2023 Quick Lane Bowl Lines - Bowling Green vs. Minnesota Odds

Quick Lane Bowl Lines - Bowling Green vs. Minnesota Odds

Despite a 5-7 record, Minnesota is going bowling in Detroit. Minnesota will play Bowling Green in the Tuesday, December 26 Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field. Minnesota has played in the Quick Lane Bowl twice before, in 2015 when they defeated Central Michigan and in 2018 when they topped Georgia Tech.  The Gophers are the only five-win team in the country playing in a bowl. There are 41 total bowl games, and that requires 82 teams. Only 81 teams reached six wins to qualify for a bowl automatically, and the Gophers slipped in thanks to the best standing in the Academic Progress Report among the five-win teams in the country.

2023 Quick Lane Bowl at a Glance

Date: Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Time (ET) / TV: 2:00 PM / ESPN

Venue: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Matchup: Bowling Green Falcons vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

College Football Betting Lines

Bowling Green Falcons +3.5

Minnesota Golden Gophers -3.5

Total: 38

Money Line: Bowling Green +155, Minnesota -181

Quick Lane Bowl Preview

Last game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers lost 28-14 against the 2.5-point home dogs. The game went under the total of 43.5. Minnesota has a record of 5-7 straight up, 3-9 against the spread, and 5-7 over/under the total. Minnesota ranks 125th for total offense, 126th for passing, 79th for rushing and 116th for scoring. Defensively, they rank 61st overall, 58th against the pass, 75th against the rush, and 71st for points allowed. Also, Minnesota ranks 56th for fewest turnovers lost and 29th for takeaways.

There was some, albeit slim, hope that the storyline for the bowl games would include a PJ Fleck vs. Jerry Kill rematch. But Kill's New Mexico State Aggies, who finished 10-4 and lost to Liberty in the Conference USA title game on Friday, will participate in the New Mexico Bowl against Fresno State.

Last game, the Bowling Green Falcons won 34-10 against the Western Michigan Broncos as 3-point road favorites. The game went under the total of 51.5. Bowling Green has a record of 7-5 straight up, 8-4 against the spread, and 7-5 over/under the total.

Bowling Green ranks 105th for total offense, 108th for passing, 87th for rushing and 73rd for scoring. Defensively, they rank 31st overall, 25th against the pass, 43rd against the rush, and 49th for points allowed. Also, Bowling Green ranks 30th for fewest turnovers lost and 5th for takeaways.

Quick Lane Bowl Prediction

In this situation, despite its poor season, Minnesota still brings a Big Ten pedigree at a discount price.

Quick Lane Bowl Format

The Quick Lane Bowl began in 2014, taking the place of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The Little Caesars Bowl started as the Motor City Bowl in 1997 at the Pontiac Silverdome and eventually moved to Ford Field in downtown Detroit in 2002 and pitted schools from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) against a team from the Big Ten or the Sun Belt Conference.

The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl eventually went away as the Quick Lane Bowl took its place in 2014, with teams from the MAC and Big Ten squaring off.

Quick Lane Bowl Past Results

Underdogs have done well in Detroit over the years, posting a 10-3 ATS record in the last 13 seasons. Eastern Michigan grabbed the cover in 2019 as hefty 13-point dogs in a 34-30 defeat to Pittsburgh, as MAC schools have lost in nine of the past ten opportunities.

The 2020 installment of the Quick Lane Bowl was wiped out due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, but the game returned on December 27, 2021, with Western Michigan of the MAC facing Nevada of the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos posted a bowl-record 52 points with 514 total yards of offense, and the Wolf Pack had no answers. NFL prospect QB Carson Strong elected to opt-out to prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft, and the offense was hamstrung.

In 2022, New Mexico State beat Bowling Green 24-19 to cap off an incredible renaissance for its program and head coach Jerry Kill. MVP QB Diego Pavia threw for 167 yards and a TD.

2023-24 College Football Bowl Games

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