It’s been a banner year for the Army Black Knights. Their patience with Jeff Monken has been rewarded, and he has led the program to three straight bowl berths for the first time in their history. He has secured back-to-back 10-win seasons, and now Monken is looking to get Army to 11 wins for the first time in their history. A win over the Houston Cougars in the Armed Forces Bowl would also give them four straight bowl victories and make Monken the best coach in recent history.
BookMaker is the only place to bet all 41 college football bowl games this season. BookMaker has the best lines for bettors, and your stocking might be a little bit fuller if you play here. The Armed Forces Bowl will take place on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
NCAA Football Betting at BookMaker.eu
Army -4.5
Houston +4.5
Total 59.5
Odds Analysis
Houston had high hopes coming into the season. The Cougars were picked by many to win the AAC West Division and give UCF a run for its money, and those predictions looked spot on after a blowout win of Arizona early on. However, their defense was torched by Texas Tech in a sign of things to come the next week. It took until the end of the season for it to occur, but the defense collapsed over the last month of the year, allowing an average of 52 points in losses to SMU, Temple, and Memphis.
The Black Knights started their season with a loss to Duke, but that was their only disappointing performance this year. Army won 10 of its next 11 games, and the lone loss came in overtime to Oklahoma in Norman. The program ran the triple option to perfection, grinding out wins with their possession-based offense, and they eventually wore every team but the Sooners down.
Matchup to Watch
It’s hard to see Houston stopping Army’s ground game. The Cougars were gashed at the end of the year, and they look like one of the worst defenses in the country coming into bowl season. They have had some serious losses due to injury along the defensive line, and the unit took another hit when Ed Oliver announced that he was skipping the bowl game to focus on the NFL Draft.
Army should be able to gash them on the ground. Although the triple option is something you can stop with practice and discipline with good talent, Houston’s defensive line has not given us a lot of reason to trust them. I think the Black Knights will be able to use their offense to hold the ball for nearly 40 minutes in this game.
Player to Watch
Houston’s new quarterback is Clayton Tune. Tune took over for D’Eriq King after King went down with a season-ending injury in mid-November, and the freshman has not been too impressive. In games against Tulane and Memphis, he completed less than 42 percent of his passes, and that has thrown a serious kink into Major Applewhite’s plans. Tune has not been good moving the ball with his feet either, so there are some real concerns about this offense.
Live Betting Preview
Of the three services academies in the FBS, only Army was good enough to qualify for a bowl this season. The Black Knights are not one of those teams that gets distracted during bowl week, and they will be focused on the task at hand.
It’s easy to see why Houston would be distracted though. Arguably the team’s best players on both sides of the ball are out, and the Cougars have yet to win a bowl under Applewhite. There is just too much going against Houston here for me to feel confident in them.
NCAA Football Odds: Army 37, Houston 20
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