The Texas A&M Aggies made a massive financial commitment last month. Texas A&M had given up on Kevin Sumlin and started to flirt with Jimbo Fisher at the beginning of November. Although some thought that landing Fisher was a pipe dream, a fully guaranteed 10-year $75 million dollar deal was enough to convince Fisher to head to College Station. Now, expectations at Texas A&M are sky high for next season and the Aggies will try to head into the offseason on the right foot with a win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Watch the Belk Bowl live on Friday, December 29, 2017, at 1 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Texas A&M +3
Wake Forest -3
Over/Under 64.5
Odds Analysis
Wake Forest has been one of the best teams to wager on all season long. The Demon Deacons finished the season at 8-3-1 ATS and pulled off two outright upsets as an underdog. They knocked off Louisville and Boston College as an underdog and got a nice win over North Carolina State as a short favorite at the end of the year too.
Aggies fans no longer consider 7-5 a successful season, so it was time for Sumlin to go. Texas A&M was not competitive against the top teams in the SEC West, losing by at least two touchdowns to Mississippi State, Auburn, and LSU and failing to cover in each game. They did cover and play Alabama close, but it never felt like Texas A&M had a chance to win that game.
Player to Watch
Dave Clawson’s patience in John Wolford has been rewarded this season. Clawson was hired as the head coach of the Demon Deacons back in 2014 and he made Wolford his starter immediately. He has stuck with Wolford through thick and thin and the quarterback had his best year yet in 2017.
Wolford proved himself to be a very effective dual threat quarterback. He is currently second on the team in rushing this year, running for 615 yards and 10 touchdowns. His mobility came in handy in the team’s 64-43 win over Syracuse as he ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns to help the Demon Deacons win the shootout over the Orange.
He has had by far his best season as a passer yet too. In his first three seasons, Wolford threw 30 touchdowns and 35 interceptions and was a marginal passer at best. This year something clicked though and he ended up throwing for 25 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was sacked just 12 times on the year and that offensive line play definitely helped him out.
Key Stat
The Aggies have not been as good on offense as in past years and their inability to convert on third down is one of the biggest reasons why.
Texas A&M picked up just 36.3 percent of its third downs this season and that killed drives and led to them being one of the worst teams in the country in terms of time of possession. The Aggies held the ball 47.7 percent of the time and that kept an overmatched defense on the field for too long.
Free ATS Pick
Texas A&M will be using an interim coach for this game as Fisher is still putting together his staff and trying to land a star-studded recruiting class. Jeff Banks will be leading the Aggies and that is always a tricky situation in a bowl game.
There are a lot of variables in play with the Aggies and although they are more talented than the Demon Deacons, Wake Forest will be far more focused in this one. Wake Forest is a favorite for a reason and will be better prepared for this game.
College Football Odds: Wake Forest 35, Texas A&M 27
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