GoDaddy.com Bowl Pick Against the Spread: Arkansas State Red Wolves vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
Written by Matthew Regaw
Sun, 8 Jan 2012
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
Before the BCS Championship takes center stage there is still one bowl game left to be played and that is the GoDaddy.com bowl which features the Arkansas State Red Wolves against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
The opening odds for the GoDaddy.com Bowl had Arkansas State as slim one point favorites. That line has jumped up to 1.5 in some spots, but the public consensus reports show that most college football betting fans are split on this game with just 52 percent of the money coming in on the Northern Illinois Huskies. This is just one of the indications of why this game can be so close.
When it comes to the sports betting trends for this game, the Red Wolves have the edge. The Huskies are 5-14 ATS against a team with a winning record, 1-8 ATS in their last nine neutral site games, 0-5 ATS in their last five neutral site games as an underdog. The Red Wolves are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite and come into this game on a roll. The Red Wolves are on a nine game winning streak and have a deadly offensive attack through the air. They averaged 454 yards and over 33 points per contest and should be good for plenty of points in this contest.
Quarterback Ryan Alpin is poised under center and can light up the scoreboard with ease as he finds many of his great weapons. Dwayne Frampton leads the way in that department as the team's best wide out and the biggest problem for Northern Illinois heading into this game. Offense is not the only strength of this squad as Arkansas State also featured a defense that was ranked just outside the top 20.
The Huskies are hot too and have won eight straight games to include the MAC Championship. Chandler Harnish is a double threat under center and he can run and pass the ball. The Huskies will hope that Harnish can keep the ball and control the time of possession. The Achilles heel for this team will be defense where they allow 418 yards and 31 points per game.
This game will be close early, but the offense of the Red Wolves will be too much to handle for the Huskies and the Wolves will end the season as GoDaddy.com Bowl champs.
GoDaddy.com Bowl Pick Against the Spread: Pittsburgh Panthers -3.5