2009 Music City Bowl Kentucky vs. Clemson Picks & Predictions

Last Updated on December 27, 2009 12:00 pm by drew

Music City Bowl Pick

C.J. Spiller plays in his final college football game Sunday night when Clemson faces
Kentucky in the 2009

Music
City Bowl from LP Field at 8:30PM ET.

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Clemson is 8-5 on the season and 7-5 against the spread. The Tigers lost their last two games of the season, including the ACC Championship, 39-34 to Georgia Tech. The Tigers have also failed to cover in their last three games.

Kentucky is 7-5 on the season and 6-5 against the spread. The Wildcats ended their season with a 30-24 loss to

Tennessee, but won three games in a row prior to the finale.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made Clemson 7-point favorites over

Kentucky on Sunday night. The over/under total for this game has been established at 52.5.

Clemson is scoring 31.9 points per-game as a team thanks in part to great special teams play, led by Spiller. Spiller has five returns for touchdowns this year and has rushed for 1,145 yards and 11 touchdowns at running back for Clemson. Spiller also has 33 receptions for 445 yards and three touchdowns.

Kentucky allows 22.8 points per-game and 362.9 yards per-game. The Wildcats have struggled against the run, as they give up 183.1 rushing yards per-game.

Kentucky is averaging 27.2 points per-game on offense, but has a weak passing game that amounted for only 1,714 yards this season. Mike Hartline is expected to play for the Wildcats but Morgan Newton will start. The two have combined for 11 touchdown passes with 10 interceptions this year. Clemson is giving up 21 points per-game on defense, but only allowing 317 yards per-game. The Tigers have 21 interceptions on the season, which ranks fourth in the nation.

This game seems to be clearly in the favor of Clemson in terms of talent and ability to score, but the way the bowl season has went this year, you have to wonder if Vegas knows more than we think. In this case, I think Spiller is more talented than any other player on the field regardless of which conference he comes from. Look for him to close out his Clemson career on a high note and lead the Tigers to win by more than a touchdown. There aren’t a lot of trends to go on, so we will stick to what has happened this year and suggest taking Clemson and the over.

Our Music City Bowl Free Pick for this matchup is: CLEMSON -7 and OVER 52.5.
College Football Bowl Season Betting Trends


KENTUCKY is 2-0 against the spread versus CLEMSON since 1992

CLEMSON is 1-1 straight up against

KENTUCKY since 1992

2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL since 1992 

Kentucky is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games

Clemson is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Clemson’s last 5 games

Bowl Season College Football Injury Report


KENTUCKY

[QB] 12/12/2009 – Mike Hartline is upgraded to probable, but not expected to start Sunday vs. Clemson ( Knee ) 

[LB] 12/07/2009 – Sam Maxwell expected to miss Sunday vs. Clemson ( Shoulder ) 

[DT] 12/14/2009 – Corey Peters "?" Sunday vs. Clemson ( Shoulder ) 

[LB] 12/22/2009 – Ronnie Sneed is downgraded to doubtful Sunday vs. Clemson ( Shoulder ) 

[QB] 12/20/2009 – Morgan Newton is expected to start Sunday vs. Clemson ( None ) 

CLEMSON

[LB] 09/05/2009 – Stanley Hunter out for season ( Illness ) 

[OL] 09/05/2009 – JK Jay out for season ( Back ) 

[OL] 12/07/2009 – Mason Cloy is downgraded to expected to miss Kentucky in the Music City Bowl ( Leg )
Music City Bowl Odds
Kentucky Wildcats +7 Over 52.5 (+250)

Clemson Tigers -7 Under 52.5 (-330)
Bet The Music City Bowl
Posted: 12/27/09 12:00PM ET