Sun Bowl Betting Prediction
Washington State was supposed to play Miami in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl today, but the Hurricanes backed out due to COVID issues. Central Michigan stepped up, however, and the Chips are a 7-point underdog against the Cougars. Will CMU cover today at 12:00 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
296 Washington State Cougars (-7) vs. 295 Central Michigan Chippewas (+7); o/u 57.5
12:00 p.m. ET, Friday, December 31, 2021
Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX
TV: N/A
Washington State Cougars Game Notes
Washington State QB Jayden de Laura completed 27-of-32 passes for 245 yards in a 40-13 win over Washington on Friday night. Having not won the Apple Cup since 2012, de Laura (6’0/190) played one of the best games of his career. The poise was there early and often and de Laura was slinging it down the field. He started the game 21-of-22 for 211 yards and his second incompletion on the game came with the Cougars up by 16 points. The win was the seventh of the season for the Cougars that have been through the ringer this season.
Central Michigan Chippewas Game Notes
Central Michigan will step in and play in the Sun Bowl against Washington State. Just days after Miami had to drop out due to Covid issues, CMU will step in to play Washington State on the New Year’s Eve bowl game. The Chippewas were set to face Boise State in the Arizona Bowl but BSU had to drop out due to their own Covid outbreak. We’re seeing the bowl season get hit hard due to the spike in Covid cases as six teams so far having to back out of games due to outbreaks. A few games have been canceled all together like the Fenway and Hawaii Bowl, but some games have gotten last-minute replacements like in this instance and Wake Forest getting Rutgers to step in as an opponent.
Washington State vs. Central Michigan Betting Prediction
The Chippewas have covered in four straight games, are 5-0 against the number in their last five games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game and have covered in four of their last five games as an underdog. On the other side, the Cougars are 1-4 against the spread in their last five neutral site games, are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games played in December and are 1-5 at the betting window in their last six non-conference games.
TONY THE TIGER SUN BOWL BETTING PREDICTION: CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS +7