Matchup: Temple (8-4) vs Wyoming (8-4) – An interesting game, but one that will be decided entirely by which Temple shows up. Good Temple destroyed Maryland, should have beaten Penn St. (pre-scandal) and won 5 MAC games. Bad Temple is like the Temple of old. Wyoming has a high octane offense, in theory. It sometimes doesn't get revved up, but that didn't matter as the Mountain West wasn't the killer it was the last few seasons.
Matchup Pedigree: Wyoming has a long tradition as an average mid-major, dating back to its time in the WAC. Temple's greatest legacy is being kicked out of the Big East.
Locale: Albuquerque is a nice place if not football mad. That along with the nice stadium should ensure an okay turnout, unless there is bad weather.
Entertainment Value: Bernard Pierce of Temple is a really strong running back, but he takes a bad seat to the uptempo spread that Wyoming runs that allowed the Cowboys to win eight games.
Corporate Nonsense: Gilden is every bit the average corporate sponsor. They put the name in front and get out of the way. Enjoy that here as so many others are going to be miserable.
Bowl Pedigree: This game is not very old and frequently has two bad teams (this is the best matchup in bowl history. Just note that this game has been non-BCS 6-6 tv fodder).
Game Prediction: Bernard Pierce will run very hard and get off to a great start. It won't last as Wyoming will score whatever amount of points are needed to get back into the game before turning the offensive heat up and winning going away. I just can't bring myself to pick Temple, good though it is. It's Temple football.
Wyoming 28, Temple 23
Wyoming 28, Temple 23
Should you watch: YES, YES. YES. It's the first bowl. Always watch the first bowl game before raging about a playoff.
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