Monday, May 21st, 2012
The Penn St Nittany Lions from the Big Ten conference will face the Houston Cougars from Conference USA in the Ticket City Bowl in an NCAA college football game on January 2nd.
The Ticket City Bowl will begin from Dallas Texas at 12PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by ESPNU.
The betting odds opened with the Houston Cougars lined as a -7 ½ point betting favorite with an over under of 57 ½ points.
Early money has shown on the side of the underdog as the Houston Cougars are now lined as a -5 ½ point betting favorite.
The total has moved down to 56 ½ points.
Houston Cougars money line bettors will lay –220 odds with the underdog Penn St Nittany Lions returning +185 odds to post the upset victory with no need for getting the points on their side.
Penn St and Houston have no previous head to head meetings on the football field.
The Nittany Lions enter the Ticket City Bowl with a record of 9-3 on the season. The club is 4-1 away from home.
Penn St averages 19 points and 344 yards per game with 164 rushing yards for 4.2 yards per rush.
On defense the Nittany Lions allow 15 points and 300 yards per game. Opponents rush for 138 yards against them for 3.6 yards per rush against average.
The team is 6-3 against bowl teams on the year.
They have victories against Ohio St, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa and Temple. The team dropped games to Wisconsin, Nebraska and Alabama.
The team is coming off the 45-7 road defeat to the Wisconsin Badgers in their final regular season game as a +17 point underdog.
The total came in at over the closing line of 49 ½ points.
Penn St was outgained by Wisconsin by a 450 yard to 233 yard differential.
The Nittany Lions ran for 114 yards on 27 carries for 4.2 yards a carry.
The team was sloppy with four turnovers and took one away from the Badgers.
They allowed Wisconsin 264 yards rushing on 49 carries for 5.4 yards per rush against average.
Quarterback Matt McGloin completed 9 of 17 passes for 97 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Silas Redd ran it 12 times for 66 yards.
Curtis Dikes had six rushes for 25 yards.
Curtis Drake had two receptions for 43 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Derek Moye caught three passes for 22 yards.
Devon Smith grabbed two balls for 20 yards.
The Houston Cougars play in the Ticket City Bowl with the record of 12-1 on the season. The club is 6-0 on the highway.
Houston puts up 50 points and 599 yards per game with 155 yards rushing for 5 yards a carry.
On defense the Cougars allow 23 points and 386 yards per game. Teams run for 171 yards against them for 4.2 yards per rush against average.
The team is 5-1 versus bowl teams.
Houston has wins against Tulsa, SMU, Marshall, Louisiana Tech and UCLA. Their los came to Southern Mississippi.
The Cougars had their 12 game win streak snapped with their 49-28 home defeat to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in the Conference USA championship game as a -12 point betting favorite.
The over under came in at over the closing line of 73 points.
The loss was costly for Houston as it most likely cost them a trip to a BCS bowl.
The Cougars amassed 428 offensive yards while giving up 486 yards to the Golden Eagles.
The club had three turnovers and took two from Houston.
Houston allowed Southern Miss 207 yards rushing on 39 carries for 5.3 yards per rush against average.
Quarterback Case Keenum completed 41 of 67 passes for 373 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Michael Hays ran for 50 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 15 carries.
Charles Sims on nine rushes ran for 32 yards.
Justin Johnson led Houston with 12 receptions for 69 yards.
Tyon Carrier grabbed four passes for 41 yards.
Patrick Edwards had five pass catches for 28 yards.
For the Latest CFB Odds Please Visit our CFB Odds Page
CFB Trend: Houston Cougars are 8-1 ATS in their nine games.
Tags: betting, college football, espnu tv, houston cougars, january 2nd 2012, monday, Odds, penn st nittany lions, pick, preview, ticket city bowl
