What If Drake Maye Sits Out The Duke’s Mayo Bowl?
We've Provided Our First Breakdown Of The 2023 Duke's Mayo Bowl
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl kicks off this upcoming December, 27th. We’ve got the latest updates on lines, injuries, departures and weather right here:
The North Carolina Tar Heels will be without four critical starters for their Duke’s Mayo Bowl game against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Tar Heels won’t have significant pieces due to opt-outs, including star quarterback Drake Maye and wide receiver Tez Walker. Only defensive lineman Myles Murphy will play in this game before pursuing the NFL Draft.
North Carolina will start backup quarterback Connor Harrell. He’ll be taking snaps from Willie Lumpkin, who will play center instead of guard for the former starting center, Corey Gaynor, who has opted out.
North Carolina still has Omarion Hampton, who rushed for 1,442 yards as a sophomore this season. His college football stats helped him to earn 15 touchdowns on the ground. Hampton figures to be the x-factor for North Carolina in this game.
On the other hand, West Virginia lost eight key players in the transfer portal. However, the offense is still intact. Garrett Greene will still be under center after he accumulated a 76.6 QBR. That was good for 19th in college football this season.
Next to him will be C.J. Donaldson Jr. at running back. He added 798 yards with 11 touchdowns for the Mountaineers this season.
Therefore, North Carolina is dealing with more setbacks than West Virginia as we get closer to kickoff.
That’s why the college football betting lines continue to move in West Virginia’s direction. The Mountaineers opened as a 3.5-point favorite. However, the line has shifted to -7 for West Virginia since then.
Meanwhile, the total has seen some back-and-forth movement. The game opened at 55.5 and jumped up to 56.5 a week later. However, the total is now back down to 54. Finally, the moneyline for the Mountaineers is now at -250 when it was only around -166 at open for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
This should still be one of Wednesday’s better college football bowl games. Now, check out the rest of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl preview, originally published on December 8.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl will feature the North Carolina Tar Heels against the West Virginia Mountaineers. It’s an ACC-Big 12 matchup on Wednesday, December 27, at 5:30 pm ET.
The Tar Heels have already lost a lot of players to the transfer portal. However, it’s still unclear if star quarterback Drake Maye will play for North Carolina in this bowl game or forgo this matchup and head straight to NFL Draft preparation.
Most athletes in his shoes would go straight to prepping for the NFL Draft. Many scouts and analysts project Maye to be the second quarterback off the board this year. Some even believe he could be selected second overall.
It would likely be in his best interests to sit this one out and not risk an injury. He’s not playing in a championship game. North Carolina finished 8-4 and is playing in a subpar Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
West Virginia also finished 8-4 on the season. West Virginia lost a lot of backup wide receivers to the transfer portal. But that should have no effect on this team in the bowl game.
While many would love to see legendary North Carolina head coach Mack Brown covered in Duke’s Mayo, is West Virginia the team to beat?
The Mountaineers opened at and are currently -3.5, with the total at 56.5, up a point from its opener. Oddsmakers believe Maye won’t play in this game, which is why the line favors West Virginia.
Let’s take a look at the 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl preview for this matchup between two middle-tier squads.
2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Tar Heels vs Mountaineers 
Records: North Carolina (8-4) vs West Virginia (8-4)
Day/Time: Location: Bank of America Stadium
Streaming: ESPN
North Carolina’s Quarterback Replacement
There have already been reports that former LSU and Texas A&M starting quarterback Max Johnson will take his talents to North Carolina to be the Tar Heels’ next quarterback. He’d take over for Drake Maye and look to continue the legacy that Sam Howell and Drake Maye have built at the quarterback position previously.
However, Johnson can’t play in the bowl game. If Maye sits out, it’ll more than likely be freshman Connor Harrell getting the ball. Another backup quarterback, Jefferson Boaz, has already entered the transfer portal.
Harrell is a dual-threat quarterback who had some playing time against Syracuse, Campbell, and North Carolina State. He added four completions on four attempts against Campbell in a blowout win.
It would make the most sense if Harrell got the opportunity to showcase his skills in this game.
North Carolina Departures & Injuries
The North Carolina Tar Heels were hit with many players entering the transfer portal. This isn’t new. Most teams are having this issue.
The only significant loss to the Portal was Elijah Green, who had eight rushing touchdowns last season. However, Green was behind Omarion Hampton and British Brooks as the No. 3 running back this season.
Meanwhile, WR Nate McCollum is questionable for this game with a lower-body NCAAF injury. McCollum added 39 catches for 428 yards this season.
West Virginia Is Happy In the Duke’s Mayo Bowl
A Big 12 team typically doesn’t play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. However, the Big 12 had one more team bowl-eligible than the SEC. Therefore, West Virginia got the opportunity to play in this game.
The ACC had to do a last-minute shuffle after Florida State was denied a top-four spot in the College Football Playoff.
With Florida State being denied, the Seminoles went to the Orange Bowl, pushing Louisville out of the New Year’s Six Bowl. The dominoes continued to fall for all ACC teams and forced a lot of fixes in the later afternoon of the bowl announcements on Sunday.
The Mountaineers could’ve played Clemson or Louisville. Instead, they got a North Carolina team, who will likely not play in this game. WVU fans should be happy with this.
West Virginia Departures & Injuries
So far, West Virginia will have a near-full roster for this game. The Mountaineers have only seen many backup wide receivers enter the portal so far.
After winning four of their last five games, the Mountaineers had trended in the right direction over the previous month and a half. They’ll look to continue that momentum into this matchup.
Expect North Carolina To Run More
We’re going to take a wild guess that the potential No. 2 selection in the NFL Draft won’t play in a meaningless bowl game.
With Drake Maye out, the Tar Heels would be left with Conner Harrell at quarterback. He’s a freshman with wheels. He had a 61-yard run against Campbell that resulted in a touchdown earlier this year.
However, he’s only thrown six passes in his college career. You’d like to figure that North Carolina will simplify the game plan and allow Harrell and Omarion Hampton the chance to run all over the Mountaineers.
West Virginia allowed 144.33 yards per game on the ground this season. The Mountaineers also allowed 27.5 points per game. The defense wasn’t great, but it could be exploited in the ground game.
North Carolina nearly earned 200 yards per game on the ground this season with Maye. With Harrell, that rate would probably increase.
On the other hand, West Virginia earned 234.33 yards per game on the ground. The Mountaineers relied heavily on CJ Donaldson Jr., who added nearly 800 yards rushing for 11 touchdowns on 171 carries.
With North Carolina allowing 162.83 yards per game on the ground, West Virginia has the edge in the run game.
Meanwhile, the North Carolina passing game is a mystery. West Virginia’s passing game is solid behind Garrett Greene, who threw only four interceptions all season long.
The 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl would’ve been more exciting with Maye. Without Maye, the NCAA Football Bowl projections favor West Virginia. While more star players will play in other NCAA bowl games, there are still plenty of exciting headlines for this matchup.
We’ll have NCAA Bowl odds predictions for every Bowl game this season. Keep checking back!
For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
