Pinstripe Bowl
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Kickoff: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET
Line: Boston College -3, Total: 40

Two schools looking for a program-boosting win meet at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon when Penn State collides with Boston College.

Both teams struggled down the stretch, with the Nittany Lions closing out the year on a 2-6 SU skid, while the Eagles have lost two of their past three contests. Boston College is propelled by dual-threat QB Tyler Murphy, who set an ACC record for quarterback rushing yards (1,079), but he could have a hard time running through Penn State, which leads the nation in rushing defense (85 YPG allowed) and ranks third in total defense (270 YPG allowed). While the Eagles are 4-1 ATS with 26.6 PPG on the road, the Nittany Lions are 1-3 ATS with a pathetic 15.8 PPG away from home. Penn State is 1-10 ATS after playing a home game in the past two seasons, but is also 16-8 ATS in games played on a grass field over the past three seasons. These schools last met in 2004, which was a 21-7 upset win for 4-point underdog Boston College. With nearly a month layoff, both schools are bringing healthy rosters to the Bronx. The only two injury concerns are Nittany Lions LB Brandon Bell (shoulder) and Eagles CB John Johnson (wrist), who are both considered questionable for Saturday.

Which team will prevail in the Pinstripe Bowl? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014-15 bowl season. StatFox Dave is heating up with a 67% ATS mark (8-4) in College Football Best Bets since Nov. 20, while StatFox Brian is 59% ATS (10-7) in Best Bets since Nov. 12. Brian is a stellar 7-3 ATS in all bowl picks through Thursday, and StatFox Forecaster is also 7-3 ATS in bowl picks.

Penn State's offense has been mostly dreadful this season, scoring a mere 19.8 PPG (115th in nation) due largely to an atrocious running game averaging 103.6 YPG (120th in FBS). The passing game is also below average at 221.9 YPG (73rd in nation), as sophomore QB Christian Hackenberg (2,606 pass yards, 6.0 YPA, 8 TD, 15 INT) has regressed majorly from a strong freshman season when he threw for 2,955 yards, 20 TD and 10 INT. This season, Hackenberg has completed only 54.4% of his passes, including a current skid of five straight games of completing 50% or less. He has thrown only four touchdown passes in his past 10 games combined. Although TE Jesse James (3 TD) is the only PSU player with multiple touchdown grabs this season, the clear No. 1 receiver is sophomore WR DeSean Hamilton (75 rec, 848 yards, 1 TD), who has four 100-yard efforts this season, but none in the past five games. Junior WR Geno Lewis (48 rec, 669 yards, 1 TD) is also a reliable set of hands, but after averaging 115.5 receiving YPG in the season's first four contests, he has gained a mere 25.9 YPG in the past eight games. The anemic rushing attack is led by a combination of RBs Akeel Lynch (603 rush yards, 4.6 YPC, 4 TD) and Bill Belton (518 rush yards, 4.2 YPC, 6 TD). Lynch has come on strong in the past three games with 318 rushing yards (5.3 YPC) and 3 TD, while Belton, who scored on a 92-yard TD run at Indiana on Nov. 8, has gotten only seven carries (for nine yards) over the past two games. Defensively, Penn State not only limits opposing ball carriers to 2.6 YPC, but holds opposing air attacks to 185 YPG on 5.8 YPA. Its third-ranked scoring defense has held eight schools to 20 points or less.

Boston College has a top-notch rushing attack with 251.8 YPG (14th in nation), but has thrown for only 132.0 YPG (123rd in FBS), leading to a pedestrian 25.9 PPG (85th in nation). QB Tyler Murphy (1,526 pass yards, 7.2 YPA, 11 TD, 10 INT) has not reached 175 passing yards in any of his 12 games this season, but has done major damage with his legs cranking out 1,079 rushing yards on 6.3 YPC with 10 touchdowns. However, Murphy has gained only 109 yards on 38 carries (2.9 YPC) in his past three games combined. When Murphy is not calling his own number, he hands the ball off to freshman RB Jon Hilliman (712 rush yards, 3.8 YPC, 12 TD), who has 85+ rushing yards on five different occasions this year, but has averaged a mere 35.0 rushing YPG on 2.8 YPC since Nov. 1. The only B.C. pass catcher with at least 300 yards through the air this season is senior WR Josh Bordner (26 rec, 342 yards, 3 TD), who has failed to reach 50 receiving yards in all of his past seven games. While Penn State has a superior defense, the Eagles have also shown that they can stop opposing offenses with a scoring defense of 20.5 PPG (19th in nation). They give up 313 total YPG (5.1 YPP), including 95 rushing YPG allowed on 3.1 YPC. Through the air, B.C. surrenders only 218 passing YPG on 7.0 YPA, which are still solid numbers at the FBS level.