Sun Bowl Betting – Sun Bowl Reunites College Football Brand Names
The Miami Hurricanes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish staged many memorable battles in the 1980s. Now, they’ve fallen on hard times, but they’ll still draw a crowd in El Paso, Texas.
NCAA football betting: Miami Hurricanes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Online Betting Odds: Miami -3
Why To Bet On Miami
Notre Dame will send its backup quarterback – Tommy Rees – into this game. Starter Dayne Crist got knocked out for the year with an injury suffered at the end of October, more than halfway through the regular-season slate, so Rees is now the trigger man for coach Brian Kelly’s pass-first offense. Rees, like Miami’s signal callers, needs to avoid the big turnover. He threw an interception in the end zone in the final minute of a 28-27 loss to Tulsa on Oct. 30. Rees saw action in some of Notre Dame’s early-season games as well when Crist suffered more temporary injuries; Rees threw interceptions in those games as well. Notre Dame’s offense has never really flourished in 2010, at least if 30 points is the metric one uses to define “flourishing.” Rees will be hard pressed to demonstrate the kind of consistency that can outpace Miami’s athletic offense.
Let’s put it this way: Notre Dame has struggled on the offensive side of the ball for almost all of the regular season, and in this game, the Fighting Irish will be trotting out their backup quarterback, not their number-one starter. That, in a nutshell, sums up why Miami has a very good chance to win this contest.
Why To Bet On Notre Dame
If Miami quarterbacks Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris – who are both likely to see some playing time in this game – can avoid the interception bug in El Paso, the Hurricanes have an excellent chance of winning. However, that’s not likely.
Miami actually does possess a fair amount of athleticism on the edges, but the combination of poor decision making from the quarterbacks and inconsistent blocking up front has limited the Canes’ offensive performance in 2010.
What also needs to be said in this game is that Jacory Harris is a Jekyll-and-Hyde player: He can and will be brilliant in one moment and awful the next. Moreover, since Miami is in between coaching staffs – with Al Golden ready to take complete control of the program once this Sun Bowl game is over – one should not expect Harris to show his best stuff. Miami players have to have one foot already out the door as the Sun Bowl starts. The real fun begins with Al Golden in 2011; this game in El Paso could be an afterthought even before it ends on New Year’s Eve. Notre Dame – which has won its last three games – is in a good position to outflank Miami and win the all-important turnover battle against a distracted and emotionally vulnerable foe.
How The Game Will Play Out
Miami won’t play with supreme energy, while the Fighting Irish – who rescued a 4-5 start by winning their final three games – will play very inspired football for Brian Kelly. Notre Dame’s coaching stability plus Miami’s penchant for throwing interceptions will lead to an Irish conquest in West Texas.
Sun Bowl Betting Pick: Notre Dame
