27th, 7:00 PM
Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
TV: ESPN

While this bowl game is a matchup between two solid 8-4 teams, it wasn’t until a week ago that this game was even going to happen. Due to the suspensions of 10 of their teammates over an alleged sexual assault case, the Gophers had threatened to boycott the bowl game. In a late night session with the Minnesota AD and school president, the Gopher players relented and decided they would play in the game.

With the boycott drama now in the rear view mirror, the Gophers can now focus on stopping one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks – Washington State’s Luke Falk.

Nov 25, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars cheerleader waves the school flag before a game against the Washington Huskies at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Washington State Cougars

Washington State has perpetually been a team that has finished at or near the bottom of the Pac-12. With a win in the Holiday Bowl, Washington State will finish with consecutive 9-4 seasons.

This year, Washington State needed a win against rival Washington in the Apple Cup to secure a place in the Pac-12 title game. While the Cougars were soundly defeated, it did not diminish an extremely successful season. Washington State experienced dual losses to open and close the season.

In between, the Cougars won eight consecutive games. Arguably the best win for Washington State was on the Farm against Stanford. The four defeats for the Cougars include Boise State, Colorado, Washington, and FCS semifinalist Eastern Washington. A win in the Holiday Bowl against Minnesota would give Washington State their second consecutive bowl win. Perhaps even more importantly it would give the Cougars even more to build upon for 2017.

Washington State Offense

Since Mike Leach took over as head coach in 2012, the Cougars have been searching for a team identity. What was never missing with a Mike Leach-directed offense however, a “sling it all over the field” spread offense mentality. This season – no different. The Cougars ranked 15th nationally on offense averaging nearly 500 yards per game.

Most of the offense came from the throwing prowess of red shirt junior quarterback Luke Falk. The Cougars signal caller, complete with a near nation-best 71.0 % completion percentage, over 4200 passing yards, and 37 touchdowns, vaulted Washington State to the second-best passing offense in the country. Of course, for every good quarterback, there must be complimentary receivers and running backs. Washington State is no exception.

Leach runs an AIR RAID offense that features four wide receivers, a running back, and no tight end. As a result, the expectations on the wideouts is great. This season the Cougars featured two of the Pac-12 conferences best – seniors Gabe Marks and River Cracraft. Combined, the senior receivers hauled in 138 passes for 1568 yards and 18 TDs. Marks reeled in 13 scores by himself. Not to be outdone, sophomore receiver Taveras Martin, Jr. caught 61 passes for over 700 yards and 7 TDs.

Washington State Defense

While the Cougars have the ability to score, and score quickly, their problems lie on defense. Washington State ranked 67th nationally in total defense. The Cougars employ a 3-4 style defense. Not surprisingly, the middle linebacker Nate Pelluer led the team with 89 tackles. Defensive end Hercules Mata’afa paced the Washington State defense with 12.5 tackles for loss. On the back end of the defense, Washington State features safety Shalom Luani. With four interceptions, the senior ranked second in the Pac-12.

The Cougars have many tremendous defensive players, but their ability to limit the opposing team from big plays has been their Achilles heel. Washington State was one of the worst teams in the Pac-12 in allowing plays of 40 yards or more. The Cougars have permitted 37 plays to go for 40 yards or more this season. The Cougars will need to find some exotic defense schemes to slow down one of the Big Ten’s best running backs in Minnesota’s Rodney Smith.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Sep 26, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Rodney Smith (24) leads the team out of the tunnel at the beginning of the game against the Ohio Bobcats at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Just like Washington State, Minnesota enters the Holiday Bowl following a season-ending loss. The Golden Gophers lost to rival Wisconsin after leading 17-7.

Minnesota’s bowl preparation and off the field travails have been well-documented. The question now remains, how will all of the off-field distractions affect the Gophers on the field? Minnesota will need to rely on the leadership of seniors Mitch Leidner and Drew Wolitarsky.

Minnesota Offense

The Gophers like to spread out the offense and move the ball around the field. The field general for Minnesota is red shirt senior quarterback Mitch Leidner. On the season, Leidner ranked as a top-10 Big Ten quarterback. He amassed over 2000 passing yards in addition to throwing seven touchdowns. While statistically a down year for Leidner, he did put them in position to win many games late – including an OT loss at Penn State.

Minnesota, which had two separate three or more game winning streaks, relied not only on Leidner, but also sophomore running back star Rodney Smith.

Smith, a redshirt sophomore, rushed for over 1000 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. Furthermore, he ran for over 100 yards in six of twelve games this season. For the better part of the season it was Smith that led the Big Ten in rushing. He was eventually overtaken, but his quickness and power gave many Big Ten teams fits.

At the receiving position, Minnesota was paced by senior Drew Wolitarksy. The do-it-all receiver led the Gophers in receptions (61), receiving yards (787), and receiving touchdowns (5). In addition, what makes Wolitarsky so special is his ability to make plays in traffic. In all but two games did Wolitarsky record at least four receptions and 50 yards receiving. No doubt he will be relied upon to make plays in the Gopher passing game.

Minnesota Defense

Defensively, the Golden Gophers employed a 4-3 style scheme, and they ranked in the middle of the pack in total defense in the Big Ten.

Up front, Gophers’ defensive tackle Steven Richardson led the team in sacks (7) and tackles for loss (11). With Richardson a behemoth on the defensive interior, the defensive ends Hendrick Epke and Gaelin Elmore will be counted on to pressure Washington State quarterback Luke Falk.

The defensive strength of the Gophers lies in its linebacking corps. Sophomore Blake Cashman has been a stalwart the last four games of the season. In that span he has recorded 16 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Also, keep your eye on fellow linebacker Jonathan Celestin. The junior backer made 52 tackles on the season, including seven tackles for loss.

The defensive secondary boasts senior cornerback Jalen Myrick. Not only was he tied for the team lead in interceptions (2), but he was also the team leader in passes defended (10). In addition to Myrick, Minnesota also features safety Damarius Travis. The red shirt senior pulled down two interceptions on the season.

The Minnesota defense, especially the secondary, must be alert against Washington State and their big-play capabilities. The Gophers were one of the Big Ten’s best at limiting plays of 30 yards or more. That statistic will be put to the test against the Cougars.

Sep 3, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) throws a pass against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first half at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Outlook

With all of the drama affecting Minnesota off the field, it will really be interesting to see how well they can focus on Washington State. Can Minnesota score enough points to keep up with the Cougars if the game turns into a shootout? Does Washington State have a defense that can stand up to the pounding they will endure up front? The Holiday Bowl should be lots of fun.

A key to the game will be Washington State’s strength, the pass, against Minnesota’s defensive weakness, pass defense. How will the Gophers fare against Mike Leach’s high-octane offense?

When the Gophers have the ball, look for them to slow the pace and ground it out with All-Big Ten running back Rodney Smith. Their ability to gain large chunks of yards at a time is not something that favors the Gophers.

If the game does come down to the wire, special teams could factor in. The Gophers may have an advantage with kicker Emmit Carpenter. On the season, Carpenter connected on 21 of 23 field goal attempts.

No matter how the game turns out, it is sure to be entertaining. Get your popcorn ready Tuesday night for what is likely to be a high-flying contest with lots of points to be scored.