Texas Bowl betting preview: Minnesota vs Syracuse

Syracuse OrangeMinnesota Golden Gophers
6-6December 27, 2013, 06:00 | Reliant Stadium8-4

 

Both Syracuse and Minnesota will be a long way from home on December 27 as they play in this year's edition of the Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

This bowl has been dominated by favorites, as the chalk is 8-2-2 ATS past 12 Texas Bowls. Overall, the UNDER is 5-1 past six Texas Bowl games.

Minnesota covered six straight spreads to end 2013 season, while Syracuse is 4-1 ATS in its past five bowl games.

They will face the 6-6 Orange, who own a 7-5 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Golden Gophers are 6-6 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Orange are 6-6 favoring the OVER.



View Syracuse Orange vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Odds and Stats.

It's a betting matchup between the No. 74-rated Golden Gophers and the No. 100-ranked Orange, according to the NCAAF Power Rankings here at Odds Shark. Predictive-scoring models run on this game indicate a potential 26-20 result in favor of the Golden Gophers.



In their last action, Syracuse was a 34-31 Sportsbook at home against Boston College. They covered the 2.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (65) was profitable news for OVER bettors. In their last game, Minnesota got a 101-yard performance from David Cobb, but Michigan State prevailed 14-3.

How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Minnesota's No. 79-ranked offense (26.42 PPG) against a Orange defense that ranks No. 59 at 26.08 PPG. The Golden Gophers passing attack has averaged 141.83 yards per game, less than the Orange give up through the air (230.33 YPG on average).

Defensively, the Orange feature the league's No. 95-rated road run defense, allowing 207 yards per game. Minnesota, meanwhile, ranks No. 49 in rushing offense at home.

 

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