2012 College Football Bowl Picks: Minnesota vs Texas Tech Odds and Predictions – Free Meineke Car Care Bowl Picks

2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl Odds and Picks: Minnesota vs Texas Tech Predictions – Free College Bowl Picks 12/28/12: As the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-6, 2-6 Big Ten) prepare to meet the Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) in Friday’s Meineke Car Care Bowl, neither side brings much momentum into the matchup. In fact, both teams basically limped their way to the finish line in the regular season. Minnesota closed the year with a 2-6 stretch after a 4-0 start while Texas Tech dropped four out of its last five after a 6-1 start. On the plus side, somebody has to get on track with a win in this one. Oddsmakers are leaning toward the Red Raiders being the team that gets the job done, and they enter the game as 13-point favorites.

Minnesota’s offense has been a train wreck all season, and entering Friday’s bowl game the numbers are pretty dismal. The Golden Gophers rank 108th in passing, 81st in rushing and 99th in scoring at just 21.3 points per game. Quarterbacks Max Shortell and Philip Nelson have split time throughout the year, combining for 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Meanwhile, Donnell Kirkwood leads the team with 849 yards, but at just 4.3 yards per carry, he isn’t exactly explosive. All things considered, Minnesota’s defense has been solid, giving up 23.9 points per game.

For the Red Raiders, the nation’s second-best passing attack powers an offense that ranks 18th in the country in scoring at 37.8 points per game. Quarterback Seth Doege is the engine that drives the offense, and he enters the bowl game with 38 touchdowns and more than 3,900 yards. He is also completing more than 70 percent of his passes on the year. Kenny Williams leads the Red Raiders in rushing, but he is more of a counterpunch to keep defenses honest than a focal point. On the flip side, Texas Tech’s defense has been abysmal. The Red Raiders rank 92nd in the country in points allowing, giving up more than 31 per game to opponents.

The Golden Gophers Win If:

Minnesota is going to have to manage the pace of the game with its offense and get a big effort from its defense if it is going to beat the Red Raiders. Plain and simple, the Golden Gophers don’t have the offensive firepower to go toe to toe with Doege and company and win a high-scoring shootout. However, they can avoid the problem by getting pounding away at the porous Texas Tech defense and controlling the clock with extended offensive drives. Getting pressure on Doege and disrupting the Red Raiders’ spread passing attack wouldn’t hurt either, but the Golden Gophers best recipe for success is to limit the number of possessions for both teams and create as slow of a pace as possible.

The Red Raiders Win If:

Scoring points and lots of them has been Texas Tech’s only method for winning games all season, and that isn’t going to change against a Minnesota team with a struggling offense. If Doege come out firing on all cylinders and top the 40-point mark as they have seven times this year, the Golden Gophers will be overmatched. More importantly, an early lead will force Minnesota to take to the air in order to catch up, and with their current mess at QB, the Golden Gophers’ offensive issues will only become more exposed. As long as Texas Tech can avoid a sloppy start and make sure Minnesota doesn’t hang around into the second half, the rout should be on for the Red Raiders.

The Bottom Line:

During their 2-6 slide at the end of the year, the Golden Gophers scored 17 points or less seven times and 14 points or less six times. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders’ offense puts up at least 20 points on a bad day. When Texas Tech as struggled it has been against teams with enough offensive firepower to shred its struggling defense, and Minnesota isn’t one of those teams. In fact, Doege and company have been able to bury a majority of the teams that can’t keep pace on the offensive side of the ball. The Golden Gophers fall into the latter category, and the Red Raiders will simply overwhelm Minnesota with its offense when all is said and done.

Prediction: Texas Tech Red Raiders (-13) Cover the Spread 

Minnesota vs Texas Tech Vegas Odds and Total
Date: 12/28/12
Line: Texas Tech -13
Total: Over/Under 56
Television: 9 PM EST on ESPN

Stop by NSAwins.com daily throughout the NCAA Football season for daily Hesiman Trophy Vegas Odds and College Football Odds plus daily updated BCS National Championship Betting Odds and 2012 College Bowl Odds.