3 things to know about the Hyundai Sun Bowl
Need a brief primer before you attempt to watch all 40 bowl games this season? We’ve got you covered. Here are three things you need to know about the Hyundai Sun Bowl.
HYUNDAI SUN BOWL
Stanford Cardinal (9-3) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4)
Dec. 30, noon ET
CBS
– Unfortunately, this game will be played without Stanford star running back Christian McCaffrey, who has chosen not to play in the bowl game to focus on his NFL future. This was not good news for a Stanford team that has relied on McCaffrey to help the offense be successful. Four of the Cardinal’s five worst offensive outputs of the season came while McCaffrey was struggling with injury in the middle of the season. Once healthy, he didn’t rush for fewer than 135 yards in any of his final five games, including two 200-yards games to end the season. Bryce Love will be the feature back for the Cardinal. The sophomore has 90 carries for 664 yards and three touchdowns.
North Carolina also will be without top running back Elijah Hood, who will miss the contest with undisclosed injuries. Hood rushed for 858 yards and eight scores this season.
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– While one of the nation’s best running backs won’t be playing in this game, one the nation’s best quarterbacks will. UNC’s Mitch Trubisky is widely considered the top prospect in the 2017 NFL draft (should the junior declare) and with Hood out, more of the offensive production will be on his shoulders. Trubisky, who is in his first season as starter, has completed 68.9 percent of his passes for a single-season school record of 3,468 yards, with 28 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He’ll have his work cut out for him against a Stanford scoring defense that is only allowing 20.2 points per game.
– This game will showcase two very different styles of play. North Carolina likes to play up-tempo while Stanford likes to bleed out the clock. Since Stanford has one of the nation’s worst scoring offenses (26.4 points per game) and North Carolina is one of the better scoring offenses (33.1 points per game), expect Stanford to use its power running game to keep the UNC offense off the field.
[Related: NFL draft prospects to watch in the bowl games]
Mascot fight prediction: This is the classic matchup of a ram versus a tree. The winner of this matchup will be decided by how strong Stanford’s roots are. If the roots are strong, no matter how much the ram butts into the tree, the tree won’t budge. However, if the roots are weak, the ram will ultimately have the advantage.
This preview just became very philosophical.
Real predictions:
Graham Watson: North Carolina 28, Stanford 10
Nick Bromberg: Stanford 27, North Carolina 24
Sam Cooper: Stanford 26, North Carolina 24
Chris Herbert: North Carolina 35, Stanford 24
More college football from Yahoo Sports:
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!
