Oskeim Sports previews Saturday’s college football bowl game between Ball State and San Jose State. Oskeim provides a free college football pick in the game but check out the online store for Oskeim’s award-winning sports picks!
My math model favors San Jose State by just 4.41 points in this game after taking into account the fact that Ball State will be without starting running back Caleb Huntley, who announced prior to the MAC championship game that he was opting out for the rest of the season.
Huntley rushed for 437 yards and six touchdowns in the Cardinals’ first three games before missing the final three games of the regular season with an undisclosed injury. Ball State won its final five games to clinch the league’s West Division title and upset Buffalo in the MAC title game as prohibitive underdogs.
Ball State is 7-0 ATS in its last seven games as an underdog, 10-1 ATS in its last eleven clashes with .501 or greater opposition (5-0 ATS last), and 11-5 ATS in its previous sixteen non-conference affairs.
The Cardinals are a veteran-laden team that played a challenging schedule that included underdog wins over Toledo and Western Michigan. Starting quarterback Drew Plitt passed for 1,947 yards with 16 touchdowns in only seven regular-season games and will challenge San Jose State’s secondary.
Ball State is playing in its first bowl game since 2015 and will be motivated to hand the Spartans their first (and only) loss this season. Meanwhile, San Jose State has been dealing with COVID-19 restrictions in its county and haven’t been able to practice.
Grab the inflated number with the Cardinals and invest with confidence.