EAGLEBANK BOWL PREVIEW
December 19th, 2008 by Daniel Freer
The inaugural EagleBank Bowl (December 20th, 11AM, ESPN) will be held at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC…with a compelling matchup between Wake Forest of the ACC vs. Navy…two teams who have already met earlier this season (won by Navy 24-17 over Wake in Winston-Salem, NC).
The key matchup in this bowl game will be the Demon Deacons defense, led by Butkus Award winning LB Aaron Curry, as they try to stop the Midshipmen’s nation-leading rush offense…and its leading rusher, SB Shun White (photo, thanks IconSMI)
WAKE FOREST: (Head Coach: Jim Grobe)
Wake Forest (7-5 overall, 4-4 ACC) began the season with a three-game winning streak, propelling them into the national rankings. However, a sloppy turnover-filled game against the Midshipmen killed their hopes of an undefeated season…and seemingly put their offense in a funk the rest of the way.
Averaging only 300 yards total offense per game, and just over 20 PPG, the Demon Deacons are led by QB Riley Skinner, who has thrown for 2181 yards and 12 TDs this season. His top target is WR D. J. Boldin (783 yards receiving, 3 TDs)…who barely averaged 10 yards per catch. Wake struggled running the ball, but was led by Brandon Pendergrass with 528 yards rushing and 5 TDs.
The Demon Deacons best chance to win the EagleBank Bowl will surely rest on LB Aaron Curry and the Wake defense. Curry is the first individual in Wake Forest history to win a major defensive award, and has talent around him, like S Kevin Patterson, who has scored two defensive TDs this year. PK Sam Swank is one of the better kickers around, and can make the clutch kick when needed…as he did in a win over Ole Miss earlier this season.
NAVY: (Head Coach, Ken Niumatalolo)
Well, the Middies (8-4) like to run the football! Even with the QB situation in flux due to injuries….senior Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada will get the start for USNA…but Jarrod Bryant and Ricky Dobbs are just as capable in running the option offense if K-N K-E is unable to finish the game. Although Bryant leads the team in passing yardage (275 yards), Dobbs has the better arm of the three.
The Navy backfield is stellar, led by SB Shun White and FB Eric Kettani. White went over 1000 yards this season, while the brusing Kettani rushed for over 900. White is the speedster who can break a big play at any time, while Kettani is the human battering-ram that wears down defenses. Navy averaged nearly 300 yards rushing per game this season.
Although Navy is not regarded much in the way of defense, they have allowed 0 points in their last two games, and have given up only 21PPG this season. Navy also can match Wake’s Swank in the kicking game with PK Matt Harmon.
INTERESTING….
This will be Wake’s third consecutive bowl game appearance…the only time in school history that the Demon Deacons have had such a streak. It will also be the ninth overall bowl game for Wake, who are 5-3 in bowl games.
Fortunately, the United States Naval Academy has had better success on the field than in presidential elections. The last four times a USNA graduate ran for the White House…they lost (Jimmy Carter 1980, Ross Perot 1992 and 1996, John McCain 2008).
PREDICTION:
This will be a low-scoring game, but I like Navy in this one….even though Wake will be looking for payback after losing earlier in the season to the Midshipmen. Navy has the type of offense to wear down a good Wake defense…whereas Wake has struggled on offense most of the year…and played Navy before their defense started to gel. Additionally, it is about a 45-minute drive from Annapolis to RFK Stadium…giving the Middies a definite home-field advantage…even if some of the Midshipmen head home early for the holiday break.
Navy 20….Wake Forest 17
For extended statistical analysis check out Vince Mullins BlitzIndex at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pLm8-U8yRt8oLJ52qbKQWKQ
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