KENTUCKY vs NC STATE
When: 1/2/2021 12:00 PM
Where:

TV: 12:00 PM
LINE: 2.5
PREDICTION: NC STATE , KENTUCKY

Oddsmakers currently have the NC STATE listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the KENTUCKY, while the game’s total is sitting at 51.5.

By the end of the regular season, there were positive feelings for both No. 23 North Carolina State and Kentucky.

One of the teams will extend that good mood when they meet in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, Fla.

“It’s been a very trying year for all of us and our team is ready to move forward with a fifth straight bowl game,” said Mark Stoops, the first Kentucky coach to lead the Wildcats to five consecutive bowl appearances.

“We’ve invested a lot to this point,” said NC State coach Dave Doeren, whose team’s late-season push resulted in a national ranking. “It’s the last time this group will get to play together, and we wanted to have one more ride.”

Despite NC State (8-3) holding twice as many victories as Kentucky (4-6), the Wildcats were listed as early favorites in this bowl matchup. Four of Kentucky’s losses came to nationally ranked teams.

Both teams ended their regular seasons by winning on Dec. 5 — NC State topping Georgia Tech while Kentucky throttled South Carolina.

“We’re at 100 percent so the guys are all back and out there practicing and working hard and having some fun,” Stoops said of early bowl preparations.

“The energy is high,” Kentucky defensive end Josh Paschal said. “We’re just ready to get to the bowl game and get ready to play.”

NC State went 2-3 against nationally ranked opponents, though the Wolfpack didn’t face Atlantic Coast Conference championship game combatants Clemson or Notre Dame.

The Wolfpack closed the regular season with four consecutive victories — the team’s best such stretch to end a regular season since 2008.

NC State’s most recent bowl outing came two years ago in the Gator Bowl, where it was blown out by Texas A&M. The Wolfpack are 1-3 all-time in the Gator Bowl.

“We’re a different team this year,” said NC State safety Tyler Baker-Williams, who pointed out that he didn’t like the team sitting out the 2019 postseason. “We have a bigger chip on our shoulder. We’re just ready to show out.”

Kentucky lost four years ago to Georgia Tech in its lone Gator Bowl appearance.

“We hope to play better this go around,” Stoops said.

The Wildcats won against Virginia Tech in last year’s Belk Bowl (now named Duke’s Mayo Bowl) in Charlotte, N.C.

Albeit playing 10 conference games (rather than the normal eight), NC State set a school record by winning seven ACC games this year. In 2019, it was 1-7 in league play.

“I think the record speaks for itself on what we accomplished this year and the way we accomplished it,” Doeren said.

Linebacker Payton Wilson of NC State leads the ACC with 10.8 tackles per game. Wilson joined defensive lineman Alim McNeill as All-ACC first-team selections.

Kentucky’s lone All-SEC first-team selection was senior center Drake Jackson.

The Kentucky-NC State series is tied 1-1. NC State won in 1909 at home and Kentucky won in 1970 at home.

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OREGON vs IOWA ST
When: 1/2/2021 4:00 PM
Where:

TV: 4:00 PM
LINE: -4.5
PREDICTION: IOWA ST , OREGON

Oddsmakers currently have the IOWA ST listed as -4.5 point favorites versus the OREGON, while the game’s total is sitting at 57.

In less than a week, Oregon went from understudy to center stage.

The Ducks got into the Pacific-12 Conference title game only because Washington had to drop out because of coronavirus concerns. Oregon made the most of the opportunity by defeating host USC 31-24 for the championship.

That gave the No. 25 Ducks (4-2) the Pac-12’s automatic berth to a New Year’s Six game. They’ll meet No. 10 Iowa State (8-3) in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 in Glendale, Ariz.

“We fought this year,” said Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was named the MVP of the Pac-12 title game with five tackles and a sack. “So many trials and tribulations. So many things kept popping up. So many excuses we could have made, and we didn’t flinch. We stuck to the script and got it done.”

Oregon won its first three games before back-to-back losses to Oregon State and California. A matchup with Washington to determine the winner of the Pac-12 North was canceled, leaving the Ducks a half-game behind the Huskies and seemingly destined for a lower-tier bowl game.

That is, until a virus spike in Washington’s athletic department. The Huskies’ loss was the Ducks’ gain.

“We were itching to get back to our kind of football, and we did it (against USC),” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said. “(We) really just came out with an attitude, came out with a purpose and a mission.”

The Cyclones took a different path to their first January bowl game.

After losing their season opener to Louisiana, the Cyclones won seven of their next eight games before a 27-21 loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship.

“From our standpoint, this has been a really special season for our program as we continue to grow over the last couple of years,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “We’ve got a great senior class made up of 60 seniors that have really stayed the course in this program and really led us every step of the way.”

Iowa State has the nation’s leading rusher in Breece Hall, who totaled 1,436 yards and 19 touchdowns. Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 2,594 yards and 18 touchdowns with nine interceptions.

“They’re an excellent, talented, well-coached football team that schematically runs more than a couple of things that are very different than what we’ve seen,” Cristobal said.

Ducks quarterback Tyler Shough threw for 1,480 yards and 13 touchdowns with five interceptions in six games. CJ Verdell, who was Oregon’s rushing leader in the regular season, missed the Pac-12 finale with a knee injury but could be back for the bowl game.

“When you say Oregon football, you have an immediate respect for who they are and what they’re about,” Campbell said.

It will be a homecoming for the quarterbacks, who both starred at Arizona high schools. Purdy played at Perry High in Gilbert and Shough at Hamilton High in neighboring Chandler. They met twice in high school, with Perry, led by Purdy, prevailing 65-63 and 63-60.

“Certainly a competitive situation at the high school level and now they get to do it at the collegiate level,” Cristobal said.

The Ducks will be making their third appearance in the Fiesta Bowl after beating Colorado in 2002 and Kansas State in 2013.

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W VIRGINIA vs ARMY
When: 12/31/2020 4:00 PM
Where:

TV: 4:00 PM
LINE: 7
PREDICTION: ARMY , W VIRGINIA

Oddsmakers currently have the ARMY listed as 7 point favorites versus the W VIRGINIA, while the game’s total is sitting at 42.

When West Virginia coach Neil Brown gathered his coaches and players for practice on Dec. 21, they were preparing for a Liberty Bowl matchup with Tennessee on New Year’s Eve in Memphis.

Then 2020 intervened.

“We started the day preparing for one opponent and will end it preparing for another, but that’s how crazy 2020 has been,” Brown said.

Tennessee pulled out of the bowl game after coach Jeremy Pruitt and multiple players tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily enough for the Liberty Bowl, it had a better team ready to step in.

Army went from being an outrageous snub to being an attractive catch at 9-2. The Commander-in-Chief trophy winners after a 10-7 defeat of Air Force on Dec. 19, the Black Knights were originally ticketed for the Independence Bowl after winning their sixth game on Oct. 24.

But when the Shreveport-based bowl had to cancel because so many prospective opponents opted out, it left Army in a lurch not of its own making.

Coach Jeff Monken made it clear that he thought his team was getting the short end of the stick, and aside from a handful of ESPN talking heads who had no trouble lugging the Power 5 conferences’ water while leaving Group of 5 schools parched, Monken was preaching to the choir.

As the old saying goes, better late than never. The Knights have their bowl bid, and West Virginia (5-4) has a new, more formidable opponent.

“I have great respect for the Army football tradition and the sacrifice the cadets make daily for our country,” Brown said. “Coach Monken and his staff have done a great job at West Point.”

The Knights own 43 wins in the last five years under Monken, a disciple of former Navy and Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson.

Much like Johnson, Monken believes in triple-option football, a staple at the military academies for most of the last 30 years.

Army finished fourth in the nation this year in rushing, averaging 281.3 yards per game despite having only one player rush for more than 500 yards. But it had four players between 401 and 502 yards, a testament to the balance it possesses.

Most importantly, the Knights played excellent defense, permitting just 14 points per game. Nearly a fourth of their allowance came in a 38-12 loss last month at Tulane. Their other loss was to Cincinnati, 24-10, in September. Cincinnati is now 9-0 and ranked No. 8 in the CFP poll.

“This is going to be a tremendous challenge for us to have any opportunity to win the game,” Monken said. “It’s exciting for our players. They came here to play big-time football against top-level opponents, and I’m glad they have the opportunity to play one in West Virginia.”

The Mountaineers could have easily been 7-2 were it not for one-possession losses at Texas Tech (34-27) and Texas (17-13) in a three-week span. Their final regular-season game with Oklahoma was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.

West Virginia’s offense is led by Jarret Doege (2,428 yards, 13 TD passes) and Leddie Brown (945 rushing yards, nine TDs).

This will mark the first time the programs have met in 59 years. Army leads the series 2-1.

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MARSHALL vs BUFFALO
When: 12/25/2020 2:30 PM
Where:

TV: 2:30 PM
LINE: -4.5
PREDICTION: BUFFALO , MARSHALL

Oddsmakers currently have the BUFFALO listed as -4.5 point favorites versus the MARSHALL, while the game’s total is sitting at 54.5.

Marshall and Buffalo have experienced similar football seasons.

Both started with long winning streaks that thrust them into the Top 25 and led to dreams of playing in more lucrative bowl games.

However, the Thundering Herd and Bulls picked the wrong time to stumble, leading to their convergence at Montgomery, Ala., on Christmas Day in the Camellia Bowl.

Marshall (7-2) was ranked as high as 15th after jumping out to a 7-0 start behind a staunch defense and the poised play of freshman quarterback Grant Wells. But the defense slipped just a bit and Wells struggled with turnovers and inconsistency.

After tossing five interceptions in a shutout loss in the regular-season finale against Rice, Wells completed just 8 of 24 pass attempts in the Dec. 18 Conference USA title game. UAB held Marshall scoreless in the first half and earned a 22-13 victory.

“Offensively, we have to play with more confidence,” Thundering Herd coach Doc Holliday said. “We are not making the plays we were making before.”

Nor is the Marshall defense stopping others from making plays, as it had most of the year. UAB owned the ball for more than 41 minutes and finished with 468 total yards, collecting 21 first downs and rushing for 216 yards against the nation’s second-ranked run defense (88.9 yards per game).

Spencer Brown’s 149 yards ended the Herd’s streak of nine consecutive games without allowing 100 yards on the ground.

“We all know what we have to do, and we all know what happened,” Marshall linebacker Eli Neal said. “We all won as a team when we were winning and on our high horse and we lost as a team. That doesn’t make us any less of a team. The pieces just didn’t fall together.”

The Thundering Herd likely will build their bowl offense around running back Brenden Knox, who rushed for 887 yards in nine games and needs 148 to reach 3,000 for his career.

Buffalo went into the Mid-American Conference title game as a heavy favorite over Ball State after going 5-0 behind the sterling running of Jaret Patterson. But the Bulls coughed up 35 first-half points and couldn’t play catch-up in the second half of a 38-28 defeat to the Cardinals in Detroit.

Patterson, whose 301- and 409-yard games in consecutive weeks against Bowling Green and Kent State that put him on the periphery of the Heisman Trophy race, was held to 47 yards on 18 carries by Ball State. He also injured his right knee and was limited during the second half.

According to Bulls coach Lance Leipold, Patterson plans to play on Friday.

“We’ll see where it’s at, we’ll have to look at it,” Leipold said. “We’ll have to get to work on it and see where we’re at from an availability standpoint.”

Kyle Vantrease has been an efficient passer for the Bulls, hitting 63 percent of his passes for 1,186 yards with seven touchdowns and only two interceptions.

This will be the first time the teams have met since 2004, when Marshall was in the MAC. The Herd won that contest 48-14.

The post MARSHALL vs. BUFFALO 12/25/2020 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

LIBERTY vs COASTAL CAROLINA
When: 12/26/2020 7:30 PM
Where:

TV: 7:30 PM
LINE: -7.5
PREDICTION: COASTAL CAROLINA , LIBERTY

Oddsmakers currently have the COASTAL CAROLINA listed as -7.5 point favorites versus the LIBERTY, while the game’s total is sitting at 59.5.

Let’s hope coaches and players for Coastal Carolina and Liberty kept their notes.

The teams were supposed to play earlier this month before coronavirus issues intervened. They’re going to try again, this time in the postseason.

The No. 12 Chanticleers and Flames are slated to meet Saturday in the Cure Bowl at Orlando, a chance to cap what have been memorable seasons for both teams.

“Obviously that game was meant to be,” Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell said.

Coastal Carolina (11-0), which will make its first bowl appearance, is one of five undefeated teams in the country.

“We made this move in 2016 for opportunities like this, to go compete in bowl games,” Chadwell said of reclassifying to the Football Bowl Subdivision. “Hopefully that will be something that’s a yearly deal.”

Liberty (9-1) cracked the national rankings before losing at North Carolina State on Nov. 21. Other than the College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Notre Dame, the Cure Bowl matchup has teams with the best combined record.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” Chadwell said. “It was a big day (to receive a bowl bid). One we’re thankful for.”

The Dec. 5 scheduled game that would have sent Liberty to Coastal Carolina was scrapped because of Liberty’s positive tests and precaution. That created a much-discussed midweek revision to the schedule for Coastal Carolina, which welcomed then-undefeated BYU for a game on short notice and won with a thrilling finish with a tackle at the 1-yard line to maintain its unbeaten record.

The Chanticleers then produced a last-minute touchdown the next week to win at Troy. But they, too, experienced the fallout from coronavirus protocols, with last weekend’s Sun Belt Conference championship game against Louisiana called off less than 48 hours before the scheduled kickoff because of Coastal Carolina’s testing. Chadwell said players in quarantine could be cleared by midweek prior to the bowl.

Liberty’s lone loss came by a 15-14 score on the road against the Wolfpack, who held on by blocking a field-goal attempt in the last 80 seconds.

Liberty, which is winding down the best season in program history, hasn’t played since defeating Massachusetts 45-0 on Nov. 27. The Flames are trying to match a program record for wins, a mark set with a 10-2 record on the Football Championship Subdivision level in 2008.

“Having another chance to face Coastal Carolina after it was taken away from us at the end of our regular season gives us a chance to finish off a magical season with another special win,” Liberty coach Hugh Freeze said.

Liberty captured its first bowl victory last year in the Cure Bowl by defeating Georgia Southern, which like Coastal Carolina is a member of the Sun Belt Conference.

This year, the Flames are led by quarterback Malik Willis, who has thrown for 20 touchdowns and rushed for 10. He has 2,040 passing yards and 807 rushing yards.

Chadwell said the exposure from defeating BYU was an ideal fallout from the regular-season game with Liberty being called off. Even so, he is glad to be able to play the Flames.

“We did prepare for them there for about three days,” Chadwell said. “At least we have already some game plans and some things done for them. They’ll be fresh (with the long layoff), no doubt.”

Coastal Carolina and Liberty were Big South Conference members before each moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Liberty now plays as an independent. The series is tied 7-7, with the most recent meeting in 2016.

“It makes the bowl game that much more special because of the history we have with Liberty,” Chadwell said.

The post LIBERTY vs. COASTAL CAROLINA 12/26/2020 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

LA LAFAYETTE vs UTSA
When: 12/26/2020 3:30 PM
Where:

TV: 3:30 PM
LINE: 14
PREDICTION: UTSA , LA LAFAYETTE

Oddsmakers currently have the UTSA listed as 14 point favorites versus the LA LAFAYETTE, while the game’s total is sitting at 56.

Louisiana didn’t get a chance to play for the Sun Belt Conference championship.

The No. 19 Ragin’ Cajuns are trying to prevent that disappointment from adversely affecting their performance against UTSA in the First Responder Bowl on Saturday on the SMU campus in Dallas.

Louisiana (9-1) flew to South Carolina last Thursday to play Coastal Carolina for the Sun Belt title but returned home the next day after the game was canceled due to COVID issues within the Chanticleers’ program.

Both teams were declared co-champions.

“We’ve got to take that anger and frustration and disappointment and move forward and use those things as fuel on the fire to get ready to play,” Cajuns coach Billy Napier said. “We’ve got a very competitive culture here. We’ve got a very competitive group of people.”

The Cajuns opened the season with a 31-14 road victory against No. 10 Iowa State and have the best 10-game record in school history.

They have won the Sun Belt West division and played in a bowl game in each of Napier’s three seasons as head coach. That success led to Napier being a candidate for coaching vacancies at South Carolina and Auburn, but Louisiana announced this week that Napier is staying put.

Louisiana’s defense has forced at least two turnovers in each victory this season. The only time it failed to do that was in a 30-27 home loss to Coastal Carolina on Oct. 14.

The Roadrunners are 7-4 in coach Jeff Traylor’s first season. A victory over the Cajuns would be the first bowl victory for a school that is making just its second appearance in a bowl and it would tie the school-record for wins in a season.

UTSA was originally scheduled to play SMU in the Frisco Bowl, but the Dec. 19 game was canceled due to COVID issues in the Mustangs’ program.

The First Responder Bowl stepped in and invited the Roadrunners, who gladly accepted but had to wait five days to learn that Louisiana would be their opponent.

“What an awesome opportunity,” Traylor said. “I’m just so thrilled for our players, coaches, and staff to be playing in a bowl game.”

The UTSA program is in just its 10th season. The school tied an NCAA modern startup program record by reaching a bowl game in just its sixth season, losing to New Mexico 23-20 in the 2016 New Mexico Bowl.

The Roadrunners finished second in the Conference USA West Division with a 5-2 conference record.

“We’re building something special here,” quarterback Frank Harris said. “Coach Traylor is doing a great job of instilling a culture. We are following it now and seeing the results.”

UTSA set school records for total offense (624 yards) and rushing yards (443) in their last game – a 49-17 victory against North Texas on Nov. 28. It was the second consecutive game that the total offense record was broken.

“I think we finished the (regular) season out in the right way,” said running back Sincere McCormick, who had a record 251 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The post LA LAFAYETTE vs. UTSA 12/26/2020 Free Pick & CFB Betting Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

W KENTUCKY vs GEORGIA ST
When: 12/26/2020 3:30 PM
Where:

TV: 3:30 PM
LINE: -3.5
PREDICTION: GEORGIA ST , W KENTUCKY

Oddsmakers currently have the GEORGIA ST listed as -3.5 point favorites versus the W KENTUCKY, while the game’s total is sitting at 50.5.

The bowl tradition continues to grow at Western Kentucky and Georgia State, who will meet Saturday in the 22nd annual LendingTree Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

Western Kentucky (5-6), from Conference USA, will play its 30th postseason game. Over the past eight seasons the Hilltoppers are 4-2 in bowls and defeated Western Michigan last year in the First Responders Bowl.

Georgia State (5-4), from the Sun Belt Conference, will make its fourth bowl appearance in the program’s 11-year history. The Panthers have earned a bowl trip for the third time in four seasons under coach Shawn Elliott. They lost to Wyoming in the Arizona Bowl last year.

Georgia State and Western Kentucky played in the 2017 Cure Bowl in Orlando, with Georgia State winning 27-17 for its first bowl victory.

“Playing in the postseason, that’s always our No. 1 goal,” said Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton. “To have one more opportunity to try and get a win and send our guys off right, that’s pretty special.”

In 24 seasons as a Division I coach, Elliott has been a part of 19 teams that have reached a bowl game or the NCAA playoffs.

“I’m so proud of our players for their commitment and hard work to persevere through this season,” Elliott said. “We talk about doing things for the first time, and back-to-back bowl games is another first for our program.”

Western Kentucky has had trouble scoring this season — the Hilltoppers have averaged 18.8 points, last in Conference USA. Tyrrell Pigrome has thrown for 1,423 yards and nine touchdowns, with no interceptions, and has rushed for 328 yards and three TDs. Brayden Narveson, who is 13-for-14 on field goals and 24-for-24 on extra points, is a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, an honor given annually to the nation’s best kicker.

Western Kentucky’s resume includes losses to Louisville, Liberty and BYU, but the Hilltoppers have won their past three games. They rank fifth in the conference in scoring defense (24.1). They lead Conference USA in pass defense, allowing 170.1 yards per game. The defense is led by all-conference choice DeAngelo Malone, a defensive end who has 65 tackles, six sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

Georgia State had 14 players named to the All-Sun Belt Conference, including two first-team selections: left guard Shamarious Gilmore and kicker Noel Ruiz, a graduate transfer from North Carolina A&T.

Georgia State averages over 30 points a game behind quarterback Cornelious Brown, who has thrown for 2,046 yards and 14 touchdowns, and receiver Sam Pinckney, who has 44 catches for 753 yards and six touchdowns.

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