The 2018 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium will pit the ACC and Big Ten Conference against each other this season. Miami (FL) will face Wisconsin – in a bowl for the second straight season – on Dec. 27 (5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). Here is the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl preview:
A month-long, four-game losing streak within the ACC ultimately did in the Hurricanes this season. Instability at quarterback didn’t help matters as Miami averaged 15.0 points during that four-game slide.
Photo by stateoftheu.com
The Hurricanes, however, enter their sixth straight bowl looking for a third consecutive victory overall while trying to avenge last season’s Orange Bowl defeat to Wisconsin. Miami beat Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in the final two weeks of the regular season with freshman N’Kosi Perry back under center. He’s the future of the Hurricanes offense, but could have his hands full in the present with the Badgers defense.
Running back Travis Homer (969 rushing yards) ran for a season-high 168 yards on just eight carries in Miami’s win over Pitt in the season finale.
Unfortunately for the ‘Canes, they will be without star defensive lineman Gerald Willis, who is dealing with a hand injury. Miami also has dropped seven of its last eight bowl games.
Wisconsin was ranked sixth in the nation when it was stunned by BYU at home on Sept. 15. That should have been a sign that the Badgers would be in for a disappointing season – from their standpoint.
Photo by madison.com
Decisive defeats at Michigan, Northwestern and Penn State followed, but the team might have bottomed out with a 37-15 home loss to Minnesota to conclude the regular season. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook was bothered by injuries and often incompetence. While the Badgers allowed 31 or more points four times after not yielding over 27 in any 2017 contest.
Despite dealing with some fumbling issues, Jonathan Taylor remains the Badgers star. The sophomore leads the nation in rushing (1,989 yards), average rushing yards per game (165.8) and recorded a career-best 321 in a triple-overtime victory at Purdue last month. Taylor ran for 130 on 26 attempts against the ‘Canes in last year’s 34-24 bowl win.
The X-factor for Wisconsin, though, could be its bowl success. The Badgers are making their 17th straight bowl appearance and will try to win a fifth consecutive such contest. Plus, New York City will be filled with plenty of red and white Bucky supporters.
Prediction
Two teams that underachieved during the regular season meet in a bowl game for the second consecutive year. Both want to build some sort of momentum heading into the offseason, and it seems like the Badgers are more capable of doing that considering their recent bowl dominance.
Wisconsin 35, Miami 27
Make sure to check out our college football page for more updates and rankings.
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