2016 Hyundai Sun Bowl Prediction
Without Christian McCaffrey, is Stanford still a good bet to beat and cover against North Carolina in the Hyundai Sun Bowl today at 2:00PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Cardinal is a 2.5-point favorite over the Tar Heels while the over/under currently sits at 54 points. Despite McCaffrey’s announcement that he’ll forego playing in the Sun Bowl so that he can concentrate on the upcoming NFL draft, neither the point spread nor the total has moved off the original numbers posted by oddsmakers.
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STANFORD KEY TRENDS: The Cardinal is a perfect 7-0 against the spread in its last seven games played in the month of December, is 4-0 against the spread in its last four games versus ACC opponents, and is 7-1 against the number in its last eight neutral site games. Stanford has also been a great play in bowl games, as it has covered in six of its last seven bowl appearances and is 28-7-1 at the betting window in its last 36 games after scoring more than 40 points in its previous contest.
NORTH CAROLINA KEY TRENDS: The Tar Heels are 4-0 against the spread in their last four games following an ATS loss, are 6-1 against the number in their last seven games after allowing more than 450 total yards in their previous game and are 4-1 at the betting window in their last five games coming off a loss. That said, they’re winless at 0-5 against the spread in their last five neutral site games and are 1-4 against the number in their last five games played in the month of December.
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OUR PREDICTION: McCaffrey or no McCaffrey, Stanford is hot right now. The Cardinal won six of its final seven games and will face a Tar Heels defense that allowed 235 rushing yards per game this season. Stanford isn’t going to put the ball in the air much but it will grind you down with its running game, which doesn’t bode well for North Carolina’s attempts to let Mitch Trubisky take over the game. The Cardinal should control time of possession and limit Trubisky’s ability to strike for big plays.
HYUNDAI SUN BOWL PREDICTION: STANFORD CARDINAL -2.5