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Free Pick: Navy vs. San Diego State: Poinsettia Bowl Betting Odds & Preview

Poinsettia Bowl: Midshipmen vs Aztecs Odds

The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl betting action sees the Navy Midshipmen taking on the San Diego Aztecs on Tuesday, December 23rd at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Cappers Picks provides free NCAA football handicapping tips all season long.

There are many different storylines in this game between Navy and San Diego State.

College Football Lines

2014 Poinsettia Bowl
Navy (6-5) @ San Diego State (7-5, 5-3 Mountain West)
Tuesday, December 23rd 9:30 PM ET @ Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego
NCAA Football Spread: San Diego State -2.5
NCAA Football O/U: 54
***2014 CFB BONUSES***
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For starters, the Aztecs will have had almost a month to prepare for their game while Navy has only a 10 day gap between their final regular season game and the Poinsettia Bowl.

Navy has been in the Poinsettia Bowl 4 times now since it started up in 2005. They lost their last two opportunities, with one of those losses coming to San Diego State (35-14) in 2010. This time around, they will try and use their triple option to come away victorious.

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For San Diego State, this is just another home game after going 6-0 at Qualcomm this season. They have won 5 straight games against military service schools, including a huge win over Air Force that earned them their bowl eligibility.

Navy

Navy’s biggest goal each season is to beat Army, which they did to close out their regular season schedule. This is Navy’s 11th bowl appearance in the last 12 seasons, a feat not many thought the Midshipmen could accomplish.

Leading the team this season has been quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who has been electric for the Navy offense. Through the air, Reynolds is 49 of 104 passing for 826 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. By far the team’s leading rusher as well, Reynolds is leading in multiple categories for quarterback rushing.

Reynolds’ 251 yards rushing against San Jose State this season were the most by an FBS quarterback since 2008. He’s leading the nation in QB rushing (1,182 yards), rushing touchdowns (21), and rushes (231). He also held the lead for consecutive games with a rushing TD with 14 before it was snapped by Notre Dame.

Reynolds’ biggest target has been Jamir Tillman, who has 20 receptions for 386 yards and 3 scores.

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On the ground, Reynolds has helped orchestrate the triple option offense, giving both Noah Copeland and Chris Swain opportunities on the ground. Copeland has 117 rushes for 889 yards and 5 scores while Swain has 96 carries for 621 yards and 4 scores.

San Diego State

The Aztecs will have the privilege of playing their bowl game at home this season after a perfect record in their season campaign inside of Qualcomm. The team was in just 4 bowl games in 41 years before earning a spot in 5 straight bowl games, including this season.

This season has been interesting for the Aztecs. Widely known as the Donnel Pumphrey show, the play of quarterback Quinn Kaehler has been overshadowed by the back’s numbers this season.

On the ground, Pumphrey has racked up 1,761 yards and 19 touchdowns off of 255 carries. He also has 19 receptions for 118 yards. His rushing total lands him at #3 in the nation in the category. Kaehler had an interesting stat line this season, going 158 for 280 passing for 2,016 yards, 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Calvin Munson leads a defense that will have its hands full with the triple option the Midshipmen run.

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On the season, Munson has recorded 78 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 4 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles for the Aztecs.

NCAA football handicapping trends

  •  Under is 4-0 in Midshipmen last 4 games on grass
  •  Under is 9-1 in Midshipmen last 10 games in December
  •  Under is 4-0 in Aztecs last 4 non-conference games
  •  Under is 11-1 in Aztecs last 12 games overall
  •  Under is 5-1 in Aztecs last 6 games following a S.U. win

Poinsettia Bowl Prediction

While this has the makings of being a fun, close game, this could actually be anything BUT that. This game is being billed as a neutral site game, which it is not in any stretch of the imagination.

San Diego State has a knack for scoring a lot of points, but has issues holding leads. That shouldn’t be a huge issues here as they can defend against the run and still keep a couple guys back in case Reynolds decides to throw the ball.

Free NCAA Betting Pick: Take the UNDER (54)

It would be easy to choose San Diego State straight up or against the spread.

Final Poinsettia Bowl Score: Navy 17 – San Diego State 27

I am going with more of a challenge and taking the under in this one.

Check out our Updated College Football Bowl Game Odds.

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By Brandon Banks

Brandon Banks is a newcomer to the Cappers Picks Blog, he has been a sports writer for a few years now. He's been a very successful bettor, especially in NFL, College football & NCAA hoops betting. Reasons for success - not affiliated with any SCAMDICAPPERS. Stay tuned to Brandon, he'll be picking NFL, CFB, CBB and NBA games daily here on the blog.