Saturday, 12/18/10, 2PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Betting Line: BYU -11.5
Total: 50.5
The Cougars will be led onto the field by quarterback Jake Heaps, who will become the first freshman to start under center for the school in a bowl game. He holds school freshman records in passing yards, passing attempts, passing completions, games started and games won. BYU will be meeting UTEP for the first time in 12 years, but has won 20 of the last 22 meetings in the series. The program is also a dominating 26-6 against current Conference-USA teams, but has an 0-2 mark in bowl games against such opponents.
The Miners are led by senior quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, who holds the school record for passing yards (12,194) and passing touchdowns (94). He struggled mightily down the stretch in averaging just 155.6 yards in the last six games. UTEP has posted an all-time record of 6-16 at today’s venue, with all of those games against southwest rival New Mexico. The program has also gone 5-3 versus Mountain West Conference competition since the WAC split following the 1998 season.
Bettors will be interested in the Miners being 4-1 ATS versus the WAC, while the Cougars are 4-0 ATS in their last four games.
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Humanitarian Bowl Preview:
Fresno St Bulldogs vs N. Illinois Huskies
Saturday, 12/18/10, 5PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Betting Line: N. Illinois -1.5
Total: 59
The Bulldogs will be taking on a MAC opponent for the first time since 2008 when they earned a 55-54 double overtime win at Toledo. Fresno State is 11-4 all-time against MAC competition. This will be the program’s 23rd bowl appearance and it currently has an 11-11 all-time record. Quarterback Ryan Colburn will be a key player in the team’s effort of moving over the .500 mark in bowl games, as he had 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions in the regular season. It’s important to note that the two-year starter struggled in the squad’s losses this season, especially in throwing two interceptions at Boise State and three against Hawaii.
Northern Illinois is coming into this contest off its first 10-win regular season since 2003 and is only the fourth Huskie team ever to reach that mark. The Huskies 10-win season is even more impressive when considering it was the only team in the country to hit that mark while playing only five home games. Northern Illinois broke single season records for points (492), total offensive yards (5,797) and offensive touchdowns (60). Offensively, the team ranked seventh in the country and led the MAC in rushing offense in averaging 264.8 yards per game.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Huskies are 2-9 ATS versus a team with a winning record, while the Bulldogs are 4-0 ATS in bowl games as an underdog.
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New Orleans Bowl Preview:
Saturday, 12/18/10, 9PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Betting Line: Troy -1.5
Total: 57.5
The Bobcats have made four previous bowl appearances, but have yet to break through in the win column, including a 21-17 defeat to Marshall in last year’s Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The team’s success can be attributed to its success in the red zone, ranking fourth in touchdown percentage inside the 20 yard line, while scoring on 88 percent of its trips, which checks in at No. 17 in the country in that category. Ohio is 8-5 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 this season. The Bobcats will need to ride quarterback Boo Jackson in order to break into the winners column in bowl games. Jackson will need to stay away from turning the ball over, as he threw 16 interceptions in just 224 passing attempts this season.
Troy will be making its third trip to the New Orleans Bowl and completed the regular season with a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship.
The Trojans have posted a 14-10 all-time record in games played in December and the defense will need to be much-improved in order to gain another victory. Troy’s stop unit has allowed 372 total points thus far during the 2010 season, which is just 15 points less than the school-record 387 points it allowed in 2009. A major part of the defense’s problem has been lack of consistency, with only three players starting in all 12 games this season. The defense must aim for allowing less than 30 points in this contest, considering Ohio is 8-0 when going over that number and 0-4 when falling short.
Bettors will be interested in the Bobcats being 7-1 ATS as an underdog, while the Trojans are 21-10-1 ATS following a SU win.
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