Big 12 Football: Guaranteed Rate Bowl Preview

Bowl season starts next week. This year, 84 teams were bowl eligible, and all of them will play in a bowl game between December 17 and January 4. The Big 12 Conference had seven teams qualify.

Two of those teams will play in one of the NY6 Bowls. As Big 12 champs, #7 Baylor will play #8 Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1. #9 Oklahoma State will play #5 Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 1.

Other teams to make a bowl include Iowa State (Cheez-It Bowl, December 29 vs. Clemson), Kansas State (TaxAct Texas Bowl, January 4 vs. LSU), Oklahoma (Valero Alamo Bowl, December 29 vs. Oregon), Texas Tech (AutoZone Liberty Bowl, December 28 vs. Mississippi State), and West Virginia (Guaranteed Rate Bowl, December 28 vs. Minnesota).

This article previews the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: West Virginia (6-6) vs. Minnesota (8-4)

Tuesday, December 28, 8 p.m., EST, Fox

Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ

Line: Minnesota – 4.0; over/under – 45.0

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Both schools have, though, played in this bowl game. West Virginia is 1-1, last appearing in 2016 with a 43-42 win over Arizona State. Minnesota is 0-3 in this bowl, having last played in it in 2009.

Minnesota enters this game at the nation’s 4th ranked defense, allowing 284.8 yards per game. The Gophers are coached by PJ Fleck, now in his fifth season. This is the second season during his time at Minnesota to end the regular season with eight wins.

West Virginia is coached by Neal Brown, now in his third year in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are led on the offensive side by running back Leddie Brown, who ended the regular season with back-to-back 1,000+ seasons.

West Virginia finished 6-6 and 4-5 in Big 12 play, which placed them sixth in the conference. They started the season losing to Maryland, then beating then-ranked #15 Virginia Tech two weeks later. Their first conference game was against Oklahoma, and they held the Sooners to a season-low of 16 points. The Sooners did not have a lead at any point in the game until the game was over. The Mountaineers would win two, lose two or three, win two, lose two all season long. Other wins include Long Island University, TCU, #22 Iowa State, Texas, and Kansas. Losses included Texas Tech, Baylor, #11 Oklahoma State, and Kansas State.

Minnesota finished 8-4 and 6-3 in Big Ten play, which placed them in second place in the Big Ten West Division. Like many Big Ten teams, Minnesota opened the season with a conference game. The Gophers started 2021 at the Horseshoe in Columbus, losing to #4 Ohio State. Their first conference win was against Purdue, a team that played spoiler to other Big Ten teams. Other wins for Minnesota included Miami (OH), Colorado, Nebraska, Maryland, Northwestern, Indiana, and #14 Wisconsin, which prevented Wisconsin from making the Big Ten Championship Game. Losses included Bowling Green, Illinois, and #20 Iowa.

Team Stat Per Game	West Virginia	Minnesota
Points Per Game	26.8	26.1
Points Allowed Per Game	24.3	18.3
Total Yards	384.8	360.3
Total Yards Rushing	127.9	193.8
Total Yards Passing	256.9	166.4
Yards Allowed	350.0	284.8
Rushing Yards Allowed	129.9	100.2
Passing Yards Allowed	220.1	184.7

Season Leaders

Passing Yards

West Virginia – Jarret Doege – 254-386, 2,908 yards, 19 touchdowns, 11 interceptions

Minnesota – Tanner Morgan – 141-236, 1,935 yards, ten touchdowns, eight interceptions

Rushing Yards

West Virginia – Leddie Brown - 223 carries, 1,065 yards, 13 touchdowns

Minnesota – Ky Thomas - 145 carries, 680 yards, five touchdowns

Receiving Yards

West Virginia – Winston Wright, Jr. - 60 receptions, 672 yards, five touchdowns

Minnesota – Chris Autman-Bell - 35 receptions, 490 yards, six touchdowns

The pick: Minnesota 24-21

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