by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Dec 27, 2022Arizona Bowl
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ
Where to watch: Barstool
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Ohio -1.5; Ohio -125, Wyoming +105; O/U 42
FanDuel: Ohio -2.5; Ohio -125, Wyoming +104; O/U 42.5
BetMGM: Ohio -1; Ohio -125, Wyoming +105; O/U 42.5
Caesars: Ohio -1.5; Ohio -130, Wyoming +110; O/U 42.5
Season record
Ohio: 9-4
Wyoming: 7-5
Bowl season is here! There are 42 games that are going to be determining how this season ends. We appreciate you for hanging with us during this college football season, and you know it’s not over yet. We’re going to keep on rolling and giving your our best picks over the course of the next month. All the way up until the College Football Playoff, which is going to have some incredible games. Do you have the right idea when you head to the books for these important games? Our champion handicappers surely have you covered. Will Rogers is running an impressive 24-11-0 in the last month. Al McMordie has also been cashing in heavily with a 40-29-1 mark in college football over the last 30 days. Our guys here have you ready to go for what should be an exciting week. Be tuned to bigal.com for everything!
Ohio - Wyoming preview, analysis and prediction
Ohio analysis
Any other time would be wise to choose the Ohio Bobcats in this matchup in the Arizona bowl. If quarterback was an issue because their star quarterback was out for the rest of the season, this would normally be the best possible situation in which you could take Ohio over Wyoming. But I think what we realized in the MAC championship game is that you're going to need a quarterback in order to have a chance. In these 17-7 loss 2 Toledo, quarterback CJ Harris completed 17 of 31 passes for 163 yards and through an interception. Clearly the man is not Curtis Rourke and it showed in this game. But Ohio was great to close the season, covering eight of its last nine while winning seven of nine outright. Overtime would carry to Ohio covering the spread in dominant fashion for a majority of these games. No matter if they were underdogs or slight favorites like they were toward the end of the year, Ohio always found a way 2 ensure that it got a cover late in the season. And even if Harris is the quarterback, you would like to think that Ohio will have ample enough time to put together a game plan that best suits their backup quarterback. Whether that will come to fruition remains to be seen, but considering Ohio was 3.5 underdogs and still feel the cover by 6 1/2 against Toledo, I am not going to put a whole lot of stock into this one knowing that it's not the full create team on display in this one.
Wyoming analysis
The Wyoming Cowboys were considered to be one of the top teams in the Mountain West Conference this year and based on the town that they had and based on the overall complexion of this program, you had every reason to believe that that might have been true. But it wasn't the most perfect season for Wyoming as one would have hoped. There were a couple of losses along the way following these 17-14 win over Air Force that put Wyoming on the map that ultimately put a damper on the season. Wyoming lost the following week by two touchdowns to be BYU, then followed that with a 17 point loss to San Jose State. After that happened, Wyoming reeled off four straight victories before closing the regular season with losses to Boise State and Fresno State. You put all of that together and that's one giant roller coaster season that really makes no sense. Not to mention that Wyoming also failed to cover in three of its last four games in which two of them they were favored by at least eight points. Wyoming was clearly not up to the level of competition that you would expect when it came to Fresno and Boise. Wyoming quarterback Andrew peasley struggled heavily against Fresno State before the season ended by throwing for 104 yards on 12 of 29 passing and through two interceptions. That's not going to get it done under any circumstance and the fact that they are here after such a weird season should be commended. But if there was a chance for Wyoming to get back on track, it would be against a team that does not have its star quarterback at its disposal.
Prediction
Wyoming has done well in its last four bowl games, covering each one of them while the under has also cashed in Wyoming last five games. Both of those trends work in Wyoming’s favor considering Ohio is still trying to figure everything out. But given the fact that it is the last game of the season, there's not a lot of time to figure it out. Wyoming 24, Ohio 10
Betting trends
Ohio is 5-15 ATS on the road off a loss by 10 points or more against a conference opponent since 1992.
Ohio is 2-13 ATS on the road after 3 straight games after committing 1 turnover or less since 1992.
Wyoming is 4-0 ATS in its last four bowl games.
Wyoming is 0-5 ATS in the last 5 after rushing for 100 yards or less in their previous game.
Statistical leaders
Ohio:
Passing: Kurtis Rourke – 3,256 yards, 25 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Sieh Bangura – 940 yards, 12 TD
Receiving: Sam Wiglusz – 850 yards, 11 TD
Wyoming:
Passing: Andrew Peasley – 1,388 yards, 9 TD, 8 INT
Rushing: Titus Swen – 1,039 yards, 8 TD
Receiving: Joshua Cobbs – 407 yards, 2 TD
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Ohio Bobcats - Wyoming Cowboys prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college football projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
