Belk Bowl 2011 Preview and Pick Against the Spread: Louisville vs. North Carolina State
Written by Matthew Regaw
Tue, 27 Dec 2011
Category sportsbook
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You may not know what a Belk Bowl is, but it could be one of the better college football bowl games of the season when the Louisville Cardinals go up against the North Carolina State Wolf pack. This game will be held in Charlotte so the home crowd may favor the Wolf Pack, but the Cardinals come in with some talent on both sides of the ball.
The Belk Bowl odds opened with the Wolf Pack as slight one-point favorites, but the betting public has bet the Cardinals at a 58% clip and the line is now a pick em in this game.
The Cardinals finished tied atop the Big East and that got them a selection in this bowl game. Head coach Charlie Strong has turned this team around in just two years and he has them playing hard on every down. The experience edge however will be on the side of the Wolf Pack. The Cardinals start freshman on the field and although they have played well this year this will be their first bowl game. That is also going to be tougher with the recent players that will miss the Belk Bowl for Louisville.
The team confirmed that freshman wide receiver Michaelee Harris did suffer a knee injury in practice and will not be at this game and he was the Cardinals best wide receiver. Senior defensive end Greg Scruggs is also no longer with the team and they seem to be unraveling at the wrong time. Freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is a playmaker, but he will be going against a tough Wolf Pack pass defense that has done well against elite quarterbacks this year.
The Wolfpack are 34-15-2 ATS in their last 51 games on grass, 20-9-2 ATS in their last 31 games following a game that they covered the spread and they are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall. Tom O\'Brien will have the Wolf Pack ready and the home-field edge will get this team ready to win big at the Belk Bowl.
Belk Bowl 2011 Pick Against the Spread: North Carolina State Wolf Pack PK