ACC Bowling Season: Pitt Gets the First Win, Maryland, Syracuse Will Try on Friday

For the ACC, bowling season has started and on Thursday, Pitt (6-6, 3-5)  kicked things off  in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against Bowling Green (10-3, 7-1) with a 30-27 win.

It was a record-setting night for two Panthers freshmen as running back James Conner set a school bowl rushing record with his 229 yards while his freshman teammate wide receiver Tyler Boyd had eight receptions for 173 yards and one touchdown from a punt return.

James Conner

Conner surpassed the school bowl record set by Tony Dorsett in 1977 with 202 yards and Boyd broke the one set by Gordon Jones in 1978 with 163 yards.

The running back, who scored one touchdown, said of the game via the Associated Press, “After the last game, Coach told me they wanted to unleash me on both sides of the ball, so I’ve been getting a lot of reps both ways. I was pretty tired by the end, but I wasn’t going to tap out. They kept giving me the ball, so I just kept running.”

Pitt had to overcome the loss of quarterback Tom Savage who injured his ribs and missed the game’s second half. Chad Voytik pinch hit and the redshirt freshman went 8 of 13 passes, 124 yards and two carries for 24 yards with one score.

Military Bowl: Maryland vs. Marshall 2:30 p.m. ET

For the Terrapins, their trip to the Military Bowl could almost be considered a home game as they will be in Annapolis.

Maryland (7-5, 3-5) started the season out strong with its four consecutive wins and landed in the Top 25–a first since the 2008 season. But all good things come to an end as Florida State was the spoiler with its a 63-0 rout on Oct. 5. Maryland never really recovered as they battled the injury bug with the loss of its quarterback C.J. Brown and its wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

In a 27-24 win over Virginia Tech on Nov. 16, Maryland found themselves bowl eligible but they will have their hands full on Friday against Marshall‘s (9-4,7-1) dominant offense.

The team has a No. 7 national ranking for scoring (43.0 points per game) and No. 12 for total offense (502.3 yards per game). Their season consisted of seven of eight wins and in a five-game win streak, Marshall averaged 53.8 points per game.

Quarterback Rakeem Cato is tied for No. 3 nationally with his 36 touchdowns.

Maryland is scrappy but Marshall gets the win (-2.5, 62.5 o/u).

Texas Bowl: Syracuse vs. Minnesota 6:00 p.m ET

For the Orange (6-6, 4-4), it was a season of change as they bid goodbye to coach Doug Marrone and quarterback Ryan Nassib. It’s a new era under coach Scott Shafer–a running game.

Jerome Smith,

Running back Jerome Smith was here to help and had 840 rushing yards with 11 scores while overall the team was No. 4 in the ACC with its 193.8 rushing yards per game. Last year against Minnesota, Smith had nine carries for 52 yards.

Friday’s game will represent his last one with Syracuse as he plans to leave school early and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

Smith could end on a good note as Minnesota (8-4, 4-4) has allowed six 100-yard rushers in its last five games; for the season the number rises to eight games. This season, Smith had three 100-yard games.

As for the Orange’s passing game, it’s not so great as it sat as the third worst in the conference with its 181.5 yards per game. Fortunately the Gophers were worst: a Big Ten-low with its 141.8 yards.

However, Minnesota also has a talented running back, junior David Cobb, who ran for 1,111 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He finished No.6 in the Big Ten.

Minnesota has its same coach Jerry Kill but it was a tough season for him as battled health problems.

Last year, they played in this same bowl but lost 34-31 to Texas Tech after blowing a seven-point lead with 1:10 remaining. Can you say redemption game?

Vegas agrees and gives the Gophers the win (-4.5, 47.5 o/u).