With West Virginia QB Will Grier sitting, bet on Syracuse

It’s a shame that West Virginia quarterback Will Grier will sit out the Camping World Bowl against Syracuse in what could be one of the most intriguing bowls outside of the New Year’s Six.

Grier’s announcement that he would skip the game to prepare for the NFL draft moved the line from West Virginia minus 7 to minus 2 almost overnight. Mountaineers’ All-Big 12 starting left tackle Yodny Cajuste also will sit out to prepare for the draft, and starting receiver Gary Jennings will miss the game because of an ankle injury.

Syracuse (9-3) has the nation’s best special teams, according to the S&P+ ratings, and coach Dino Babers is an excellent motivator. Word around Morgantown is that West Virginia isn’t excited about the game, still smarting from the loss to Oklahoma.

It’s interesting that West Virginia (8-3) will play Jack Allison and Trey Lowe III at quarterback. Allison is not particularly fleet of foot, and Syracuse likes to blitz, but Lowe III hasn’t taken a college snap.

It’s the final college game for Orange quarterback Eric Dungey, who has amassed 11,015 total yards of offense and accounted for 92 touchdowns. I think Syracuse, a 1-point underdog, wins outright.

Four more plays:

Vanderbilt (-4) over Baylor: The Commodores are 6-6 after blowing what could have been a win at Notre Dame, losing a 21-3 lead vs. Florida when Ke’Shawn Vaughn got hurt, blowing a 28-19 lead at Missouri and losing 14-7 at Kentucky. Vanderbilt finally gets a team with comparable roster talent, and Baylor is missing No. 1 offensive threat Jalen Hurd to injury. Expect a motivated Commodores team to move the ball at will.

Duke (+4) over Temple: David Cutcliffe is one of the best X’s and O’s coaches in college football. He’s also 4-1 ATS in bowl games. If you haven’t seen the now-viral news conference of Temple interim coach Ed Foley, you should check it out online. Or trust my take: Duke has a major coaching advantage in this game. The Blue Devils’ defense has been solid, even with four key players out for the season.

Hawaii (-1) over Louisiana Tech: Most do not properly account for Hawaii’s brutal in-season travel schedule. At one point, the Rainbow Warriors played 11 straight weeks. Hawaii did not play consecutive home or road games for the final eight weeks of that stretch, losing the last four. Now Hawaii hasn’t played in one month and gets to stay home for the bowl. Louisiana Tech also does not have the passing attack to take advantage of Hawaii’s poor secondary.

California (Pick) over Texas Christian: TCU had to win three of its final four games to salvage a bowl bid. The Horned Frogs are down to their third quarterback, and leading rusher Darius Anderson will miss the game with an injury. I don’t think TCU will get traction against the Golden Bears’ No. 12 defense, per the S&P+ ratings. Cal also has a huge special teams advantage (No. 20 vs. No. 121, according to S&P+), crippling for TCU in a game with a posted betting total of 39 points.

Last week: 2-3 against the spread

Season: 37-32-6

More betting: Follow at reviewjournal.com/betting and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Christopher Smith of AL.com, NOLA.com and MyBookie is providing college football analysis for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Follow @cfblocksmith on Twitter.