The San Diego State Aztecs and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders face off on Saturday in the college football Hawaii Bowl at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. This is the first meeting played between the two teams this season.
Middle Tennessee comes into this game with a 7-5 record, and they have gone 5-6-1 against the spread. This team has been inconsistent this season, but come into this game winning three games in a row. In the last game against FIU, they scored 33 points and secured a five point victory. Chase Cunningham was the top player for Middle Tennessee, completing 29 of his 42 passes for 279 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The Blue Raiders are averaging 29.2 points, while their defense is giving up 28.1 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is San Diego State who sits with a 7-5 record, and they have gone 5-7 against the spread. In the last game against Air Force, San Diego State only scored three points, and they ended up losing by ten points. Under center was Jalen Mayden, and he completed 16 of his 31 passes for 188 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. On the season, Jalen Maden has thrown for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. San Diego State is averaging 21.3 points, while their defense is giving up 20.2 points per game.
The over is 5-0 in Middle Tennessee’s last five bowl games. The over is 5-0 in Middle Tennessee’s last five neutral site games. The Blue Raiders are 5-1 in their last six non-conference games. The Aztecs are 0-4 against the spread in their last 4 games after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
I don’t trust this San Diego State offense, and their lack of scoring is going to let them down. Look for another strong game from Chase Cunningham and that will be enough for the Blue Raiders to keep it close. I actually think that Middle Tennessee can pull the upset, but will take the points with the Blue Raiders. Throw a few dollars on the Blue Raiders ML.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
