3 things to know for the Military Bowl

Need a brief primer before you attempt to watch all 40 bowl games this season? We’ve got you covered. Here are three things you need to know about the Military Bowl.

MILITARY BOWL
Temple (10-3) vs. Wake Forest (6-6)
Dec. 27, 3 p.m. ET
ESPN

– Temple enters the Military Bowl on a seven-game win streak. After dropping a 34-27 game to Memphis on Oct. 6, Temple was 3-3 and staring at the possibility of a .500 season. In the seven games since, the Owls beat South Florida to get the tiebreaker edge in the American Athletic Conference’s East Division and beat Navy 34-10 in the AAC title game.

The Owls will be playing Tuesday with an interim coach, however. As Matt Rhule is off to Baylor, Ed Foley will serve as Temple’s boss for the game before Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins takes over.

– Has Wake Forest recovered from WakeyLeaks? More than likely now that the school has figured out that former radio analyst Tommy Elrod was the person giving opposing teams some proprietary information.

Wake got to 6-6 and a bowl game on the strength of its defense. The Demon Deacons held opponents to 21 points or fewer eight times in 2016. Wake’s defensive performance was so good throughout the season that defensive coordinator Mike Elko was hired by Notre Dame to serve as the Irish’s defensive coordinator in 2017.

– But if Wake Forest’s defense has been good in 2016, Temple’s has been great. The Owls have given up 4.6 yards a play and allowed just 275 yards a game this season. That could spell trouble for a Wake Forest offense that isn’t exactly described as explosive.

Quarterback John Wolford has thrown for 1,591 yards and is averaging less than six yards a pass. Meanwhile, leading rusher Matt Colburn has 566 yards on 137 carries while Wolford has 523 rushing yards.

Those stats pale in comparison to Temple QB Phillip Walker, who has averaged over eight yards a pass this season and will break the 3,000-yard mark with 102 yards passing on Tuesday. Both Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead could each get 1,000 rushing yards with 83 or more yards.

Mascot prediction: The Demon Deacon should have an advantage over an owl, assuming enough of a demon level to overcome the Owl’s awesome eyesight.

Real predictions
Graham Watson: Temple 35, Wake Forest 13
Nick Bromberg: Temple 23, Wake Forest 16
Sam Cooper: Temple 27, Wake Forest 14
Chris Herbert: Temple 24, Wake Forest 10

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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