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30th December
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Navy Midshipmen
The Armed Forces Bowl usually matches up one of the service academies against a team from Conference USA or the Mountain West. In 2013, the Navy Midshipmen take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
The Armed Forces Bowl usually matches up one of the service academies against a team from Conference USA or the Mountain West. In 2013, the Navy Midshipmen take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
But being a service academy hasn't meant much as far as success in this bowl goes, considering Army, Air Force and Navy are a combined 2-3 both straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in the bowl.
The Midshipmen and Raiders meet Monday, Dec. 30 at Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU campus in Fort Worth in a bowl that has gone to the dogs the past five games.
Preview & Score Prediction.
Mid Tennessee State (8-4, 6-2 Conference USA): The Blue Raiders are making a return to bowl play for the first time since falling to Miami (Ohio) in the GoDaddy.com Bowl after the 2010 season and are focused on picking up the school’s third bowl win in history. “You have your destination and objective in mind,” Kilgore said of returning to practice after exams. “… After we progress the next couple of days, we’ll start tightening down more for Navy.” Middle Tennessee tightened its defense over the last four games, but surrendered 177 yards on the ground in a 48-17 victory over Texas-El Paso in the regular-season finale.
Navy Midshipmen (8-4): The Midshipmen played the final regular-season game of the college season against rival Army and showed off the effectiveness of the triple option by churning out 343 of their 353 yards on the ground in the 34-7 victory. Reynolds’ three rushing touchdowns gave him 29 on the season, breaking the NCAA single-season record of 27 shared by former Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs (2009) and Kansas State’s Collin Klein (2011). Navy gave most of its opponents fits and nearly pulled off an upset at Notre Dame on Nov. 2 before falling 38-34. Since that loss to the Irish, Navy has won its last four games, including another victory over rival Army, to make a bowl for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. Powered by its option attack, Navy ranked second in the country by averaging 322 YPGrushing. In the process, quarterback Keenan Reynolds set a new FBS record with 29 rushing touchdowns. This is a veteran squad that's beaten expectations almost weekly this season, going 9-3 ATS and 5-1 ATS in its past six.
No team in college football throws it less than the Midshipmen, who dominate on the ground with a triple-option attack. Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds averaged 10.1 pass attempts and 23.3 rushing attempts in guiding an offense that puts up an average of 34.3 points. Navy's triple option has been even better than years past. Key for Navy is their super skilled duel threat QB Keenan Reynolds. On the year Reynolds totalled 37 Total Touchdowns which is an all time Navy record.
The Blue Raiders have been on a winning streak in their last five games, so they come into the bowl match with heavy momentum and an average of 523 yards per game in that win streak. Key player for Blue Raiders is Senior QB Logan Kilgore, he will need to put up points as the MTSU defense won't stop Navy's running game. On the year Kilgore threw for 2,289 yards and 16 touchdowns but he did throw 11 interceptions on the year.
Blue Raiders will try and out score the Midshipmen but Navy's defense causes at least 2 turnovers. Both teams should score but as the triple option offense is always good at Navy this year's added dimension of pass threat of QB Reynolds make them nearly impossible to stop.
Midshipmen by a touch.
Predicted Score - Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 28 , Navy Midshipmen 35.
THE BET:
Navy Midshipmen - 6
Key Trends:
- Midshipmen are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 vs. CUSA.Midshipmen are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.Midshipmen are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.Blue Raiders are 7-19 ATS in their last 26 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.Blue Raiders are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a SU win of more than 20 points.Blue Raiders are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.Blue Raiders are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.Blue Raiders are 0-5-1 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games.
30th December
Ole Miss Rebels vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The 16th Annual Music City Bowl will once again be played in Nashville, TN at LP Field. For the 4th straight year the name sponsor will be Franklin American Mortgage. Last year SEC continued it's Music City dominance winning 5 of last 6 years as Vandy won 38-24.
As part of the run up to New Years, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl will be played on December 30, putting two evenly matched teams together for a bowl bash. Representing the SEC will be Ole Miss taking on the ACC's Georgia Tech both have a regular season performance of 7 wins and 5 losses.
The 16th Annual Music City Bowl will once again be played in Nashville, TN at LP Field. For the 4th straight year the name sponsor will be Franklin American Mortgage. Last year SEC continued it's Music City dominance winning 5 of last 6 years as Vandy won 38-24.
As part of the run up to New Years, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl will be played on December 30, putting two evenly matched teams together for a bowl bash. Representing the SEC will be Ole Miss taking on the ACC's Georgia Tech both have a regular season performance of 7 wins and 5 losses.
Preview & Score Prediction.
Two highly productive offenses will be on display when Georgia Tech meets Mississippi in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville, Tenn. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are fifth in the nation in rushing (311.7) with a variety of weapons and Ole Miss has shown a bit more balance with quarterback Bo Wallace throwing for 3,090 yards and 17 touchdowns. Georgia Tech is 4-5 since beating Duke and North Carolina while the Rebels finished with two losses, but own solid victories over LSU and Texas.
The Ole Miss Rebels (7-5) may have the most impressive 7-5 record in all of college football, having faced the gauntlet of the SEC, including five ranked teams. Four of their five losses came to teams that finished in the top 15 in the nation. The Rebels' front seven, which allows 155 rushing yards per game, will need to be stout against the Yellow Jackets’ option attack. Ole Miss has been given over a month to prepare for it, and will shut down Georgia Tech’s running game and force them to pass the ball—where the Yellow Jackets rank 118th in the country.
The key may be which defense can come up with a big play to turn the momentum. All-SEC defensive back Cody Prewitt has six interceptions for Ole Miss Rebels, including one each in the last two games, and Georgia Tech defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu is tied for second in the country in sacks with 12.
3. Georgia Tech plays in a bowl game for the 17th straight season and is 23-18 overall after snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 21-7 victory over USC in last year’s Sun Bowl. The Rebels are 22-12, including wins in nine of their last 10 bowl games, and have split with the Yellow Jackets – winning the 1971 Peach Bowl and losing the 1953 Sugar Bowl.
The Yellow Jackets can have 3 to 4 different options on any given running play and their offense is very difficult to duplicate on the practice fields during preparation. If the Rebels defense cannot answer the challenge, the offense will need the help of quarterback Bo Wallace to pull out the victory. Wallace has been solid this year throwing the football by completing 65% passing for 3,090 yards with 17 scores and just 9 picks.
The triple-option offense works so well in college football because of its complexity, and the little amount of preparation time given each week. That gets thrown out the window during bowl season when teams are given over a month to prepare. Before defeating USC last year, the Yellow Jackets had lost seven straight bowls.
That is magnified even more because of Ole Miss’ great execution in bowls recently, going 7-1-1 against the spread in the last nine. The Rebels’ 24th-ranked passing attack led by Bo Wallace will put up points, and Georgia Tech’s offense just isn't built for a shootout.
Ole Miss wins, and covers the three points.
Predicted Score - Ole Miss Rebels 34, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 30.
THE BET:
Ole Miss Rebels - 3
Key Trends:
- Yellow Jackets are 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games on grass.
Yellow Jackets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. SEC.
Yellow Jackets are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 bowl games.
Yellow Jackets are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Bowl games.
Yellow Jackets are 0-6 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
Rebels are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 bowl games.
Rebels are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
Rebels are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 Bowl games.
Rebels are 18-5 ATS in their last 23 non-conference games.
Rebels are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
30th December
Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Pac-12 Championship game left the Arizona State Sun Devils with a sour taste in their mouths, losing to Stanford for the second time in 2013 and missing out on a chance to go to the Rose Bowl for just the third time in school history.
Instead of heading to Pasadena, the Devils travel to San Diego for the school’s fourth trip to the Holiday Bowl where ASU will take on Texas Tech.
Given Tech’s five game losing streak to end the season, the Sun Devils are heavy 14 point favorites to win. If ASU can pull off the win, it will be Arizona State’s first win at the Holiday Bowl in four tries.
Preview & Score Prediction.
Red Raiders started season on fire going 7-0 but after that it was ugly losing 5 straight games. First year Coach Kliff Kingsbury finished the season in dissapointing fashion but if he could finish with bowl victory it could send them into offseason with big momentum. Key for Holiday Bowl will be their two Freshman QB's if they can avoid turnovers, that killed them late in the season, Red Raiders can win this game. Both teams have excellent coaches who can pull off big surprises when an opponent gets too relaxed. Stanford ultimately bumped Arizona State from the Rose Bowl, but the Sun Devils are definitely going to be a challenge for the Red Raiders to overcome as the underdog. No surprise then, Arizona is picked as the favorite in Holiday Bowl at the expense of the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech’s five game skid to end the regular season only created value in this matchup with Arizona State. The Red Raiders finished the year with a very tough stretch of schedule facing three ranked teams in heir final five games, and all five of those opponents also made a bowl game this year. The Red Raiders are receiving way too many points in this matchup with the Sun Devils. Arizona State has not been a very strong team defensively this year, and I expect the Red Raiders high powered offense to put up some very big numbers in this game. Texas Tech averages 35.7 points per game this year, and they have gained 513 total yards per game.
Texas Tech is 5-2 ATS in their last seven non-conference games. They are facing a Sun Devils team that has a history of being overvalued in bowl games. The Sun Devils have a 1-4 ATS record in their last five bowl games, and they are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games played in the month of December. Arizona State is coming off an embarrassing blowout loss at home against a Stanford team that had their number all season. The Sun Devils are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games following a double-digit loss at home. I just don’t see the talent gap between these teams coming anywhere close to the two touchdown number the Red Raiders are being spotted, and that makes Texas Tech a very strong value play.
Texas Tech and Arizona State can score 40 with no problem. This is not a game for those who love defense as both Red Raiders and Sun Devils total 500 plus yards in outright shootout.
Predicted HT Score - Texas Tech Red Raiders 20, Arizona State Sun Devils 24.
THE BET:
*FIRST HALF HANDICAP*
Texas Tech Red Raiders +8
Key Trends:
- Sun Devils are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games in December.
- Sun Devils are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
- Sun Devils are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a double-digit loss at home.
- Sun Devils are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
- Sun Devils are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Bowl games.
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