Bowl News: West Virginia Will be Without Leading Rusher

A tough break for West Virginia.

When North Carolina faces West Virginia in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the Mountaineers will not have running back CJ Donaldson. Their leading rusher suffered an injury in November in their game against Oklahoma and has been hurt numerous times this season. Since then, he has had surgery and will not be available.

WVU Coach on Donaldson

According to wvnstv.com, West Virginia head coach Neal Brown had this to say about the injury: “That’s really my decision. He had surgery, and I thought [the injury] affected him right at the end of the year, especially the Baylor game. I felt like an offseason was more important to him than not being able to play full-speed in the bowl game.”

Getting Donaldson back to health and ready for next season will be big for the Mountaineers. On the season, he had 171 rushes for 798 yards and 11 touchdowns.

UNC Missing a Lot

This bowl game will be missing a lot of star power. Along with Donaldson of WVU, North Carolina has had a lot of transfers, NFL declarations, and injuries. UNC will be without its starting quarterback, top receiver, top slot receiver, three tight ends, multiple offensive linemen, linebacker, and more.

This game should be a chance for the young guys to show what they’ve got.

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