Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Washington State Cougars: Betting Guide

It is time for a rescheduled version of the Sun Bowl. This game was initially supposed to involve Washington State and the Miami Hurricanes, but Miami could not field a team due to COVID-19 complications. Central Michigan was originally scheduled to play Boise State in the Arizona Bowl, also on Friday, but Boise State ran into COVID-19 problems. El Paso, the site of the Sun Bowl, is just a 4-hour bus ride from Tucson. Central Michigan made the trip and will play Wazzu.

• Game: Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Washington State (7-5)
• Location: Sun Bowl Stadium (El Paso)
• Day/Time: Friday, December 31 – 12:00 p.m. ET
• Television: CBS

The Chippewas handled Eastern Michigan very easily, 31-10, back on November 26. Central Michigan was 4-4 through eight games this season. The fourth loss was to Northern Illinois, in which CMU blew an 18-point lead on its home field to the eventual Mid-American Conference champions. That game could have ruined Central Michigan’s season, but the Chips instead rallied and won their last four games, all by double-digit margins. Clearly, Central Michigan learned from that loss to Northern Illinois instead of crumbling in response to it. Central Michigan scored 31 points or more in each of its last five games of the season. What was notable is that the defense, which had been giving up 30 points or more on a regular basis, stiffened in the last two games, allowing an average of just 13.5 points in wins over Ball State (the 2020 Mid-American Conference champion) and Eastern Michigan in the season finale.

Washington State won the Apple Cup rivalry game against the Washington Huskies, 40-13. This marked Washington State’s first Apple Cup win since 2012, and just its second win in the rivalry game since 2008. Washington State interim head coach Jake Dickert, who had been the team’s defensive coordinator but was promoted to interim coach when head coach Nick Rolovich got fired in midseason (in mid-October), led Washington State well over the final six weeks of the season. His Apple Cup blowout win secured him the permanent head coaching position with the Cougars, who very nearly won the Pac-12 North Division and would have done so if Oregon State had upset Oregon in the final game of the regular season, one week before the Pac-12 Championship Game. Washington State was effective and balanced, with Jayden de Laura quarterbacking the offense with precision, all while the defense held Washington to 13 points and was constantly flying to the ball to make plays.

Betting on the Game

With Central Michigan having to travel from Tucson for the Arizona Bowl to El Paso for the Sun Bowl, they seem to be operating at a disadvantage, given that they haven’t had maximum time to either set up in their bowl location or gain film study of their opponent. Washington State hasn’t had extensive film study of Central Michigan, but WSU has been in El Paso for the full week and should be able to have defensive answers for whatever CMU wants to do. Cougars against the spread is a solid play.