Look for a heavy dose of Lamar Jackson in the Music City Bowl as the Louisville Cardinals clash with a Texas A&M Aggies team that has a strong pass defense and below-average rushing defense. Louisville has a 7-5 record coming into this game, while Texas A&M finished 8-4. Players will take the field Wednesday, Dec 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN.
In its last game, Louisville defeated Kentucky 38-24. James Quick had a huge game in the victory, registering four catches for 94 yards and one TD. Texas A&M didn’t have the same success as Louisville, getting beat by LSU 19-7. Josh Reynolds had a solid outing for the Aggies, pulling in five receptions for 71 yards.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the Cardinals-Aggies game this week is sitting at 48 points, and Texas A&M is a slim two-point favorite.
Sitting at 7-5 Straight Up (SU) and 6-6 Against The Spread (ATS), the Cardinals will look to improve heading into this bowl game. In their five most recent matchups, the Cardinals went 4-1 SU and 2-3 ATS. Louisville has averaged 34 points per game over the last five weeks, higher than its season average of 28.8. As for the Louisville defense, a few key matchups could decide this game. Texas A&M’s offense will need to use all of its options against the 15th-ranked Cardinals run defense, which gives up 118.8 rushing yards per game. A major part of the game will be whether the Aggies can protect their quarterback from Louisville’s hungry defense. It averages the 21st-most sacks in the nation with 2.7 per game.
On the other side of the Music City Bowl, the Aggies have 8-4 SU and 5-7 ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Aggies have a SU record of 3-2 and a 1-4 record ATS for those betting with them. The defensive front seven better be ready for Texas A&M’s bruising rushing attack which has averaged 206.0 yards on the ground over its past five games. The Aggies are also playing better defense than they have all year, only allowing 18 PPG over their last five games, which is well under their season average of 21.6 points. The Texas A&M pass defense has turned the corner during the past five games as well. During that span, it’s allowed 119.0 passing yards per game, dropping its season average to 161.2. When Texas A&M’s defensive front gets going, it is basically unstoppable. This year, the Aggies average 2.7 sacks per game, good enough for 21st in the country.
Predictions: SU Winner – Louisville, ATS Winner – Louisville, O/U – Over
Notes
Louisville is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Louisville’s last 5 games.
Louisville is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
Texas A&M is 7-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Louisville is 6-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
Louisville is 4-3 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and 3-1 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
According to overall FBS team rankings, Louisville is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 82nd-ranked rushing attack will face the 103rd-ranked run defense of Texas A&M, while its 15th-ranked run defense will look to contain the 66th-ranked rushing game of the Aggies.
