Nevada Wolf Pack (6-2) vs Tulane Green Wave (6-5)
Game Info: Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at 3:30 pm (Albertsons Stadium)
Betting Odds: Nevada Wolf Pack +3 -- Over/Under: 56.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Tulane Green Wave and Nevada Wolf Pack will square off at Albertsons Stadium this Tuesday afternoon in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The Tulane Green Wave finished their season with an overall record of 6-5 while finishing AAC play t-8th with a 3-5 conference record. Tulane will be playing in its 3rd straight Bowl game and has had success in recent years as they defeated the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns by a 41-24 margin in the Cure Bowl in the 2018 season while defeating the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles by a 30-13 margin in the Armed Forces Bowl last year. Tulane get off to a slow start this season, going 2-5 over their first 7 games, however, the Green Wave finished the season strong, winning 4 of their last 5 games which included closing out their season with an impressive 14-point victory over the Memphis Tigers.
On the season, Tulane is averaging 35.4 ppg on 396.4 total yards per game (177.5 passing yds/g; 218.9 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Tulane has been led by the RB duo of Stephon Huderson (118 att, 721 yards, 4 TD) and Cameron Carroll (112 att, 621 yards, 11 TD). QB Michael Pratt has completed 55.9% of his passes for 1,638 yards, 18 TD, & 5 INT. Pratt is also a dangerous threat with his legs as he racked up 7 rushing TD’s on the season. The top receiving threats for the Green Wave have been Duece Watts (31 rec, 512 yards, 6 TD), Jha’Quan Jackson (29 rec, 356 yards, 6 TD), Phat Watts (16 rec, 216 yards), and Tyrick James (16 rec, 171 yards, 3 TD).
Defensively, Tulane is allowing their opponents to average 27.2 ppg on 416.7 total yards per game (279.4 passing yds/g; 137.4 rushing yds/g).
The Nevada Wolf Pack finished their season with an overall record of 6-2 while finishing 3rd in Mountain West play with a 6-2 conference record. Similar to Tulane, Nevada will be playing in their 3rd straight Bowl game as the Wolf Pack defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 16-13 (OT), in 2018 Arizona Bowl, however, did lose to the Ohio Bobcats by a 30-21 margin in last year’s Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Nevada got off to a great start to their season, winning their first 5 games, however, Nevada suffered a tough road loss to Hawai’i for their first loss and then was defeated by the Mountain West Champion, San Jose State Spartans, 30-20, in their regular season finale.
On the season, Nevada is averaging 29.9 ppg on 436.6 total yards per game (325.1 passing yds/g; 111.5 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Nevada has been led by QB Carson Strong who has completed 69.4% of his passes for 2,587 yards, 22 TD, & 4 INT. The top receiving threats for the Wolf Pack have been Romeo Doubs (53 rec, 960 yards, 9 TD), Cole Turner (44 rec, 545 yards, 7 TD), Tory Horton (18 rec, 306 yards, 5 TD), and Melquan Stovall (33 rec, 250 yards). Leading the way for the Nevada backfield has been the duo of Toa Taua (94 att, 573 yards, 3 TD) & Devonte Lee (64 att, 322 yards, 2 TD).
Defensively, Nevada is holding their opponents to an average of 22.9 ppg on 379.3 total yards per game (248.5 passing yds/g; 130.8 rushing yds/g).
The Green Wave are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games as a favorite. The Wolf Pack are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog and 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 Bowl games.
Tulane has an explosive offensive rushing attack that has been able to put up points thoughout the season and it was really encouraging to see how Tulane improved defensively as the season went on which included victories against both Army & Memphis in which they held those two teams to just a combined 33 points. Nevada played a pretty easy schedule in the Mountain West this season as they avoided matchups against both Boise State & San Diego State and didn’t defeat a team that had a winning record. Nevada's defense has been decent this season, however, as I expect Tulane's rushing attack to have success, I'm taking Tulane to cover this small spread. Good Luck!
Brett’s Pick Tulane Green Wave -3
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
