Meineke Car Care Bowl Preview

by Matt Whitfield


West Virginia and North Carolina have both seen their share of highs and lows this season. North Carolina showed unlimited potential when they crushed Rutgers on the road 44-12, demolished Boston College 45-24, and squashed Georgia Tech 28-7. The Tar Heels have also shown why they haven’t been to a bowl game in four year when they lost two of their last three, including a 41-10 blowout by North Carolina State. West Virginia, a team that early on was a top 10 ranked team, opened up the season 1-2 with losses to Colorado and East Carolina. They then stormed back winning five in a row and many considered them the team to beat again in the Big East. That was all speculation however as they lost two of their last four and showed they weren’t exactly what they were last year with Rodriguez and Co. Saturday one team will need to come up with a New Year’s resolution and a solution to their declining fortunes as the two teams both look to end their seasons on a positive note as the NCAA Bowl Games schedule kicks into high gear.

Wet Virginia faces North Carolina for the second time in team history Saturday. In the prior meeting the two teams faced off in the 1997 Gator Bowl in which then North Carolina then coached by Mack Brown defeated the Mountaineers 20-13. The 1997 Mountaineers team was known for their defense and ten years later the team is quite different. The 2008 Mountaineers are a team known for its high powered offense.

To win Saturday running the ball seventeen more times than passing won’t be the way. 6’3 300 lb Marvin Austin and 6-4 330 lb Cam Thomas anchor the large and stout Tar Heel defense. While the Mountaineers only have the 109th best passing offense they probably will be forced to use it much more often Saturday. To counter this option the Tar Heels have playmaking safety Eric Goddard. Goddard has accounted for seven interceptions and five pass breakups this season. West Virginia most likely will give frequent looks to slotbacks Noel Devine and Jock Sanders down the field. The two despite their size have game breaking ability. Dorrell Jollah and Tyler Urban should also see their share of passes thrown their way Saturday. If West Virginia is to keep this game close and come out with the win, they’ll need OL Ryan Stancheck and Greg Isdander to use their speed to make up for their size in giving Pat White enough time to create plays. White undoubtedly will be forced to throw more than he has in the past and an off day could lead to a disastrous outcome for the Mountaineers.

While West Virginia is known for it’s offense North Carolina’s at times can be a mystery. This season the QB duties have been primarily split by Cameron Sexton and TJ Yates. Neither has been overly impressive with Sexton seeing more minutes than Yates. Yates will most likely be the starter Saturday, however if he plays the way he did in the loss to North Carolina State Saturday look for Sexton to come in. West Virginia is rumored to possibly be without members of their secondary Saturday and if that is the case that could open up the field for the Tar Heel WR’s. If North Carolina is to win their first bowl game in seven years they will need their defense to control the tempo and their offense, especially their QB (or QB’s) to not play like slouches in front of the home crowd Saturday.

The current NCAA Football Odds list WVU as a 1 and a half point favorite.