Arkansas State, 9-3 winners of the Sun Belt conference, and Louisiana Tech, 8-4 in C-USA, go head to head in this year's R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Everything you need to get ready for the game is here including the live stream link, betting lines, a preview and prediction.
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Betting Lines: -2 La. Tech; 68 O/U
Arkansas State:
The Red Wolves won the Sun Belt Conference behind a dominant rushing attack and smart quarterback play all year long. The defense wasn't too bad either, ranking in the middle of the pack at 67th in yards allowed this season.
La. Tech has to deal with a trio of excellent running backs who all had over 570 yards apiece to go along with an average of 6.1 YPC or better. Combined, Michael Gordon, Warren Wand and Johnston White had 27 touchdowns. Gordon, senior, led the way with 1,055 yards; Wand had 673; Johnston had 573.
At QB, Fredi Knighten has had a solid season. He's led the run-first attack with efficiency, only throwing seven interceptions all year to go along with 19 touchdowns.
Louisiana Tech:
Former Florida Gator quarterback Jeff Driskel has attempted to remake himself with this La. Tech squad, and he had a successful year. The once highly-sought after 6-foot-4 quarterback threw for 24 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, completing nearly 62 percent of his passes for over 3,500 yards. Not too bad.
He even added 307 yards on the ground and five rushing scores for good measure.
Driskel's top receiver was the small but powerful Trent Taylor. At just 5-foot-8, he made defensive backs look silly all year to the tune of 89 catches for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns. He's quick, runs solid routes, has reliable hands and his run-after-catch ability is phenomenal.
Prediction:
Both of these offenses can be explosive, but La. Tech appears to have the edge. They have the No. 9 rush defense in all of college football, and if you can slow down the Red Wolves run game, you can outscore them.
Final Score: La. Tech 41, Arkansas State 34
