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Frisco Bowl Betting Guide: San Diego State Aztecs vs. Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners

Group of Five Conference Teams Set to Square Off

The contrast in style between the Mountain West Conference finalist San Diego State Aztecs and the Conference USA champion Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners makes for a captivating matchup.

UTSA running back Sincere McCormick is in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns while San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas’ 20½ tackles for loss is third-best at the FBS level.

Frisco Bowl Betting Guide: San Diego State Aztecs vs. Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners
om Hauck/Getty Images/AFP

Both teams were ranked in both the Associated Press Top 25 for two weeks in a row and will finish among the top teams from the Group of Five conferences. Both programs probably wanted a higher-profile bowl game to play in, but could be a showcase for both teams and there will certainly be plenty of NFL scouts checking this game out.

There are 13 bowl games with college football odds with a spread under three points and this is the only one not involving at least one team from the Power-5 conferences.

  • Game: San Diego State (11-2) at Texas-San Antonio (12-1)
  • Location: Toyota Stadium
  • Day/Time: Tuesday, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Television: ESPN

San Diego State Aztecs vs. Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners

Betting Lines

Team Point Spread Moneyline Over/Under
San Diego State +2½ (-110) +115 49½ (-110o)
UTSA -2½ (-110) -135 49½ (-110u)

Defense Paved Path to Division Title for Aztecs

Five teams had better odds than the San Diego State Aztecs to win the Mountain West Conference coming into the season. The Aztecs got the last laugh by winning the West Division ahead of Fresno State, Nevada and San Jose State, teams that all had better odds to capture the division title coming into the season.

The Aztecs went 6-0 in one-score games and posted back-to-back wins over Pac-12 teams Arizona and Utah in the early stages of the season. They head into bowl season at No. 24 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

San Diego State was 10-0 when allowing 21 points or less. The Aztecs are second nationally in rushing defense, allowing less than 80 yards per game, 15th in total defense, and 17th in scoring defense despite a 46-13 loss to Utah State in the Mountain West championship game.

After making 10 straight bowl appearances from 2010-19, San Diego State is back in a bowl after a one-year absence.

San Diego State is only 1-4-1 against the college football spreads in its last six games.

Three Players to Watch

Running back Greg Bell has 999 rushing yards with five 100-yard games. Defensive lineman Cameron Thomas led the Mountain West Conference with 20.5 tackles for loss and was tied for the conference lead with 10.5 sacks. Safety Patrick McMorris leads the Aztecs with 83 tackles and four interceptions.

Injury Report

Tight end Daniel Bellinger, Aaron Greene, and Jay Rudolph, quarterbacks Will Haskell and Lucas Johnson, and receiver Tyrell Shaver are questionable.

Roadrunners Flirted with Perfect Regular Season

Texas-San Antonio came into the season trailing only Marshall and UAB in the odds to win the Conference USA title

The Roadrunners didn’t play Marshall but a 34-31 win over UAB left them as one of the last undefeated teams at the FBS level. The dream of an undefeated season ended the following week with a loss at North Texas. The loss didn’t keep UTSA out of the Conference USA title game and the Roadrunners won a 49-41 shootout with Western Kentucky, as a matchup between the two highest-scoring teams in Conference USA lived up to the hype.

About the only thing mediocre about the Roadrunners in a memorable 2021 season was a 5-4 record when the Las Vegas odds listed them as favorites.

Three Players to Watch

Running back Sincere McCormick has 1479 yards and 15 touchdown runs and also has 22 receptions. Senior linebacker Clarence Hicks leads the Roadrunners with 16 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Quarterback Frank Harris has 2906 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He has also run for 550 yards and six scores.

Injury Report

No significant injuries reported.

Betting on the Game

The San Diego State Aztecs have held their last five opponents under 100 rushing yards and without a rushing touchdown. That stout run defense will certainly be tested by Texas-San Antonio’s Sincere McCormick, who had eight 100-yard rushing games, including a season-best 204 yards in the Conference USA title game.

Texas-San Antonio ranked in the middle of Conference USA in tackles for loss allowed and the Roadrunners likely haven’t seen a defensive player as disruptive as San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas.

San Diego State features the nation’s leading punter in Matt Araiza, who averaged 51.4 yards on 76 punts and didn’t allow more than two punts to be returned in the last 10 games. He is also in the top 10 nationally with 56 touchbacks on kickoffs. He was named the winner of the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter. UTSA’s Hunter Duplessis is tied for third nationally with 23 field goals.

The scores and odds total have gone over in five of Texas-San Antonio’s last six games.

San Diego State is 5-1 in its last six games when playing as an underdog.

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