For all the criticism that is launched at ACC football, the conference once again has twelve teams participating in bowls. For a list of the bowls, see here. The New Era Pinstripe Bowl will take place in Yankee Stadium in New York City and features Boston College and Penn State. Kickoff is at 4;30 p.m. on December 27 and the game will be televised on ESPN. Boston College is the favorite at -2.5 according to Alex Parsuk, MTS’ Pinstripe sports betting expert. Here are the Confidential’s notes for the Pinstripe Bowl.
Penn State Notes:
- Penn State finished 115th in points scored, but will lean heavily on its defense, which was 8th in points allowed.
- The offense is passing oriented–as Christian Hackenberg passed for over 2,600 yards, nearly 1,000 more than Boston College.
- Penn State finished sixth in the Big Ten East
- The Nittany Lions lost to both Northwestern and Michigan, neither of which is going bowling this year
- The Nittany Lions best wins were over Central Florida and Rutgers
- Penn State’s last loss to Boston College was in 2003, when a 4-7 team lost to a 9-3 Boston College squad, 21-7. Penn State has lost its last three games against Boston College
- Penn State
- The best blog covering Penn State is Black Shoe Diaries
Boston College Notes:
- The Eagles best rusher is also its best passer, as Tyler Murphy rushed for 1,079 yards on the season. In fact, Murphy averaged more than 6 yards a carry, which is all the more impressive given that this statistic include sacks
- The Eagles passing game is not too daunting, as its two best receivers combined for a mere 49 receptions–about 4 to 5 per game. The passing game was a dismal 123rd overall.
- Boston College’s best win of the year was its upset win over USC, ranked #9 at the time
- Boston College’s worst loss of the year was its loss to Colorado State, however the rams ended up 10-2 on the season
- Boston College’s losses to Florida State and Clemson were by a combined 7 point, continuing the BC trend of playing both teams closer than most other schools
- The Eagles last loss to Penn State was in 1991, when a 4-7 team lost to an 11-2 Penn State squad, 28-21
- The best blog covering Boston College is BC Interruption
Other Notes:
The two teams played one common opponent–UMass. Penn State won that week 4 game, 48-7. Boston College defeated UMass 30-7 in its season opener.
