Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Betting Guide (2019)

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Just a few days into 2020, the 2019 college football season has only a few games remaining with everything wrapping up on January 13th when the Clemson Tigers take on the LSU Tigers in the National Championship game in New Orleans, LA. Before that game kicks off, we have three games over the weekend and Monday that should be competitive. With the first kicking off this afternoon in Boise, ID, let’s take a closer look at one of the bowls remaining that I have my eye on before we wrap a great 2019 season.

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Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Boise, ID (Friday)

Ohio Bobcats vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (+8, O/U 60), 3:30 PM EST (via PointsBet)

After starting the season with a 41-20 route of Rhode Island, there was no reason to think this season wouldn’t go as planned for Ohio, who entered the 2019 campaign as the favorites to win the Mid American Conference (MAC). That’s when the Bobcats proceeded to lose four of their next five and not only put themselves out of contention for the MAC, but risk missing bowl eligibility. Ohio was able to pull off wins in four of their last six, including winning their final two in blowout fashion to get to the six wins they needed to go bowling for the fifth consecutive season. While this season went far from how Bobcats fans expected in quarterback Nathan Rourke’s senior season, Rourke still earned first-team All-Mac honors on his way to throwing for 2,676 yards and 20 touchdowns with his highest completion percentage (61.4%) of his career.

For Nevada, a strong finish also propelled them to bowl eligibility, winning three of their final four to get them to seven wins on the season. It was the final of those four, however, that could have the biggest implications on their bowling success. In the season’s final regular-season game against in-state rival and Mountain West foe UNLV,  a brawl broke out after safety Austin Arnold blindsided UNLV quarterback Kenyon Oblad following the final whistle. Arnold is one of three starters, in addition to nose tackle Hausia Sekona and cornerback Daniel Brown, that is suspended for today’s contest because of the incident. Nevada will also be without defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel and two of his assistants in David Lockwood and Mike Chamoures who were let go following the UNLV game. Casteel’s defense struggled to contain teams all season, allowing 32.1 points per game to rank 101st in the nation in points allowed.

Stretching back over their last 11 games in Boise, the Wolf Pack has lost 11 straight dating back to 1997 which includes two bowl games at the venue. Even though it was a disappointing season for Ohio in nearly every aspect, they come into this game as the better equipped and undoubtedly more disciplined team on both sides of the ball, and I like them to handle their business in what could be Rourke’s final game with the program. I expect Ohio to lean on their strong running game, which ranked 22nd in the country this season with 216.5 yards per game and dominate this reeling Nevada team in all three aspects of the game.

Pick: Ohio -8

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