The X’s and O’s of the Little Caesars Bowl predictions aren’t shared by many expert handicappers, but here at Bankroll Sports, we are giving up all of our insight and telling you all of the keys to the game for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Central Michigan Chippewas. The Little Caesars Bowl picks are some of the hardest to make this year of all of the bowl games, so don’t miss out on all of our Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan predictions!

2012 Little Caesars Bowl: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Central Michigan Chippewas
2012 Little Caesars Bowl Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
2012 Little Caesars Bowl Date/Time: Wednesday, December 26th, 7:30 p.m. (ET)
2012 Little Caesars Bowl On TV: ESPN, Watch ESPN

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2012-13 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: Central Michigan has to figure out how to score against a bowl team
The Chippewas haven’t done a whole heck of a lot over the course of the year against bowl teams this year. They won just six games, and none of those games came against bowl teams. In fact, Central Michigan was crushed 41-7 by the Michigan State Spartans, 55-24 by the Northern Illinois Huskies, 50-35 by the Toledo Rockets, 31-13 by the Navy Midshipmen, and 41-30 by the Ball State Cardinals. That’s nothing but losses, and all of those losses came by at least 11 points, while many of the games weren’t even remotely close. Granted, this is likely just as bad, if not the worst of all of the bowl teams that the Chippies have played thus far this year, but still, the situation remains the same. This isn’t Akron, or Eastern Michigan, or Massachusetts, or any of the other lousy teams that CMU beat this year. This is a legitimate game against a team that has won 14 games over the course of the last season and a half.

Little Caesars Bowl Odds at BetRevolution Sportsbook
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers -5.5
Central Michigan Chippewas +5.5
Over/Under 57.5
Click Here to Bet Your Little Caesars Bowl Picks!

Key #2: The moment cannot be too big for the Hilltoppers
It has got to be good to be a Hilltopper right now. Western Kentucky has won those 14 games over the course of the last two seasons. It is unfortunate that the Hilltoppers and Head Coach Willie Taggart are no longer a unit, as Taggart has left for the brighter lights of the South Florida Bulls, but the man that is coming to town now is Bobby Petrino. Petrino might have a checkered past, but there is no doubt that he has won just about everywhere that he has gone, and he should be winning at WKU as well. That being said, this is the first bowl game that the Hilltoppers have ever played in, they have to prove that they are ready to play at this level. Last year, they were snubbed out of a bowl game in spite of the fact that they finished out the year by winning seven of their last eight games and covering nine in a row. This is a veteran team led by QB Kawaun Jakes, but in the end, the team has to prove that it is truly good enough to handle this moment of playing in a bowl game in a standalone time slot against a reasonable team, though this is a nice spot against what is clearly the worst of all of the 70 bowl teams this year.

Key #3: The Chippewas have to figure out how to stop the run
It is clear that RB Antonio Andrews has to be a monster on the ground for the Hilltoppers to win their first ever bowl game. He rushed for 1,609 yards and 11 TDs this season, and he has taken right over for RB Bobby Rainey, who has been one of the most accomplished rushers in the country over the course of the last few years. Andrews rushed for 230 and 238 yards in his last two games of the year, and he averaged 5.8 yards per carry this year. Andrews also averaged 154.3 yards per game on the ground in his last 10 games of the year, and he had at least 88 yards in all of those games. Central Michigan ranked 97th in the country against the run at 196.7 yards per game allowed. That number was all the way up to 246.8 yards per game against teams that qualified for bowl games this year. If all of that continues in this game, this game could end up being a blowout.

Purchase Via Credit Card	Purchase By Paypal

2012 Hawaii Bowl picks are going to be entertaining to make this year, as we have two teams that are going to be going at it against each other in what could be an unpredictable game in the SMU Mustangs and the Fresno State Bulldogs. Join us for our Hawaii Bowl keys to the game and our Fresno State vs. SMU predictions.

2012 Hawaii Bowl: SMU Mustangs vs. Fresno State Bulldogs
2012 Hawaii Bowl Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
2012 Hawaii Bowl Date/Time: Monday, December 24th, 8:00 p.m. (ET)
2012 Hawaii Bowl On TV: ESPN, Watch ESPN

Click Here For The Rest Of The 2012-13 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews

Key #1: The Mustangs have to not get trampled defensively
All too often in these bowl games, one of the two teams (and it isn’t always the inferior team) just gets trampled defensively. Teams come out of the blocks with guns blazing, and in the blink of an eye, 21 points hit the scoreboard, making it virtually impossible to get back in the game. SMU’s offense isn’t good enough in all likelihood against a stout defense to come back from down three scores to win, so the unit really has to make sure that it doesn’t just get run all over right out of the blocks. The Mustangs will especially have some problems if they end up letting QB Derek Carr throw the ball all over the place, as this team ranks just 107th in the country, allowing 271.2 yards per game. Five teams were able to put at least 36 up against the Mustangs this year, but that just can’t happen if they are going to figure out how to stay in this game. Fresno State will get its points, but the hope is to keep it so gobs of points don’t get on the scoreboard.

Hawaii Bowl Odds at BetGuardian Sportsbook
SMU Mustangs +11.5
Fresno State Bulldogs -11.5
Over/Under 59.5
Click Here to Bet Your Hawaii Bowl Picks!

Key #2: SMU has to figure out how to not lose the turnover battle
The reason that the Mustangs won six games this year is because their defense, though sometimes shoddy, did manage to force 33 turnovers in just 12 games. It was crucial for sure to keep this team in the fold, knowing that the offense only turned the ball over a total of 21 times, giving the Mustangs a +1.0 turnover per game advantage. The Bulldogs though, ranked tied for fifth in America in turnover margin at +17 for the year. Turnovers are the great equalizers in these bowl games for sure, and it is going to be tough for either of these teams to win this game from behind in that category. QB Derek Carr isn’t likely to make mistakes, knowing that he only threw six INTs all year long. QB Garrett Gilbert though, is a much different story. He had 13 picks, and he barely completed half of his passes in some of his games. If the Mustangs win this game, we would bet that they are at least +2 in the turnover category as a result.

Key #3: Fresno State has to stay balanced and keep the ball in Robbie Rouse’s hands
Fresno State has always had a great tradition of solid running backs, and RB Robbie Rouse is the next in that line. He rushed for 1,468 yards and had 406 more as a receiver, totaling 14 TDs as well. This is a back that is truly a horse, as Rouse now has 598 carries over the course of the last two seasons alone. When the ball is in his hands, good things tend to happen. Rouse got over 100 rushing yards in nine of his 12 games this year, and the one game that wasn’t covered or won, the 20-10 loss on the Smurf Turf at the Boise State Broncos, he had just 77 rushing yards. Carr will do the job that he needs to do, but the team can’t get pass happy. To cover a number like this one, it is going to take a nicely poised game with a lot of touches from Rouse to get the job done. Don’t be shocked if Rouse has another humongous game like he did against the Nevada Wolf Pack, as he rushed for 261 yards on 36 carries in that 52-36 victory. If he does, the Mustangs are in a heck of a lot of trouble.

Purchase Via Credit Card	Purchase By Paypal