Wake Forest vs. Temple, Military Bowl 2016: Schedule, scores, and more

We all understand that bowl season is a bit more volatile than the regular season. Here’s one way of illustrating that.

Over the last six weeks of the regular season, about 18 percent of games were decided within 3.5 points of the spread, and about 25 percent were decided 21 points or further from it.

After sprinting out to a 31-10 halftime lead over Temple, Wake Forest held on to beat the Owls 34-26 to win the school’s first bowl game since 2008. That’s also the last time Wake had a winning record.

There are only two Wake Forests. Wake Forest pre-Wakeyleaks and Wake Forest post-Wakeyleaks. At least, I’d like to think there is. One day I’ll get over how truly strange the whole fiasco is, but that day will not be anytime soon. ESPN even showed former Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner in the booth with a graphic naming him as the interim radio analyst for the Deacs.

At halftime, Wake Forest was flat out crushing Temple, winning 31-10. The game isn’t even as close as that score indicates. The Owls scored on their first offensive play of the game, and only mustered a field goal after that. In explaining the offensive explosion against a good Temple defense, obviously coach Dave Clawson was going to be asked if this had anything to do with the end of Wakeyleaks.

ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra asked Clawson if the team’s success could be attributed to now being able to use the full playbook with no fear of espionage.

Wake Forest has had an interesting time preparing for its bowl game against Temple. On Dec. 14, the college football storyline that involved Wake and four other teams was born. It was revealed that Tommy Elrod, a former Wake assistant and current IMG Radio broadcaster for the team, had been leaking game information to some of the Demon Deacons’ opponents.

One of those teams was Louisville, which some assistants said knew about the leaks, although head coach Bobby Petrino said he knew nothing about it. Some information was also leaked ahead of the 2014 Wake Forest–Virginia Tech game, and the ACC fined Louisville and Virginia Tech $25,000 each for their involvement.

The Owls picked up momentum as the season went on, ending the season on a 7-0 SU and ATS run over its last seven games after losing on the road to Memphis 34-27 as a 10-point road underdog.

Temple won its last five games by an average margin of victory of 24.8 points per game, holding opposing teams to just 6.6 points per game over that stretch with two shutout victories. The offense averaged 32.8 points per game en route to a 10-3 SU and 12-1 ATS regular season.

Both sides are right. Bowls are a cynical money-making exercise, an excuse for ESPN inventory, and an outdated way for all the wrong people to maintain some semblance of control over college football. They’re also happy, bonus football.

We are at both extremes in 2016. We once again had 80 bowl bids to give out and fewer than 80 bowl-eligible teams, a sure sign of bloat and excess. We’re also loaded with perhaps more interesting bowl matchups than we’ve ever seen.

Bowl games are good. There are too many of them. Both things are true.

We’re holding steady at 41 on this year’s schedule, counting the National Championship, and again have multiple 5-7 teams that made it in because we ran out of 6-6 teams (Mississippi State and North Texas this time).

All wagers at -110 odds unless otherwise noted. Visit Odds Shark for updated lines throughout each game week.

College football bowl games are a different beast for bettors. Sure, the typical handicapping elements apply. Offense and defense matter. But there are some key elements at play that don’t apply as much during the regular season.

On Nov. 12, the Wake Forest football team lost at Louisville, 44-12. The Demon Deacons had a second-half lead, but things fell apart down the stretch, and the Cardinals blew them out. After the game, Wake coach Dave Clawson said he was worried that Louisville, perhaps, had gotten its hands on some of Deacs’ game plan documents. Athletic director Ron Wellman said a member of Wake’s travel party had come across such documents while in Louisville for the game.

Clawson said he was “concerned that there was some type of security breach,” and Wake started up an investigation. Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said he had “no knowledge of the situation,” and the story quieted down.

College football’s bowl season is upon us. A full schedule is here.

There are 40 bowl games spread from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, with the National Championship on Jan. 9. Unless you’re watching on multiple monitors and are really committed, you won’t catch all of them. (If that is your plan, more power to you.)

Baylor has found its next head coach. Temple head coach Matt Rhule was named the Bears’ new head coach for 2017 after leading the Owls to an American Athletic Conference title, the program’s first conference title since 1967, and the school’s first-ever back-to-back 10-win seasons. According to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy, Rhule has received a seven-year deal from Baylor.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Matt, Julie and their children to the Baylor Family,” Baylor athletic director Mark Rhoades announced in the school’s official release. “When we set out on our search for a new leader of our football program, we wanted a coach who shared our values, who had demonstrated success, who showed a true commitment to the overall student-athlete and who we believed could lead Baylor to a national championship. We found all of that and more in Matt and I know that he will be a perfect fit with the Baylor Family.”

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

The Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman takes center stage on Tuesday afternoon. The game’s features a matchup between the ACC and the American, and has been around since 2008. The game was first played in Washington D.C. at RFK Stadium, but moved to Annapolis in 2013.

The college football world avoided a week of bowl drama when Temple rocked No. 19 Navy, 34-10, to win the American Athletic Conference title.

This is 10-3 Temple’s first conference title since 1967 in the Middle Atlantic and continues an astounding turnaround that started under Al Golden and continues under Matt Rhule. The Owls have three 10-win seasons ever, two of them in back-to-back years by Rhule, who’s also 14-2 over the last two years in the country’s top mid-major conference.

College football’s powers are supposed to answer all of our burning questions on Sunday afternoon. That’s when the Playoff’s selection committee makes public the identities of four teams (OK, Alabama and three other teams) who will get a chance to play for the national title, via the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl semifinals.

And that’ll still happen. Most other bowls will still be able to announce their bids later Sunday, too.