Detroit is one of the popular venues for the bowl season and has always had some sort of tie in to the Big Ten. This time around, it's the Minnesota Golden Gophers who are heading to Ford Field for the holidays for the Quick Lane Bowl. There, they'll take on the Central Michigan Chippewas out of the MAC.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Central Michigan Chippewas +5.5
Minnesota Golden Gophers -5.5
Over/Under 49.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
Defense should be the name of the game in the Quick Lane Bowl, and that's why the total in this one continues to drop. The number opened up at 49.5 and has already come down to 48, and sharp bettors will inevitably take advantage of that low number leading up to Monday’s kick-off.
Minnesota, in spite of its losing record this season, opened up at -5.5 and rose quickly to -6.
KEY MISMATCH
Of late, Central Michigan's defense has run across some issues. The Chippies allowed 28 to Eastern Michigan in the regular season finale, marking the fifth time this season someone has netted at least 28 against them.
It's not that Mitch Leidner runs the most efficient offense in the world, but his raw numbers have to be considered understated this year. Let's not forget that Minnesota played against a tremendous non-conference schedule this year to go with having to play against the toughest conference in America. This average of 22.6 points per game is likely unreasonably low.
KEY STAT
367 – The number of rushing yards for Central Michigan's Martez Walker this season. He's the team's leading rusher on the year in spite of the fact that he had 106 carries. The Chippewas really had no ground game whatsoever this season, as none of their regular running backs averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry. That's putting a ton of pressure on Cooper Rush to work the ball down the field with his arm, and he hasn't historically been good enough to beat good defenses, particularly on deeper throws.
BETTING ANGLE
The Golden Gophers' history in bowl games has been horrid. They were beaten last year 33-17 by Missouri in the Citrus Bowl, and that followed close losses to Syracuse, Texas Tech and Iowa State. However, it's worth remembering that Minnesota, in spite of its 0-7 SU bowl record since 2005, is a solid 4-2-1 ATS in those same seven bowl games.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
These MAC vs. Big Ten bowl games are always interesting, as motivation is generally a factor. Central Michigan has been here several times before, winning the departed Little Caesars Bowl in 2012 and 2006, but the one time they ran up against a Big Ten team on this field, they were beaten by Purdue 51-48.
Minnesota might've finished 5-7 this year and been given a gift of a bowl spot thanks to the fact that there just weren't enough .500 teams to go around to the 40 games, but the Big Ten haul wasn't easy, and the poor record is forgivable.
This year, things are going to be different for the Golden Gophers, though. They're better than your average 5-7 team, and we think they're going to be motivated to nail down that elusive bowl victory in a game which really should be won. Minnesota will be too physical for Central Michigan, and the Chippewas will finally run out of answers in the second half when their offense fails to find any consistency.
Minnesota 23, Central Michigan 13
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! The battle between the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will kick off Monday, December 28, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. ET at Ford Field. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
