2018 Alamo Bowl PAC 12 v Big 12
The PAC 12 has had a torrid record in bowl games over the last couple of seasons going 1-8 last year and they are currently 0-2. However, things should get a bit better going forward and The Washington State Cougars who have had a great season finishing 10-2 and ranked 13 should be good enough to get the ball rolling in this one.
The 2018 Alamo Bowl will be a good one for the neutral as both teams like to pass the ball and none more than Washington who are the epitome of clashing styles being ranked No 1 in passing and plum last in passing at 129th. Defence wise they are also are pretty stout ranking 34th overall. We had a good feeling about the Cougars right from the start (we put them 18th in our preseason rankings, and had it not been for a blizzard in their final game they would have been on their way to the Rose Bowl (at least). This game is being played in a Domed stadium and that will suit Mike Leaches Air Raid offensive style. A big game by QB Garner Minshaw could even see him take Jared Goff’s Pac 12 passing record which we had expected to last for a while.
Games wise after losing a close one at USC they went on to string seven good wins together – including wins over Utah, Stanford & Oregon, before losing in the Apple Cup to Washington is a snow storm, which didn’t suit their style. They scored 460 regular season points but showed they could grind wins out too in a close win over Cal and there will be no chance of snow to blow them off course in this one.
Standing in their way is an unpredictable Iowa State side who went 8-4 and made the rankings at 24. They will be no strangers to seeing the ball flying around, having faced the likes of Will Grier & Kyler Muray this season in the high octane Big 12 but scoring points has not been their forte.
Murray managed to hang 348 yards on them when Oklahoma came to town, but they fared much better against Will Grier holding him to 100 yards in their surprise win. On their day the Cyclones are a handful for anyone but they don’t score a lot of points and if their defence is not on top form it’s hard to see them hanging with Washington State.
The oddsmakers have this one close making Washington State 2.5 points favourites, however, Iowa State has given up 351 yards per game on average and their offence ranked 104th. This doesn’t look good enough to trouble the Cougars and we think a 7.5 point spread would be more appropriate.
Our prediction is for Washington State to win 33-17.
For those who like to keep track of these things, we are 10-10 so far in our predictions – not too good after starting out 6-1.
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