Arizona Bowl Betting Prediction
Thursday afternoon’s bowl slate continues with a matchup of the MAC’s Ball State versus unbeaten San Jose State from the Mountain West. Is 9.5 points too much to lay with the 7-0 Spartans or will they roll past the 6-1 Cardinals in this 2:00 p.m. ET matchup?
Game Snapshot
321 Ball State Cardinals (+9.5) at 322 San Jose State Spartans (-9.5); o/u 64
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ
2:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday, December 31, 2020
TV: CBS
Ball State Cardinals Game Notes
Ball State redshirt senior QB Drew Plitt threw three touchdowns and an interception with 263 yards passing on 20-of-32 attempts in a 38-28 win on Friday over Buffalo in the MAC Championship Game. This is Plitt’s blurb, but quickly, the job Mike Neu has done at Ball State deserves to be talked about. He’s taken what was one of the worst programs in the FBS into a MAC champion, and that deserves recognition. Back to Plitt. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback is a big reason why the Cardinals were able to win the conference this year, and this was his third straight game with at least three passing scores. Ball State improves to 6-1, and they’ll be heading to a bowl game with a chance for a seventh win.
San Jose State Spartans Game Notes
San Jose State senior QB Nick Starkel will return for the 2021 season. Starkel, a senior, would normally have to hop to the NFL. An NCAA ruling allowing players to retain this season of eligibility due to COVID changes that, though. Starkel is taking full advantage of the ruling. After three years of bouncing around in on-and-off action with Texas A&M and Arkansas, Starkel (6’3/214) found a clear home with San Jose State, helping lead them to an undefeated 7-0 season that finished off with a MWC championship. COVID season or not, the 2020 season brought San Jose their first conference title since 1991, so Starkel must be proud of what he’s done already for the program and believe he can build on in for next season.
Ball State vs. San Jose State Betting Prediction
The Spartans have been too good this season to fade. They’re 12-3-2 against the spread in their last 17 games overall, are 8-1-2 at the betting window in their last 11 games coming off a win and have covered six straight games when playing in the month of December. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are winless against the spread in their last four bowl games and despite their upset win over Buffalo in the MAC Championship Game three weeks ago, I see San Jose State putting an emphatic exclamation point on its season with a win today.
ARIZONA BOWL BETTING PREDICTION: SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS -9.5
