Not sure what to expect from Nevada without the HC, OC, DC and QB Nevada +7.0 vs Western Michigan - This as shaping up to be a great game until Nevada’s star QB Carson Strong opted to sit this out, they lost their HC Jay Norvell to Colorado State, their OC followed him and then their DC decided to go to Washington State.
Without Strong, the passing game will be a mystery but the Mountain West’s best pass rush will be disruptive, and the No. 1 team in the nation in turnover margin will need to force several mistakes in what will amount to a road game.
Western has been a big mystery all year long. The passing game was the MAC’s most efficient, it was great at controlling the clock and the tempo, and the defense was the best in the league allowing just 337 yards per game. It beat ACC Champ Pitt and MAC champ Northern Illinois yet finished 4-4 in the MAC.
I have no idea what to expect from either team. I’ll take Nevada and the points but no quatloos.
Without Strong, the passing game will be a mystery but the Mountain West’s best pass rush will be disruptive, and the No. 1 team in the nation in turnover margin will need to force several mistakes in what will amount to a road game.
Western has been a big mystery all year long. The passing game was the MAC’s most efficient, it was great at controlling the clock and the tempo, and the defense was the best in the league allowing just 337 yards per game. It beat ACC Champ Pitt and MAC champ Northern Illinois yet finished 4-4 in the MAC.
I have no idea what to expect from either team. I’ll take Nevada and the points but no quatloos.
Houston was dynamic on both sies of the ball Houston +2.5 vs Auburn – Houston made huge strides under 2nd year HC Dana Holgersen. After losing to Texas Tech to start the season, the Cougars reeled off 11 straight wins before losing to Cinicnnati in the AAC championship game. Houston was dynamic on both sides of the ball, averaging 37 PPG (15ht overall) and allowing 21 PPG (25th)
Auburn (6-6) has had a roller-coaster in HC Bryan Harsin’s first year. They opened the season with a 6-2 record, with its two losses caming against then-No. 10 Penn State and then-No. 2 Georgia. The Tigers were in a position to make a run at the SEC West crown after beating a pair of top 20 teams in Arkansas and Ole Miss. But the Tigers stumbled at the finish with losses to Texas A&M and Mississippi State in consecutive weeks.
Then they lost starting quarterback Bo Nix to a season-ending injury and closed the regular season with losses to South Carolina and Alabama. However, they were able to push the Crimson Tide in a great Iron Bowl giving them some momentum heading into bowl season.
I’m going to take the more motivated Houston to win this game outright over an Auburn team struggling on offense under backup QB TJ Finley.
Auburn (6-6) has had a roller-coaster in HC Bryan Harsin’s first year. They opened the season with a 6-2 record, with its two losses caming against then-No. 10 Penn State and then-No. 2 Georgia. The Tigers were in a position to make a run at the SEC West crown after beating a pair of top 20 teams in Arkansas and Ole Miss. But the Tigers stumbled at the finish with losses to Texas A&M and Mississippi State in consecutive weeks.
Then they lost starting quarterback Bo Nix to a season-ending injury and closed the regular season with losses to South Carolina and Alabama. However, they were able to push the Crimson Tide in a great Iron Bowl giving them some momentum heading into bowl season.
I’m going to take the more motivated Houston to win this game outright over an Auburn team struggling on offense under backup QB TJ Finley.
Air Force run game will punish the suspect Louisville rush defense sAir Force +1.5 vs Louisville – It’s a service academy, you know what to expect – the triple option and plenty of running. The Falcons did it better than anyone in the country, averaging 342 yards per game on the ground, 61 yards more than the next closest team.
t will face a Louisville defense that struggled against the run. The Cardinals allowed 4.5 rushing yards per attempt, 92nd overall.
Meanwhile, with the offense on the field so much, the Air Force defense gave up the fewest yards and second-fewest points per game in the Mountain West this season
The Cardinal offense relies on QB Malik Cunningham, considered one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the country this season. For the season, he passed for 2,734 yards with 18 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He also rushed for 968 yards with 19 rushing touchdowns for the year.
I’ll take the Falcon punishing ground game to keep Cunningham off the field and pound away at the suspect Louisville defense. Make it a quatloo on the money line.
t will face a Louisville defense that struggled against the run. The Cardinals allowed 4.5 rushing yards per attempt, 92nd overall.
Meanwhile, with the offense on the field so much, the Air Force defense gave up the fewest yards and second-fewest points per game in the Mountain West this season
The Cardinal offense relies on QB Malik Cunningham, considered one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the country this season. For the season, he passed for 2,734 yards with 18 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He also rushed for 968 yards with 19 rushing touchdowns for the year.
I’ll take the Falcon punishing ground game to keep Cunningham off the field and pound away at the suspect Louisville defense. Make it a quatloo on the money line.
