Big Ten Bowl Preview: 2018 Pinstripe Bowl

Big Ten and ACC foes meet in the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl 

The bowl season is upon, and there will be plenty of Big Ten bowl action to take in. Let’s break down the Pinstripe Bowl matchup between the Miami Hurricanes and Wisconsin Badgers.

GAME: Pinstripe Bowl
LOCATION: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
TEAMS: Miami Hurricanes (7-5, 4-4 ACC), Wisconsin Badgers (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten)
DATE: 12/27
TIME: 5:15 PM ET
TV: ESPN
PINSTRIPE BOWL FACTS: Founded in 2010, Sponsored by New Era, Organized by New York Yankees, Last Big Ten team to win was Iowa in 2017

Overview

To say the that the Miami Hurricanes and Wisconsin Badgers fell short of their preseason expectations would be an understatement. Going into the 2018 season, Miami was ranked No. 8, in the AP Top 25, and Wisconsin was No. 4. Miami was absolutely decimated by LSU in their opener, and Wisconsin started to fall apart after an upset by BYU.

Both teams really struggled, thanks to inconsistent quarterback play and other underlying factors. There were bright spots for the Hurricanes and Badgers. The Miami defense features stars such as defensive lineman Gerald Willis III, whom was recently named a second team All-American by Sports Illustrated. Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor had another stellar season. The sophomore star was named Big Ten running back of the year. Miami’s run defense is ranked 24th, and Wisconsin’s rushing offense is ranked seventh in the nation. It should be a heck of a grudge match in the trenches.

Keys To Victory For Miami

The keys to victory for the Hurricanes are the same keys that were suggested for Penn State when they beat Wisconsin; stop Jonathan Taylor, or at least keep him under 20 carries. In games where Taylor has carried the ball less than 20 times, the Badgers are 1-3. Force Wisconsin to throw the ball. The Badgers offense is incredibly predictable and stagnant if they can’t get the run game going. Try to force Taylor to fumble the ball too. He fumbled eight times his freshman year, and four times this year. Last year, Taylor fumbled in the Orange Bowl (a game which Wisconsin beat Miami in, 34-24).

Keys To Victory For Wisconsin

Rattle the quarterback. N’Kosi Perry will most likely start for the Hurricanes in the Pinstripe Bowl, and if that is the case, Wisconsin will need to create multiple opportunities to shake his game up. Perry is a bit of a question mark. It’s hard to really define his game, and where he is at. He’s a raw, developmental project at quarterback, and he’s shined at times, as well as played poorly at times.

Perry is No. 99 in the country when it comes to QBR. In limited playing time, he’s thrown 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. The Hurricanes lost a dynamic playmaker in wide receiver Jeff Thomas, after head coach Mark Richt dismissed him from the program a few weeks ago.

Impact Player To Watch

The best pound-for-pound player on the field will be Miami’s Gerald Willis III. Willis was absolutely dominant in every way this season for Miami. He should wreak havoc on the Badgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. Willis finished the season with 59 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, four sacks and two pass deflections.

https://twitter.com/gw3_9/status/1070464138936287233

The Pinstripe Bowl should be a fun watch for fans. Both teams records aren’t proper indications of their actual talents, and watching a talented run defense play a stellar rushing attack is always  fun football.