2019 Cotton Bowl: Memphis Tigers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Odds & Game Pick

by Christopher Feery |
Dec 26, 2019

Before we get to the College Football Playoff semifinal matchups later in the day on Saturday, the table gets set in an appealing fashion. The Memphis Tigers will face off with the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

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Details

Opening Lines: The line opened up at 7.5 in favor of Penn State, but has since ticked down to the key number of 7.
Current Line: Penn State -7
O/U: 60.5
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Start Time: Saturday, Dec. 28 at 12 PM ET
Television: ESPN
Last Meeting: This will be the first-ever meeting between these two programs.

Overview

The Tigers are champions of the American Athletic Conference for 2019. The team faced off with Cincinnati in the title tilt, a game that came down to the wire. Brady White hit Anthony Gibson for the go-ahead score with a little over a minute to play as Memphis walked away with a 29-24 victory. The title game win was the capper of an excellent 12-1 season that began with a home win over Ole Miss. The clubâ€™s lone blemish came in a 30-28 road defeat at Temple.

Wrapped around the loss was a five- and a seven-game winning streak. The Tigers have been lights out on offense this season. White has led the way with 36 total scores versus nine picks, while Kenneth Gainwell has chipped in with 1,957 total yards and 16 total touchdowns. Head coach Mike Norvell accepted the head gig at Florida State after the AAC win. Offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield has been bumped up to take his place.

The Nittany Lions opened up the year ranked 15th in the nation and they wrapped it up in the 10th spot. It was a successful season for Penn State by that metric, but the team came up short in its ultimate goal of taking down the Big Ten East. After opening up the season at 8-0, the club would first taste defeat in a 31-26 road loss to Minnesota, a game for which the Nittany Lions were favored.

They closed out the year by winning two of three, but the loss came in the measuring stick game they were shooting for. Penn State went to Ohio State and played the Buckeyes tough, but the end result was a 28-17 defeat. Their final mark stands at 10-2 with a record of 2-2 versus squads ranked in the top 25 at game time. Quarterback Sean Clifford missed the finale due to injury, but signs point to him suiting up on Saturday.

Trends

Memphis is 8-5 ATS this season.
Penn State is 6-6 ATS this season.
The total has gone over in eight of Memphisâ€™ 13 games this season.
The total has gone under in seven of Penn Stateâ€™s 12 games this season.
Memphis is 5-1 SU away from home this season.
Penn State is 10-1 SU as a favorite this season.

Prop Bet

Memphis Under 23 Points (-105)
For the season to date, Penn State has held nine opponents to 21 points or less. The three opponents who managed to post more than that against them â€“ Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio State â€“ did so over a three-game stretch in which the team dropped two of three. Memphis brings an explosive offense to the table, but they face tough sledding against a team that ranked seventh in the nation on points allowed at an average of 14.1 per game.

Bottom Line

This is an intriguing tilt between two of the best programs in the nation for 2019. The Tigers hold the mantle of the top Group of Five team in the land this season. Almost all of their damage has been done against fellow G5 teams, but they do hold a victory over Ole Miss of the SEC. Penn State brings a mark of 10-2 and a potent defense to the table from a challenging Big Ten schedule. Theyâ€™ll close out 2019 on a high note with a win and cover at the Cotton Bowl.

The Pick: Memphis (+7)