A pair of 7-5 teams are set to face off at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on New Year’s Eve night when the Minnesota Golden Gophers take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2008 Insight Bowl.
Our team of writers and handicappers break down the matchup and hand out an Insight Bowl Free Pick, which takes place Wednesday December 31 at 6:00PM ET.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sports Interaction have made Kansas -10 point spread favorite. The over/under for this game has been set 58 total points.
Top Public Betting Trend: Minnesota is 6-3 against the spread in its last nine games while Kansas is just 2-4 straight up in its last six contests. The total has also gone over in five of the Jayhawks’ last six games.
Key Stat: Kansas is scoring an average of 32.7 points per game, but allowing 29.5 PPG on defense. They also have a potent passing attack, averaging 301.7 yards per game, but they also allow a ton of passing yards, surrendering 275.5 YPG through the air.
Game Outlook: The Jayhawks have one of the more potent offenses in the nation, but their defense has failed them on several occasions this year. They’ve failed to cover the number five of 11 times this season and while it’s tempting to lay the 10 points on a Kansas’ team that can score, Minnesota’s defense hasn’t been that bad vs. the pass this season. If the Jayhawks want to throw to win, they might have the wrong approach. And while that 55-0 trouncing they got from Iowa at the end of the year doesn’t install a lot of confidence in Minnesota, we think the Golden Gopher defense will keep things close enough to get within the number. For the rest of our College Football Bowl Free Pick, see below.
Our Free College Football Bowl Pick for the Insight Bowl matchup between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Kansas Jayhawks game is
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS +10
TheSpread.com Projected Final Score
Kansas Jayhawks 35
Minnesota Golden Gophers 27
We also predict that this game will GO OVER THE TOTAL (58 Sports Interaction.com) SET BY ODDSMAKERS