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Minnesota vs Virginia Tech Prediction, Game Odds and Picks for the Duke's Mayo Bowl

Minnesota vs Virginia Tech Prediction, Game Odds and Picks for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Written by on December 31, 2024

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What better way to relax after the excitement of the next round of the college football playoffs than by tuning into another round of bowl games.

That is what we will be looking forward to ahead of the playoff semi-finals, as there are still some very good matchups to come before we have a National Champion crowned in the middle of January.

 

Minnesota vs Virginia Tech Prediction: Duke’s Mayo Bowl Analysis

For the purposes of this piece, we are going to focus on the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which features the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Virginia Tech Hokies. Minnesota is favored by 8 points in this game, with the total set at 42 ½.

 

Brief History

Before we get into the details of the game, let’s take a quick moment to talk about some details of this specific bowl game. Originally formed in 2002 as the Queen City Bowl, the game has undergone several name changes before finally settling on the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in 2020. The game always features a team from the ACC, but the opponent changes based on the year of the past season.

In odd years, we have an SEC team, while even years, like this one, we have a team from the Big Ten. Virginia Tech has been here before, winning it in 2016 when it was still known as the Belk Bowl. This will be the first appearance for Minnesota in this particular game.

With all of that said, let’s break down the 2024 Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

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How to Bet and Watch Minnesota vs Virginia Tech: Duke’s Mayo Bowl Odds

MyBookie NCAAF Moneylines: Virginia Tech +280 / Minnesota -370
Date & Time: Friday January 3 at 7:30 PM EST
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
TV: ESPN

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Minnesota vs Virginia Tech Prediction for Duke’s Mayo Bowl

As we have said countless times before, bowl games are very often tough to predict, but I actually feel pretty good about this one.

I think the Minnesota Golden Gophers are a great pick to win straight up, but can they cover the spread?

I believe that they will, and I also think we will see this game go OVER the point total.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 37, Virginia Tech Hokies 27

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Minnesota Golden Gophers Odds and Trends

Before we start talking about trends and odds, I think it might be a good idea to take a look at how the Golden Gophers made it into bowl season. Their 7-5 record might not be totally overwhelming, but when you dig a little deeper, you see that this is a team that is better than their record suggests. You also see that with a wee bit of luck, they could have had a much more memorable year.

How was the Golden Gophers’ season?

The Golden Gophers opened the season with a 19-17 loss to the UNC Tar Heels, starting a bit of a trend that carried over into the rest of the season. They followed that up with expected wins over Rhode Island and Nevada, failing to surrender a single point in both of those games. They followed that up with a blowout loss to Iowa, after which they lost by 3 to the Michigan Wolverines.

Minnesota then went on their best run of the season, winning 4 in a row, which included wins over USC and Illinois, both of whom were ranked at the time. They lost a close one to Rutgers before losing by a single point to Penn State, who are in the playoffs this season, before closing things out with a win over Wisconsin.

As mentioned at the top of this piece, the Golden Gophers are in as the favorite, which is something they have thrived on, winning 7 of their last 8 games when carrying the favorites tag. They are not quite as strong in Friday games, though, going 4-8 SU in their last 12. They have been a very decent bet against the spread, going 7-1 ATS in their last 8 outings. When playing against teams from the ACC, Minnesota has hit the UNDER in 4 of the last 5 games.

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Minnesota vs Virginia Tech Prediction provided by MyBookie

 

Virginia Tech Hokies Odds and Trends

If you want to talk about becoming bowl eligible by the skin of your teeth, you need to talk about the Virginia Tech Hokies. They finished the regular season with a 6-6 record, needing to win their final game in order to get to the magic 6-win mark. It was definitely an up and down season for the Hokies, so let’s dig a little deeper into their regular season schedule to get a clearer idea of how they got here.

How was the Tech Hokies’ season?

The season did not begin particularly well for the Hokies, as they were beaten 34-27 by Vanderbilt in Week 1. They were able to bounce back, though, winning 3 in a row against Marshall and Old Dominion, racking up 68 points of offense in the process. They followed that up with a 3-point loss to Rutgers before giving the Miami Hurricanes a scare in a 38-34 loss.

They seemed to get their defense in order after those losses, winning 3 in a row against Stanford, Boston College, and Virginia Tech, but that winning streak came to a rather dramatic halt. The Hokies went on a 3-game losing skid, dropping games to Syracuse, Clemson, and Duke, although they were in all 3 games right to the end. That put them at 5-6, which meant that they needed a win over Virginia to become bowl eligible, which they did with a dominating 37-17 win.

A 6-6 record doesn’t tell us much of anything, but there are some other trends that definitely do, starting with the fact that the Hokies are 1-5 SU in Friday games. Perhaps more alarmingly, they are a woeful 2-13 SU in games that they started as the underdog. They have been a very good pick against the spread in their last 10 games, going 8-2 ATS in that stretch. In their last 7 games against a team from the Big Ten, the OVER has hit 6 times.

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2022 Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Maryland vs. NC State
 

It’s a matchup of former ACC rivals on Friday, Dec. 30, in the first of four bowl games that day as Maryland, now of the Big Ten, takes on NC State – which will not have star quarterback Devin Leary. Thus, the Terps are short favorites on the NCAAF odds.

How to Bet Maryland vs. NC State NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

  • When: Friday, noon ET
  • Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
  • TV: ESPN
  • Stream: ESPN+
  • Radio: Tunein.com
  • Opening NCAAF Lines: Maryland -1.5

Series History

The Terrapins and the Wolfpack played each other every year between 1956 and 2013 and then Maryland left for the Big Ten. The two sides haven’t met since. The record for each team is 33-33-4 in this matchup.

Why Bet on Maryland?

Maryland ended a three-game losing streak in the regular-season finale, a 37-0 rout of Rutgers. The Terps recorded their first Big Ten shutout and first shutout of a conference opponent since blanking ACC foe Wake Forest in 2008. Rutgers was forced into 10 total punts and no drive went longer than 22 yards as they totaled just seven first downs. Maryland held Rutgers to 1-for-13 on third down, with the first conversion coming with under two minutes left.

Prior to that game, the fewest yards allowed by Maryland in a Big Ten game was holding Rutgers to 179 yards in 2018. Overall, it was the fewest yards allowed by Maryland since holding Howard to 68 on Aug. 31, 2019. Against FBS opponents, this is the fewest yards Maryland has allowed since holding Eastern Michigan to 124 in 2001.

Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa became Maryland’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes as he completed 25-of-37 for 342 yards and a score. He now has 50 career TD passes, breaking the record of 49 previously held by Scott Milanovich.

A Second Team All-Big Ten selection, Tagovailoa ranks second in the Big Ten in completions and completion percentage (68.6), and third in passing yards. Tagovailoa has rewritten Maryland’s record books, as he’s now the program leader in career touchdown passes, career passing yards (7,658), total offense (7,843) and 300-yard passing games (12).

Running back Roman Hemby recorded 924 rushing yards in his redshirt freshman season and led all Big Ten freshmen with 1,200 yards from scrimmage. The running back scored 10 touchdowns on the ground, the most for a Terrapin since 2015. Maryland ranks third in the Big Ten in passing offense (259.3 yards per game) and fourth in the league in scoring offense (29.2 points per game).

Maryland will be making its 29th bowl appearance and second in a row after defeating Virginia Tech, 54-10, in the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl. The Terrapins won’t have receivers Jacob Copeland, Dontay Demus or Rakim Jarrett as well as cornerback Deonte Banks as they all declared for the draft. Linebacker Ahmad McCullough (45 tackles) entered the portal.

Why Bet on NC State?

Starting quarterback Devin Leary, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, suffered a season-ending injury on Oct. 8 and opted to transfer at the end of the regular season. While leading the Wolfpack to a 9-3 record in 2021, Leary threw for 3,433 yards with 35 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He had 1,265 yards with 11 TD passes and four interceptions in six games this year prior to getting hurt. Leary will play next year at Kentucky.

After Leary’s injury, the Wolfpack started three different quarterbacks, including freshman MJ Morris. Coach Dave Doeren said both Morris and Ben Finley, who started and won the Wolfpack’s regular-season finale against North Carolina, are practicing for the bowl.

Indeed, NCSU upset North Carolina in the regular-season finale 30-27 in double OT. Christopher Dunn connected on a 21-yard field goal to open the second overtime before North Carolina kicker Noah Burnette missed a 35-yarder to seal the NC State victory. In his first career start, Finley completed 27-of-40 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Finley connected with 10 different receivers in the victory.

NC State finished the regular season as one of just three teams to allow 30 points or less in each game this season. In the playoff era, the only four ACC teams to do it in all 12 regular-season games are 2015 Florida State, 2019 Clemson and 2021 Clemson.

The Wolfpack’s 14 straight games without allowing more than 30 points also ranks first in the nation. Since 2010, only Clemson (4x) and Miami (2016-17) have longer streaks. NC State’s streak of 14 straight games without allowing more than 30 points is its longest streak since an 18-game streak stretching from a 16-13 win at Clemson on Oct. 27, 1979, to a 31-10 win over East Carolina on Sept. 19, 1981.

Starting center Grant Gibson is out due to injury. Receiver Devin Carter (25 catches and 16.2 yards per catch) won’t play, either. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck left to be the head coach at Coastal Carolina. Kurt Roper will call plays.

Game Trends

  • Terrapins are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games.
  • Terrapins are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
  • Terrapins are 13-32 ATS in their last 45 games following a straight up win.
  • Wolfpack are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 bowl games.
  • Wolfpack are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games overall.

Expert Prediction: NC State 26, Maryland 23

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