Terry Bowden has done a remarkable job rebuilding the Akron Zips. They never won a bowl game in their history, and they've only been to one way back in 2005, but they're here in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and are looking to pull off the upset of the Utah State Aggies to cap off what might be the most successful season in the program’s history.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Akron Zips +6
Utah State Aggies -6
Over/Under 50
ODDS ANALYSIS
Utah State went 9-3 this year for over bettors, yet the line movement in this game has peculiarly moved down quite a bit. The total of 50 in the Potato Bowl was already pretty low, but the fact that that has come down to 47 is a bit of a shock.
The spread has actually stayed fairly consistent. Utah State opened at -6 and quickly jumped to -6.5 where it has sat throughout the betting proceedings.
KEY MISMATCH
Akron might've posted a 7-5 record this year, but for the most part, it didn't play against any truly elite quarterbacks. Matt Johnson ripped this team up when it played against Bowling Green back in October, and that's probably the best comparison to what it'll see with Chuckie Keeton and Kent Myers of the Aggies.
Both are very likely to see action in this game, and each can really get up and move when given the chance to escape the pocket. Myers probably doesn't run quite as often as Keeton looks to, but he rarely gets sacked and makes a lot of great decisions with the football.
Akron's secondary hasn't been tested like this much this year, and this could be too big of a challenge to overcome.
KEY STAT
8.1 – The number of points the Zips have scored in the second halves of games this year. They're routinely being outscored in the second half, which is a major concern considering how close these bowl games tend to be.
Utah State is a higher scoring first half team than a second half team as well, but if this ends up being a close game in the fourth quarter, USU has to have the edge.
BETTING ANGLE
Utah State finished the month of November at just 1-3 SU and 0-4 ATS. That has to be a bit concerning, knowing that the three SU losses against BYU, Air Force and New Mexico were all against bowl teams which are relatively comparable to what it is going to face here in the Potato Bowl.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
You see great stories in the bowl season all the time, and we have a feeling that Akron is going to be providing one of the better sagas in the opening week of the bowl season.
The Zips really haven't even contended against most of their bowl eligible foes this year, but the way Conor Hundley is running the ball, we have confidence that he can be the difference maker.
The Potato Bowl should be a close run thing, and though there should be a bit of a home field edge here for the Aggies playing in nearby Boise, we still think that Akron is the more motivated of the two teams and will come up with its first bowl win ever.
Akron 29, Utah State 27
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