On the one hand, the SMU Mustangs are college football wagering favorites in the 2017 Frisco Bowl. On the other prehensile multi-fingered organ, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs have played, and won, a bowl in each of the past three years. Something’s gotta give, right? This will be SMU’s first bowl appearance since the 2012 Hawaiʻi Bowl. It will also be former La. Tech Sonny Dykes very first game as Mustangs’ head coach. Dykes was hired on December 11th, roughly a week after Chad Morris left for Arkansas.
The 2017 Frisco Bowl
- Date: Wednesday, 20th December
- Time: 8:05 PM
- Venue: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Sportsbook online betting odds:
Louisiana Tech +5 (-110) 70 (-110) +175
SMU -5 (-110) 70 (-110) -210
The Mustangs are in no covering mood, would rather go over
Make no mistake; Dykes is a Texan through and through. He graduated from Coronado High School in Lubbock and earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas Tech University, as a matter of fact, his daddy Spike Dykes is the second all-time most winning football coach in Texas Tech history. Wait, Spike Dykes? Yikes! Dikes – Sonny, not Spike – led California to a 5-7 record in 2016. However, the consensus among the good folks at Dallas News’ Sports Day seems to be that Coach Dykes can not only get the win but also cover the five-point spread.
The latter part seems to be easier said than done, though. The Mustangs have won just three games of the last six and failed to cover the college football wagering spread in twice as many. SMU’s offense-defense dynamic is quite the misinterpretation of the ying-yang principle if there ever was one. While the offense has, courtesy of QB Ben Hicks and wide receivers Trey Quinn and Courtland Sutton, averaged 42 points in the last three games, the defense has allowed 49 in the same period. Unsurprisingly, the total has gone over in all three. Perhaps Dykes will get the defense to, you know, defend, but we’ll have to wait till the 2017 Frisco Bowl to find out.
La. Tech is not a good straight-up bet
Quarterback J’Mar Smith had to overcome some safety issues throughout the season, and he could have surely used the departed Jeff Driskel, Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson. It was up to senior running back Boston Scott to take the ball and run with it. Scott has 272 rushing yards in the last two weeks. The Bulldogs limped to a 6-6 record (4-4 in C-USA play), barely attaining bowl eligibility. Not the breakthrough season they were expecting by any stretch of the imagination. However, ““When you look at all the close defeats Louisiana Tech had this season, they were not your average 6-6 team,” Conference USA Assistant Commissioner Russ Anderson said. “That’s really true. How close Tech was to being a much different team, an eight- or nine-win team.” if you say so.
.@Pierry_Inc Practice Report: Hear from Skip Holtz as @LATechFB gets closer to the Frisco Bowl. #EverLoyalBe pic.twitter.com/EvONqfBvoX
— LA Tech Sports (@LATechSports) December 15, 2017
Louisiana Tech is 1-4 SU in its last five games following a win. In fact, they only strung two win together in the last two of the regular season. They went 3-2 SU and ATS in their last five.