San Diego State Aztecs vs. Ohio Bobcats Odds and Predictions – Betting the DXL Frisco Bowl

Wednesday night’s DXL Frisco Bowl features a couple of mid-major programs that are no stranger to postseason play. The Aztecs are making their ninth consecutive appearance in a bowl game, while the Bobcats are competing in a mid-to-late December game for the fourth straight year.

Rocky Long’s team stumbled down the stretch of the season, losing the final three games on their schedule. On the flip side, the Frank Solich-coached group blew out Buffalo and Akron during their final two contests.

It would appear that Ohio is the team with the positive momentum, but then again, San Diego State is healthier than they have been since the start of the season.

Feel free to check out my complete guide to the 2018 college football bowl season, but here’s my advice on how to attack betting this one.

• Where: Toyota Stadium – Frisco, Texas
• When: 8:00 pm EST – ESPN

Do you remember when SDSU beat Boise State earlier in the year? Remember when they were 6-1 and looking like they’d be playing in the MWC Championship game?

Well, as a graduate of San Diego State University and a big fan of the school, I can certainly recall those “glory days.” But injuries to their starting quarterback and running back during the year plagued the Aztecs.

The good news is both Christian Chapman and Juwan Washington will be suiting up for the Frisco Bowl, but here’s the bad news. Chapman and Washington were both in uniform during an unforgivable home loss to the inept UNLV Rebels back on November 10^th.

SDSU is terrific when it comes to running the football, and they’re outstanding at stopping the run. But they are agonizingly inefficient at throwing the football. They are even worse when it comes to converting on third downs. Seriously, their 34.1% success rate on the all-important down ranks 114^th out of 130 qualifying schools.

The team they are facing is not only the winner of five of their last six games, but the Bobcats put up 49 or more points in each of those five victories. Ohio averaged 41.2 PPG (ranked 10^th in FBS I-A) and absolutely thrives on running the football, setting this up to be one heck of an encounter.

Something is going to have to give in Frisco because the Aztecs allow just 21.8 points per game and are among the nation’s elite at stuffing the run. SDSU ranked second in the entire country, holding opponents to a measly 2.7 yards per carry.

Only four teams in all of college football surrendered fewer than 100 rushing yards per game. The Aztecs were one of them.

Who wins the battle at the line of scrimmage when Nathan Rourke and the Ohio offense is on the field is going to be the key to this football game. I’m imagining we see a slugfest of sorts, as each team has had ample time to watch film and prepare for the clash.

I’m not sure if the bookies have been paying as close attention to the Aztecs this season as I have, or perhaps this total would have been set a little lower.

The line is sitting at 55 points, and do you know how many of SDSU’s 12 regular-season games in 2018 eclipsed that number? One. Just one – a game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

And it’s not like they haven’t faced some good offenses, either. Boise State averaged 35.4 points per game in 2018 and was held to just 13 in their own building versus the Rocky Long-led team. The Aztecs held Fresno State to just 23 points despite the Bulldogs clocking in at 34.9 on the year.

If you assume I’m going to tell you to hop on the SDSU bandwagon because I’m an alumnus and I’ll be rooting for them to win, you’d be sorely mistaken. I take my bias out of everything and just rely on the numbers and data in front of me.

Combined with what I see and what I expect out of both of these units when they take the field in Texas on Wednesday night, everything leads me to believe we see some sort of dogfight between a couple of hungry teams.

55 just seems like too many points in this spot. Don’t you agree?

If you aren’t shopping your lines, then you aren’t trying hard enough. This total was lurking at 54 almost everywhere I looked, but not quite everywhere. After browsing the top college football betting sites, I was able to find the “55 number,” and that meant it was time to pounce.

There are plenty of other college football betting opportunities coming up, too. The college football bowl season comes around just once a year, and it’s a great time to place some wagers and enjoy all the action.

I’ll personally be doing exactly that. And if you want to know what else I’ll be betting on, keep an eye on the blog. I’ve already written about betting the Orange Bowl when Oklahoma and Alabama tango and provided an in-depth preview of the Cotton Bowl. There’s also more to come.

Right now, the immediate focus is on Wednesday night and the DXL Frisco Bowl. Whether you follow my advice in this post or not, I wish you all the best in your betting exploits!