2008 Eaglebank Bowl

2008 Eaglebank Bowl

One of the first bowls of the season features a game with a team that was slated long ago for this bowl. The Eaglebank Bowl was one of just a couple of games where half of the matchup was already decided…if they qualified for a bowl.

That team was Navy. The only other bowl with a specific name on it would have been any bowl in the state of Hawaii, because you KNOW the home team would have been invited unless they were going to a greater bowl.

So we have Navy vs. an ACC foe in Wake Forest. Hmm, interesting. Anyway, let’s look at these two teams, and who may win.

Wake Forest comes in off the strength of the ACC schedule, but at the same time, underachieving in the season that could have been. Wake Forest won big in their first game vs. Baylor, then knocked off Mississippi… interesting, an ACC team beating a Big 12 and SEC team back to back…

But I digress…

When Wake Forest knocked off then ranked Florida State, people started singing hymns about the Demon Deacons. But there seemed to be questions about the offence of Wake Forest.

Then comes Navy, beating the Deacons in their home 24-17. YEP, these two teams have already met before. So I guess you wonder why they would match up a bowl of two teams that have already played? Let’s think about that later.

After Wake Forest defeats a troubled Clemson, they lose two straight away games before rebounding against Duke. Another home game win vs. Virginia before losing again on the road to NC State. Tack on one more loss to Boston College before Wake Forest finds themselves again to beat Vanderbilt at the end of the season.

I think 5 of those teams had been ranked during the course of the year, and to their credit, Wake Forest is 3-2 against those teams. Other than Baylor, Duke and Virginia, I think all those other teams are in bowl season too. This proved to be a tough schedule for Wake Forest, and to come out of it 7-5 is actually quite impressive.

Now, for Navy…

This team has no conference to call home, so we are going off the strength of an independent schedule. One of only 4 independent teams in the nation, Navy started off with a win vs. Towson before losing two in a row to Ball State and Duke….

You lost to DUKE?????

Both games were away games, and we now know that Ball State turned out to be pretty good this year. But losing to Duke in football…wow. This put Navy behind the curve to qualify for their own bowl unless they turned things around. And turn around they did.

Their next 3 games were very tough, and yet, Navy won all three. Beating Rutgers when they were down was opportunistic, but knocking off ranked Wake Forest….

Wake Forest? Isn’t that who they are playing in a bowl…

And a third win against Air Force put the Midshipmen at 4-2, and looking pretty good. Then comes ranked Pittsburgh to hand Navy their 3rd loss of the year. I remember personally blogging about whether this team could actually make the bowl, because there were some concerns.

With 5 games left, only Notre Dame seemed to poise any problems, even though they were having major issues (ha!). Navy won their next two games vs. SMU and Temple, which should have been the case anyway. While they had every opportunity to beat Notre Dame, they slipped, losing that one.

The Midshipmen rebounded by not only beating, but shutting out their last two opponents (Northern Illinois and Army).

Six teams on the Navy schedule should see a bowl, and of those six, Navy split it 3-3. A decent schedule, with a few “cupcakes” mixed in.

So, who wins, and why make this matchup anyway?

I think Wake Forest has a good chance to win this game with great defense, but has had a very hard time with the “O”. It will be interesting to see how Navy’s offence is going to match up against a very stout Wake Forest team. On merit of a very competitive conference, I believe Wake Forest has a pretty good chance of evening the score on Navy, but the last game showed who was better…did Wake Forest learn from that?

Now, why make this matchup? Navy certainly had other teams they could have played, right? This could be dangerous because a Navy team that has already beaten Wake Forest could be misled to think that it could be done twice in the same year. That could spell problems.

Why pick Wake Forest? Well, we know that this bowl will be in Washington DC, and if you factor in that bowls are looking for the closest teams to make traveling minimal, then you’d have to keep it mainly in the Maryland, Virginia and NC area. You don’t want teams traveling too far, and you have to ensure that tickets can be sold. Right of the top of my head, you’d have teams like Virginia Tech, Maryland, ECU, UNC and NC State on that list. Well, we know Virginia Tech was not available, neither UNC. With ECU being the Conference USA Champs, they have bigger aspirations. So between the remaining 3 ACC teams, I supposed it was based on where those teams or schools selected. Seems kinda odd to go to a bowl vs. a team you have already played, but hey, if that is what Wake Forest and Navy wants, so be it.

I think that Wake Forest will come looking for revenge, and if Navy isn’t careful, they will get it. But I am still not convinced of Wake’s offense, which may prove fatal when they fall behind. I will give it to Navy, 28-17.