Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, Louisville vs Washington: NCAA Football Odds & Best Bets

The Washington Huskies made it to the National Championship last season, but now after a 6-6 season they face the Louisville Cardinals in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Nope, I am not making that up. It is the “Tony the Tiger” Sun Bowl. Out of all the schools, they couldn’t find one with a Tiger mascot to be in this matchup? Or maybe they avoided them on purpose so that Tony gets the entire spotlight from the Big Cat fans. Nevertheless, the Huskies and Cardinals face off in El Paso for some postseason action.

Like I said, the Huskies went just 6-6 overall and 4-5 in their first season in the Big Ten. They had some tough games down the stretch, losing at #1 Oregon, at #6 Penn State, and at #13 Indiana all in their last five weeks, but they did beat familiar foes, USC and UCLA in between those beatings.

The Cardinals went 8-4, losing to #6 Miami, SMU and @ #16 Notre Dame all by a touchdown, but also knocked off #11 Clemson by 12 on the road. They looked very good down the stretch, winning 4/5, outscoring Pitt and Kentucky 78-23 in their final two games, and only lost in a shootout to Stanford on the West Coast. Without their starting QB, will they be able to rally and take down Washington?

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Louisville Cardinals vs Washington Huskies: Sun Bowl

Matchup Information – Louisville vs Washington

• Venue & Location: Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX)
• Date: Tuesday, December 31st, 2024
• Kick Off: 2:00pm Eastern
• Broadcast: CBS

Betting Odds

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Spread

• Louisville -1 (-110)
• Washington +1 (-110)

Money Line

• Louisville -115
• Washington -105

Total

• Over 49.5 (-107)
• Under 49.5 (-113)

Cardinals Cruising to 4th Straight Bowl Game

Louisville’s QB, Tyler Shough, has opted out of this game, and Senior Harrison Bailey is listed as the starter. Bailey has appeared in just two games this season (the first two), going 8/8 for 63 yards against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. Top WR Ja’Corey Brooks will not play. He leads the team with 61 catches for over 1,000 yards and 9 TDs. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, their 3rd leading pass catcher is also sitting out.

For Washington, they will start freshman Demond Williams Jr. who took over for Will Rogers against Oregon but has also appeared plenty this season. The Huskies will miss three defensive linemen, as well as both starting linemen on the left side of the center. Defensive Coordinator Steve Belichick will stay with the team before leaving to join his father at UNC. Motivation wise, I certainly lean more with the Huskies. They have a freshman looking to prove himself at QB while the Cardinals are throwing out a senior who hasn’t played since September 7th to ride off into the sunset. Sure he’ll leave it all on the field, but there’s a reason he hasn’t seen a snap AT ALL.

Both teams are battle tested. Louisville saw three CFP teams, going 1-2 in those games, as well as playing Miami to the final possession. Washington played three CFP teams much more recently than the Cardinals, plus they faced most of the top half of the Big Ten, a conference much better than the ACC as a whole. To me, the line on this game makes sense, and I will be backing the exciting freshmen to get a bowl win.

Louisville Cardinals vs Washington Huskies Best Bets

Louisville vs Washington Prediction: Washington Wins, Over 49.5

Best Bets: Washington ML (-105) BetOnline

Louisville’s offense has been very, very good all season long. They are Top 15 in PPG and Yards per game and Top 7 in yards per play. However, those stats are with Tyler Shough, not Harrison Bailey. Bailey is playing in the final football game of his career. He’s going to go all out, but he is simply not as good as Shough, and does not have as big of an influence on the team. The Cardinals are 65th in 3rd down conversions and Bottom 40 in Red Zone scoring, and a back up senior QB does not help those stats.

Louisville is not a run heavy team, but I imagine they will be tomorrow in order to take some pressure off of their new starter. The Huskies’ secondary is very unforgiving, and Bailey is certainly good for an interception or two. Offensively, the Huskies are very pass heavy, and even with a new, young QB, Williams has been in plenty of games this season. He’s thrown a pass in every game this year, and completed 85% of his passes against Oregon in the season finale.

I trust Williams to lead the Huskies to a victory, and will also be on the lookout for his rushing yards if that prop gets posted. Williams is a dual threat QB who carried the ball 22 times against the Ducks (1o of which were sacks) and he still managed 17 yards. The Cardinals have given up 40+ rushing yards to Haynes King (GT), Riley Leonard (ND), Thomas Castellanos (BC) and Cade Klubnik (Clemson), and if Williams line is below 40, I think it’ll be a play for me.

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