Gator Bowl Preview and Pick – West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Florida State Seminoles

Friday, January 1st – 1:10 PM ET
Municipal Stadium (Jacksonville, FL)

College Football Spread: West Virginia -3

West Virginia: The Week That Was  

The Mountaineers – who stood at 7-3 after 10 games – managed to finish their regular season at 9-3 after producing a 24-21 win at Rutgers on Dec. 5 in Piscataway, N.J. 

West Virginia’s constantly perplexing offense – led by erratic senior quarterback Jarrett Brown – could only score 17 points on the afternoon, but a 24-yard pick-six by cornerback Sidney Glover gave the Mountaineers the extra touchdown they needed to hold off the hard-charging Scarlet Knights. WVU’s defense – which got healthier in the final month of the season, particularly on the defensive line – applied consistent pressure on Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage. The ability to rattle Savage, a freshman, paid dividends in the form of Glover’s big pick and a second interception by WVU linebacker J.T. Thomas.

Florida State: The Week That Was  

The Seminoles got smacked around by in-state rival Florida on Nov. 28 in Gainesville, Fla. In his final visit to The Swamp, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden saw his team fall to Urban Meyer’s Gators by a 37-10 score.  

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Tim Tebow – in his last collegiate home game – scored five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) to lead Florida to a 30-0 third-quarter bulge. While the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner did his thing, Florida State’s offense – without regular starting quarterback Christian Ponder (out due to a separated right shoulder) – looked lost and befuddled. Backup quarterback E.J. Manuel struggled as the gameday starter for the Seminoles, who managed just 83 rushing yards and went 2 for 11 on third downs against Florida’s veteran defense.  

The Week That Is:  

Bowl games are volatile entities subject to unique combinations of momentum, motivation and inspiration. Some bowl teams enjoy being where they are, while other teams just try to collect the gift bags handed out by bowl committees and catch a flight out of town as quickly as they possibly can. The 2010 Gator Bowl is certainly a game in which motivation could very well affect the final outcome. 

Bobby Bowden – who coached at West Virginia before building the Florida State program into a national superpower in a career of more than 30 years – will be coaching his final game for the Seminoles. In the swan song for an all-time college football legend, Florida State will fight hard on Bowden’s behalf. This means that West Virginia’s motivation level becomes the most salient factor in this showdown.  

Because FSU is without Ponder, its normal starting quarterback, the key to this clash is WVU signal caller Jarrett Brown, an athletically gifted player who makes poor decisions and commits far more turnovers than he should. The feeling here is that FSU’s weak defense – which made bad ACC offenses look good in 2009 – will be unable to stop Brown. West Virginia will prevail. 

Betting Pick: West Virginia -3