COLLEGE FOOTBALL BEST EARLY BETS JAN. 2 BOWLS
Summary
The Marlin Armed Forces Bowl features Rice, who struggled late in the season, against Texas State, who finished strong with three straight wins. Texas State is favored by 13 points, and the prediction is for them to win easily while the total score stays under 58.5 points.
In the Liberty Bowl, Navy enters after a rivalry win over Army, while Cincinnati is on a four-game losing streak. Navy is favored by a touchdown, with an expectation they will control the game and keep the score under 54.5. The Holiday Bowl sees ranked Arizona, on a five-game win streak, favored by 3 points over SMU, with a predicted high-scoring game. Finally, in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Wake Forest is picked to cover against Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs have struggled for months.
MARLIN ARMED FORCES BOWL
RICE VS TEXAS STATE (-13, O/U: 58.5)
Oh yeah, we still have one last day of relatively meaningless Bowl Games. This one features Rice (5-7) coming in after losing six of their last eight, including a 52-3 beatdown by South Florida to end the season. Drew Devillier was 3 of 9 passing for 65 yards, no TDs ,and no picks. Chase Jenkins was 6 of 9 for 39 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Aaron Turner caught seven passes for 99 yards. Their defense did next to nothing in the game. The Bobcats (6-6) won three straight to end their season, knocking off South Alabama 49-26 in the finale. Brad Jackson was 20 of 26 for 281 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He added 13 carries for 113 yards and three TDs. Lincoln Pare rushed 19 times for 91 yards. Chris Dawn, Jr. rushed eight times for 154 yards. He added four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Beau Sparks got into the paint once. The defense picked off Bishop Davenport once and sacked him twice.Â
BEST BETS: Texas State -13, Under 58.5
While the Owls might just be happy to be here, there’s an argument that they shouldn’t have gotten the invite. Texas State should win in a walk to open the day.
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL
NAVY VS CINCINNATI (+7, O/U: 54.5)
The Midshipmen (10-2) took the annual Army-Navy game the last time they were on the field, winning 17-16 over their archrivals. Blake Horvath was 7 of 14 passing for 82 yards, one touchdown, and one pick. He rushed 34 times for 107 yards and a score and was sacked once. Eli Heidenreich caught six passes for 72 yards and a TD. The defense held Army to 202 total yards, picked Cale Hellums off once and sacked him once. Cincinnati (7-5) takes a four-game losing streak into the end of the season, losing 45-23 to TCU in the finale. Brendan Sorsby was 23 of 33 for 282 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. He added 10 rushes for 59 yards and was sacked three times. Cyrus Allen, Jeff Caldwell, and Evan Pryor all caught TDs. The defense sacked Josh Hoover twice.Â
BEST BETS: Navy -7. Under 54.5
Picking a service academy to win in these bowl games is an indictment of the team they’re playing. The Navy should be able to control the ball and keep the Bearcats out of the end zone.Â
TRUST & WILL HOLIDAY BOWL
No. 17 ARIZONA VS SMU (+3, O/U: 52.5)
Arizona (9-3) is our only ranked team on the final Bowl Day of the season, and comes into this one on a five-game winning streak capped with a 23-7 victory over Arizona State. Noah Fields was 28 of 45 for 286 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. He was sacked once. Kendrick Reescano scored a TD. Kris Hudson caught seven balls for 95 yards. The defense picked Jeff Sims off three times. The Mustangs (8-4) ended their season with a 38-35 loss to California. Kevin Jennings was 24 of 36 for 250 yards, two TDs, and a pick. He added 23 yards and a TD on the ground and was sacked twice. Chris Johnson, Jr. rushed 10 times for 128 yards and a score. TJ Harden rushed for a touchdown. Matthew Hibner caught five passes for 87 yards and a score. Jordan Hudson hauled in a TD.Â
BEST BETS: Arizona -3, Over 52.5
The Wildcats should take this one, but SMU should make a fight out of it. They ranked themselves most of the year and just fell out of the Top 25 after the loss to Cal.
DUKE’s MAYO BOWL
WAKE FOREST VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (-3, O/U: 53)
The Demon Deacons (8-4) fell to Duke, 49-32, in their season finale. Robby Ashford was 27 of 43 passing for 342 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He added 16 rushes for 44 yards and a score. Ty Clark II got into the end zone on the ground. Sawyer Racanelli caught seven passes for 123 yards and a TD. Carlos Hernandez hauled in six balls for 93 yards. Karate Brenson caught a 20-yard touchdown. Mississippi State (5-7) eked its way into Bowl Season, losing seven of its last eight, including a 38-19 beating in the final game by Ole Miss. Kamario Taylor was 15 of 31 for 178 yards, no TDs, and a pick. He added 20 carries for 173 yards and two scores and was sacked three times. Fluff Bothwell rushed 17 times for 80 yards. Brenan Thompson caught six passes for 80 yards.Â
BEST BETS: Wake Forest +3
I don’t get this line, and certainly the Bulldogs have not shown they can cover a field goal at any point over the last three months.Â
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