Monday Football

Monday's college football bowl betting preview

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman

Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Navy Midshipmen (-3, 53)

Game to be played at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland

Navy tries for the first 11-win season in program history when it meets Pittsburgh on Dec. 28 in the Military Bowl on the Midshipmen's home field in Annapolis, Md., in what could be coach Ken Niumatalolo's final game with Navy. Niumatalolo, who took over as Midshipmen coach prior to the the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl, is 67-37-0 - the winningest coach in Academy annals - but appears to be a strong candidate to take over at BYU. "It's been my life," Niumatalolo, a Mormon who went on a two-year mission after his freshman year at Hawaii, told reporters about his time at Navy. "My kids have grown up here. I've given everything for this program."

Keenan Reynolds, who finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting, plays his final collegiate game after becoming the first Midshipmen quarterback to defeat Army four times. Reynolds rushed for two touchdowns in No. 22 Navy's 21-17 victory over the Black Knights on Dec. 12 to set the Division I record with 85 career TDs, passing Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson and Towson's Terrance West. Reynolds has rushed for 4,415 yards, trailing only West Virginia's Pat White (4,480) and Michigan's Denard Robinson (4,495) on the all-time FBS list for quarterbacks.

While it appears the Midshipmen may soon need a new coach, Pittsburgh's Pat Narduzzi on Dec. 10 received a two-year contract extension through 2021 after guiding the Panthers to eight wins in his first season. Narduzzi's rushing defense is 20th nationally at 126.1 yards per game, but he must figure out a way to stop the country's No. 3 ground attack which averages 319.2 yards. Pittsburgh held Navy to 220 rushing yards in a 24-21 loss in Annapolis on a last-second goal in 2013.

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.

LINE HISTORY: Navy opened as 5-point favorites, but have been bet down two-points to the current number of -3. The total opened at 53 and hasn't moved off that number.

INJURY REPORT:

Pittsburgh - DL Z. Poker (questionable Monday, foot), DL M. Scarpinato (questionable Monday, upper body).

Navy - N/A.

WEATHER REPORT: It's going to be overcast with a 20 percent chance of rain and a 10-12 mile per hour wind blowing across the field out of the northeast. Temperatures will be in the mid 40's.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (8-4, 6-6 ATS, 5-6-1 O/U): The Panthers boast a trio of offensive standouts in quarterback Nathan Peterman (61.4 percent completion rate, 19 touchdowns, five interceptions), redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison (1,048 rushing yards, 10 TDs) and wide receiver Tyler Boyd (85 catches, six TDs). Freshman defensive back Jordan Whitehead finished third in the ACC with 67 solo tackles. Pittsburgh, which finished second to North Carolina in the ACC's Coastal Division, plays in its eighth straight bowl after losing to Houston 35-34 in last season's Armed Forces Bowl to drop to 13-18 in bowl games.

ABOUT NAVY (10-2, 8-4 ATS, 7-5 O/U): Reynolds ran for 1,229 yards and 21 touchdowns this season - the second-most rushing scores in the nation to Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry of Alabama (23) - while fullback Chris Swain added 909 yards and 10 scores. Reynolds tossed seven touchdown passes - five to wide receiver Jamir Tillman - in 98 attempts this season. The Midshipmen (9-10-1 in bowl games) play in their fourth straight bowl and try for their third consecutive victory after a 17-16 win over San Diego State in the 2014 Poinsettia Bowl and a 24-6 verdict over Middle Tennessee in the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl.

TRENDS:

* Pittsburgh is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games in December.
* Navy is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. ACC.
* Over is 4-1 in Pittsburgh's last 5 non-conference games.
* Under is 6-0 in Navy's last 6 neutral site games.

Quick Lane Bowl

Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (-5, 48.5)

Game to be played at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Central Michigan nearly pulled off an impossible comeback the last time it appeared in the postseason; Minnesota merely achieved the improbable by qualifying for a bowl game despite a losing record. The Chippewas enter the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 28 after falling just short of successfully overcoming a 35-point fourth-quarter deficit in last year’s Bahamas Bowl. The Golden Gophers are one of three five-win programs that earned a bowl bid this season based on its NCAA Academic Progress Report after not enough teams reached bowl eligibility.

Minnesota went 2-0 against the Mid-American Conference this year and will be making its fourth straight bowl-game appearance, but will be doing so under coach Tracy Claeys, who took over for Jerry Kill after he resigned his position on Oct. 28 due to health reasons. The Gophers went 1-4 under Claeys, although all four setbacks came against bowl-bound Big Ten teams with at least nine regular-season wins. In all, six of Minnesota’s seven losses came against opponents that either already have posted 10 victories or can reach that mark with a win in their bowl game.

Central Michigan trailed Western Kentucky 49-14 with less than 12 minutes left in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl before Cooper Rush connected on the first of five fourth-quarter touchdown passes – he finished with seven, the most by a quarterback in any bowl game. The 34-point rally was highlighted by a play that involved three laterals as time expired. The Chippewas’ bid to complete the comeback was thwarted, however, when the ensuing game-winning two-point conversion was batted away.

TV: 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2.

LINE HISTORY: Minnesota opened as 6-point favorites, were bet down to -5.5, back up to -6 and then down to the current number of -5. The total has been bet down a point from 49.5 to 48.5.

INJURY REPORT:

Central Michigan - J. Ostman (questionable Monday, ankle), DB S. Armstead (questionable Monday, undisclosed).

Minnesota - DL S. Ekpe (probable MOnday, undisclosed), DB J. Myrick (probable Monday, ribs), QB M. Leidner (probable Monday, foot), DT S. Richardson (probable Monday, calf), WR I. Gentry (questionable Monday, hamstring), WR J. Jones (questionable Monday, undisclosed), OL B. Lauer (questionable Monday, concussion), RB R. Smith (questionable Monday, ankle).

WEATHER REPORT: Indoors.

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (7-5, 9-3 ATS, 5-7 O/U): First-year coach John Bonamego kept Rush as the focal point of the offense and was rewarded as his junior quarterback completed 67.2 percent of his passes and set a single-season school record with 3,703 passing yards during the regular season – good for 10th in FBS in that category. Rush passed for multiple touchdowns in nine of his team’s 12 games and threw for four scores in two of those contests. Eight Chippewas have at least one catch that covered 25 yards and five players have at least 33 receptions, led by Jesse Kroll (59 catches for 856 yards) and Anthony Rice (56 for 584).

ABOUT MINNESOTA (5-7, 6-6 ATS, 7-5 O/U): Shannon Brooks became the first Gopher since Laurence Maroney in 2005 to have four touchdown runs longer than 35 yards in one year and finished the regular season with 644 rushing yards – the sixth-highest total for a Minnesota freshman. The passing attack is led by Mitch Leidner, who set a program record for a junior with 218 completions and tied another one by passing for at least 250 yards in four straight games, and receiver KJ Maye, who tallied 65 catches for 706 yards. The Gophers’ secondary has a pair of likely future NFL cornerbacks in seniors Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun, who held up the back end of the country’s 15th-ranked pass defense.

TRENDS:

* Central Michigan is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
* Minnesota is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 bowl games.
* Over is 7-1-1 in Central Michigan's last 9 vs. Big Ten.
* Over is 6-1 in Minnesota's last 7 games overall.