|
Saturday, December
15th
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Bronco Stadium Boise, ID
4:30 PM ET
Toledo
Rockets vs. Utah St. Aggies (-10/57.5)
How Toledo got here
Toledo
was one of three MAC teams that were ranked at some point this season. After an
eight-game winning streak, the Rockets moved into the top 25 but it was
short-lived as they lost to Ball
St. at home followed by another loss at Northern
Illinois. Toledo closed the season with an
unimpressive win over 1-11 Akron
so it isn't exactly entering the postseason on a high note. The Rockets were
picked as preseason MAC favorites so going from a possible championship to
playing a bowl game in Idaho
may be a bit of a downer. The Rockets possess an offense that is potent but a
defense that is suspect.
How Utah St. got here
Utah St.
came into the season with high expectations and it did not disappoint as it
went 10-2 and that could have been even better. The Aggies lost at Wisconsin by two points
and at BYU by three points while every victory was by at least a touchdown.
They come in riding a six-game winning streak so they have plenty of momentum
and with the short turnaround from the final game to the bowl game, that
momentum should not be lost. Utah
St. has a rather large intangible on its side as
it played in this bowl last year and lost to Ohio in the final seconds so it
will be out to make up for that disappointment.
Interesting Stat
Utah St.
is ranked in the top three in the WAC in all 17 major statistical categories
kept by the NCAA while Toledo
is ranked third or higher in only one, total offense.
Breakdown
The Aggies are one of the hotter teams in the country not
many people may know about as they have won 15 of their last 18 games going
back to last season. They do it with both offense and defense as Utah St. has scored
38 or more points in six straight games while scoring 31 or more points in 9 of
12 on the season. Toledo
is 105th in total defense and should show little resistance. The Rockets get it
done with offense as they are 28th overall and 99th in scoring but the numbers
have slipped recently. Toledo
will not find it easy against a Utah
St. defense ranked 15th overall and eighth in
scoring.
Trending
Toledo
is 6-0 ATS in its last six games as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points.
Utah St.
is 6-0 ATS after a win by 21 or more points this season.
|
Back to Article Listing
