Two teams that were good to bettors this season meet in the Dollar General Bowl on Saturday, as the Buffalo Bulls take on the Troy Trojans on ESPN. The Bulls went 10-3 SU and a profitable 9-4 against the spread this season, while the Trojans were 9-3 SU and 8-3-1 against the number. The Trojans will have most of the crowd in their favor, as the game takes place in Mobile. Let’s look at this game and live betting at BookMaker.eu.
The Dollar General Bowl will take place on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama
NCAA Football Betting at BookMaker.eu
Buffalo -2.5, O/U 51.5
Odds Analysis
The Bulls opened as a 3-point favorite, but that number has been bet down to 2.5. The total opened at 53.5 and bettors have been taking the under, as the number is down to 51.5.
Both teams should be motivated to win this one. Troy head coach Neal Brown said his team will be ready to play. "I think in bowl games, it's all about motivation and finding the motivating factors," Brown said to the media, "I think if you look throughout the bowl season, the winners will be the teams that show up the most excited to play. That's our job as coaches to make sure our guys are excited."
"We've got a ton to play for," Brown said. "We're going to have a predominantly Troy crowd, but we've got to go out and perform, and we're going to have to perform well against a really good team." Buffalo is look to win their first-ever bowl game, while Troy wants to get to 10 wins for the third straight year.
Buffalo head coach Lance Leiopold said to the media that his team wants to be the first one to win a bow game for the school. "We have a chance to be the first winners of a bowl game," Leipold said to the media, "It's important for the university and the department, but more importantly for our players. They've worked awful hard and they've played very hard to get here."
The Bulls will be playing in their third bowl game, as they lost to Connecticut in 2009 and they lost to San Diego State in 2013. "The third time in our school's history, so it's definitely something that we're not taking for granted," Bulls quarterback Tyree Jackson said. "We're very happy to be able to come to this bowl in particular in Mobile, Alabama.”
Troy seems motivated as well. "It's a huge deal for us," Trojans nose tackle Trevon Sanders said to the media, "For one, we want to get to 10 wins. That will be three years in a row we have a 10-win season. And also just to redeem ourselves. We didn't play well, I would say, in all three phases. We got soundly beat by App State, and that's not Troy football. That's not how we play. So this gives us a chance to redeem ourselves."
Key Stats
The Bulls are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games. The Bulls are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. The Trojans are 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16 games overall. The Trojans are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. the MAC.
Looking at the total, the Over is 5-1 in the Bulls last 6 non-conference games. The Over is 7-0 in the Trojans last 7 Bowl games. The Over is 38-17 in the Trojans last 55 non-conference games.
Game Picks
This is a tough one to call, as both teams seem motivated, but I lean a little bit to Buffalo. The better bet might be the total. Neither offense is that explosive and both teams have solid defenses. It is also worth noting the line movement, as the wise guys are betting the under. I will go under the total in this contest.
NCAA Football Odds: Buffalo 24, Troy 21
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