(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
There has been a trend of college football bowl games that are played in baseball stadiums. That trend will continue with the final bowl game outside of the national championship game in the Cactus Bowl which will be played at Chase Field in Phoenix on January 2. The 7-5 West Virginia Mountaineers will attempt to beat up on the home state and 6-6 Arizona State Sun Devils. The home of the Arizona Diamondbacks should be rocking and rolling for this one.
West Virginia had their winning streak snapped in a 24-23 loss to Kansas State to finish the regular season. Skyler Howard has thrown for 2,613 yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while finding Shelton Gibson 33 times for 744 yards and eight touchdowns. The ground game has been controlled by Wendell Smallwood and his 1,447 rushing yards along with nine touchdowns. The Mountaineers average 33.3 points and 463.3 yards a game but only allow 386.2 yards per contest. This is a great chance to show the country that the losses were all due to a solid Big 12 Conference.
Arizona State had a two-game winning streak ended with a 48-46 loss to California as their regular season finale. Mike Bercovici threw for 3,442 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions during the year. Devin Lucien was a very solid target for Bercovici with 57 catches for 930 yards and seven touchdowns while Demario Richard rushed for 1,050 yards and seven touchdowns. The Sun Devils average 33.8 points a game but give up 32.7 while averaging 473.8 yards on offense. Arizona State gives up 446.1 yards though which should bode well for West Virginia’s chances.
What time is the Cactus Bowl?
The Cactus Bowl will begin at 10:15 p.m. Eastern.
What date and channel will the Cactus Bowl be on?
The Cactus Bowl will be played on Saturday, January 2 and can be seen on ESPN.
