College Bowl Betting: San Diego State and Navy Clash in 2014 Poinsettia Bowl

A big part of the allure of the college bowl betting season, other than multiple opportunities to get a little bet on during the holiday season, is being able to get a look at teams that you may know little or nothing about. Many of the teams taking part in the bowl games do not have a rich history of appearances. Take a look at the Poinsettia Bowl, where San Diego State is only appearing in its 10^th bowl game in the past 50 years. Their opponents, Navy, have a little more of a bowl history, as this will be their 11^th in the last 12 years. In order for San Diego State (7-5) to win, they are going to have to do a couple of things well. The first is that they are going to have to be very good defensively, especially against the run. The Aztecs has the number 1 defense in the Mountain West, but they are facing a Navy team that pounds the ball on the ground better than most. Secondly, they are going to have to try and exploit a Navy defense that gave up over 30 PPG during the season. Navy are going to try and control the clock by running the ball, so the Aztecs need to find a way to flip that script.

.@PoinsettiaBowl Week continues tonight with the @marchingaztecs, @sdsudanceteam & @sdsucheer in the Gaslamp March. pic.twitter.com/P6f4pdhHBC — GoAztecs.com (@GoAztecs) December 21, 2014

As much as Navy (7-5) has given up points this season, they have also found a way to put points on the board, as they averaged 34 PPG. The key to the Midshipmen winning here will be controlling the game on the ground. They did a very good job of frustrating teams by running the ball effectively and controlling the clock in the process. What they did not do well was create turnovers on defense, and if they have to rely on that to topple the Aztecs, they could be in trouble. Navy will be looking to establish the run early and force San Diego State into throwing situations.

BETTING ODDS

This is another bowl game that the bookies see as being close, as they have San Diego State in as 3-point favorites. Navy went just 5-7 ATS this season, which included being 4-6 ATS in non-conference games. The Aztecs were 6-5 ATS, putting together a 4-2 record ATS when listed as a favorite. Game Odds: NAVY: +3-115, OV 54 -110, ML +130 SAN DIEGO STATE: -3-10, UN 54 -110, ML -150 This game is going to come down to who can take control of the clock. Navy proved all year that they have the running game that can do that, which is why I think they claw out the win and cover in the process.