Army vs North Texas Heart of Dallas Bowl Lines, Betting Pick & TV Info

Posted by Kenny Bell on Monday,December 26, 2016 2:29, EDT in

College Football News, Online Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

An unusual spread here for Tuesday’s Heart of Dallas Bowl. North Texas has already beaten Army once this year as a 17-point underdog on the road. Now the Mean Green are a double-digit & dog in a bowl game being played in Dallas. Hmm. North Texas is one year removed from a 1-11 season.

Army vs North Texas Heart of Dallas Bowl Lines, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Tuesday, Dec. 27, Noon ET
Where: Cotton Bowl, Dallas
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Army / North Texas
Opening NCAA Football Lines: Army -10.5 (49)

Why Bet on Army?

Jeff Monken is in his third season at Army, and has helped the team to its most wins since the squad picked up seven victories in 2010. The Black Knights won their first three games of the year, including a win at American Athletic Conference champion Temple. The two teams faced off earlier this year, with North Texas picking up a 35-18 victory at West Point.

The Black Knights enter postseason play with the nation’s second-ranked rushing offense. Army is averaging 327.8 yards per game and is only 68 yards from breaking the 4,000-yard mark for the first time since 2012 when the Black Knights had 4,438 yards on the ground.

The defense jumped to fourth in the nation in total defense after shutting down Navy, allowing 201 total yards. The unit averages 281.4 total yards allowed. The rushing defense showed off its strength against Navy, giving up only 112 yards to the third-ranked rushing attack in the nation. Army is 17th in the country against the run, but faces a tough test against Jeffery Wilson, who ran for 160 yards in the previous meeting with North Texas.

Army has been to only one bowl in the last 20 years, so the Black Knights should be fired up to put an exclamation point on what has been a terrific season. Linebacker Andrew King leads the Black Knights’ defense with 88 tackles, including 10.5 for loss, to go along with five sacks and two forced fumbles. The Black Knights have the series advantage vs. North Texas with a 4-1 record since their first game in 1996.

Why Bet on North Texas?

North Texas (5-7, 3-5 Conference USA) is headed to a bowl game for the ninth time ever. The Mean Green will become the first school ever to participate in the Heart of Dallas Bowl twice. North Texas defeated UNLV, 36-14, in the game following the 2013 season. Seth Littrell is in his first season as the head coach of the Mean Green. He took over a team that finished the 2015 campaign with a 1-11 mark and has guided the team to just its second bowl appearance since 2005.

Having won only five games, the Mean Green have to be thrilled with the opportunity to play in a bowl game. Nate Brooks finished the regular season with four interceptions, which ranks second in Conference USA for a North Texas pass defense that finished the regular season as the third-best statistical pass defense.

Quarterback Mason Fine has seen action in 10 games and averages 157.2 yards through the air with a 59.4 completion percentage. Running back Jeffrey Wilson is the leading rusher for the Mean Green with 85.5 yards per game. Wilson recorded 160 yards in the previous meeting between the two schools and averaged 10.7 yards per carry in the win.

The Mean Green defense had a season-high seven takeaways in the early win over Army. The seven turnovers forced were the most by a North Texas defensive unit nearly nine years, when the Mean Green forced seven turnovers on October 20, 2007 in a 45-7 loss at Troy. The seven also equals the total that Texas A&M forced in a win over Tennessee (October 8) for the most in a single game this season nationally.

The four interceptions by the Mean Green were the most in a single game since the game at Troy in 2007, where Craig Robertson had a pair, like Jenkins did on the 22nd. Those four tied for the most in a game by a Conference USA school all season (Middle Tennessee). The three fumbles recovered by the Mean Green tied for the second most by a C-USA team in a single game.