The Virginia Tech Hokies will look to send beloved head coach Frank Beamer out on a high note when they square off against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the 2015 Independence Bowl on Saturday, December 26, at 5:45 PM ET, live from Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Now, with Beamer set to retire, let’s find out who has the edge in this intriguing college football betting lines bowl game.
How To Bet the Hokies vs Golden Hurricane NCAAF Odds, TV & Game Info
When: Saturday, December 26, 5:45 PM ET Where: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, Louisiana TV: ESPN View Full TV Schedule NCAAF Odds: Virginia Tech -13.5 Over/Under: 61.5
Finally, @TulsaFootball WR Keyarris Garrett gets his @KTBS Athlete of the Week trophy from his Daingerfield HS days! pic.twitter.com/Jfy7kmLUsN
— CampingWorldIndyBowl (@IndyBowl) December 23, 2015
Bet The Tulsa Golden Hurricane +13.5 Because…
They’ve got the far more explosive offense! Tulsa closed out its regular season by getting past Tulane 45-34 on Nov. 28 to snap a modest two-game losing streak. The Golden Hurricane average 35.9 points per game (25th), thanks mostly to their 11th-ranked passing attack (329.8 ypg).
Quarterback Dane Evans had a fantastic season by completing 63.0 percent of his passes for 3,958 yards with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Running back D’Angelo Brewer led the team in rushing with 732 yards while senior wide receiver Keyarris Garrett finished second in the FBS with 1,451 receiving yards while burning Tulane for 216 on 10 catches in the regular-season finale. Senior running back Zach Langer led the team with an impressive 17 touchdowns. Unfortunately, the Hurricane also ranked a dismal 10th in points allowed (38.6 ppg).
Bet The Virginia Tech Hokies at -13.5 Because…
They’re trying to send their beloved head coach out in style! Hokies got past Virginia 23-20 in its regular season finale to move to 3-1 SU and ATS over their final four games. Virginia Tech averaged 29.0 points per game to rank 64th in the nation as quarterback Michael Brewer completed an unimpressive 57.5 percent of his passes for 1,359 yards with 12 tou chdowns and six interceptions. The Hokies are led in rushing by running back Travon McMillan (961 yards) while wide receiver Isaiah Ford leads the team in receiving yards (937). The Hokies also allow 24.2 points per contest defensively (47th).
Now, the team wants to send Beamer out in style. “I want to finish this thing in a good way, but we’ve got to go play well,” Beamer told reporters. “Tulsa can throw the football. Any time you can throw the football the way they do, you’re always dangerous. We’ve got to get ready for that.” Kicker Joey Slye commented on his team’s state of mind concerning Beamer’s career finale. “It’s another bowl game, and coach Beamer is taking it like another bowl game,” Slye told reporters. “That’s kind of trickling down to the rest of the players. We’ve got business to do, we’ve got business to handle, so let’s go out and handle business.”
Beamer is set to be replaced by former Memphis coach Justin Fuente.
My Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction
Tulsa is 4-1 ATS in its last five bowl games, but just 2-6-1 ATS in its last nine non-conference games and 0-4 ATS in its last four games following an ATS win. Conversely, Virginia Tech is 6-2 ATS in its last eight games in the month of December which tells me that Frank Beamer has his team ready to play late in the season.
The Hokies are also 5-2 ATS in their last seen games following an ATS loss. Nevertheless, I’m going with the 56 percent of public bettors that like Tulsa to get the ATS cover at the very least. Virginia Tech is just 2-5-1 ATS in its last eight neutral site games and I believe the nearly two-touchdown spread is a bit too much for the Hokies to cover.
The Hokies get the win to send Frank Beamer out in style, but the ATS cover goes to Tulsa!
My Pick: Virginia Tech 31 Tulsa 27
