This is an 8* on APP STATE

The first bowl game off the board on Saturday is Western Kentucky (8-5 SU, 9-4 ATS) taking on Appalachian State (10-3 SU, 8-5 ATS). Both teams lost in their respective Conference Championship Games, WKU to UTSA (C-USA) and App State to Louisiana (Sun Belt). While all of Appalachian State’s losses came away from home, we are confident that the Mountaineers will win the Boca Raton Bowl. Two of those three losses were at Louisiana, a very solid football team. The other loss was by two points to Miami, a game that was decided on a field goal in the last two minutes. The key for the Mountaineers is a defense that can slow down prolific QB Bailey Zappe and the Western Kentucky offense. ASU allows only 19.3 points/game. Nine of the 12 teams that they faced did not score more than 25 points. WKU allows 28.7 points/game. That’s key because App State is 10-0 when scoring at least 27 points. At one point this year, Western Kentucky lost four straight games. They then proceeded to beat up on some bad Conference USA teams to make it to the Championship Game. Appalachian State has never lost a bowl game in six tries and the Sun Belt has dominated C-USA in bowls, winning 10 of the last 13 head to head matchups. Play on APPALACHIAN STATE

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