Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl point spread: Picking Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Miami Hurricanes

As bowl season marches on, the slate of games is extensive. One of the next ones to keep an eye on is the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, which will pit Rutgers against Miami in a Power Five battle.

Rutgers is entering the game as a 1.5-point favorite over Miami with an over/under point total of 40.5 points. Ahead of the game, On3’s Andy Staples broke down his thoughts on the Pinstripe Bowl.

How to watch Rutgers vs. Miami

Time: Dec. 28 – 2:15 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN or ESPN+, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: New York, NY

Whenever a bowl game is held in the north, weather can be an issue. However, the weather has been mild in New York, so Andy Staples doesn’t expect that to have an impact on the game. Instead, he’s more interested in all the players Miami is missing for the game.

“I don’t know that Rutgers, which is a 1.5-point favorite, has that big of an advantage because of the weather,” Staples said. “But, yes, Rutgers is a 1.5-point favorite and Miami does not have Tyler Van Dyke, Colbie Young, Don Chanie, two-fifths of its offensive line, Kam Kinchens, Leonard Taylor on the d-line — that’s a lot to not have when Rutgers has almost everything.”

Tyler Van Dyke has transferred out of Miami. Meanwhile, his backup, Emory Williams, was injured and won’t be able to play in the Pinstripe Bowl. So, the Hurricanes are turning to Jacurri Brown at quarterback. At the same time, Rutgers has its own inherent issues on the offensive side of the ball this season.

Miami is certainly missing a lot of players. However, Staples noted that he’s not sure he wouldn’t have picked Rutgers with both teams at full strength.

“I think I’m going to take Rutgers in this game because you mentioned if they were at full strength, I’m not sure but I think that would have been a pretty good game between Rutgers and Miami. Because Miami, other than the FSU game where they played a little bit above their skis, I don’t know that Miami played — well, Texas A&M, I guess.”

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Staples then touched on another interesting aspect of the Pinstripe Bowl. The two head coaches, Mario Cristobal and Greg Schiano, have had their paths cross more than once before.

“There’s the familiarity with the coaches. Greg Schiano kind of helped bring Mario Cristobal along. Greg Schiano was an assistant on the Miami staff when Mario was playing. Mario, his career, Greg Schiano kind of helped him along early in his career.”

In the end, Andy Staples picked Rutgers to beat Miami and cover the small 1.5-point spread.