Our 2012 bowl predictions continue on Saturday, December 29th with the Armed Forces Bowl, and we are set to make our Armed Forces Bowl predictions, tips, and keys to the game for the duel between the Rice Owls and the Air Force Falcons.

2012 Armed Forces Bowl: Rice Owls vs. Air Force Falcons
2012 Armed Forces Bowl Location: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
2012 Armed Forces Bowl Date/Time: Saturday, December 29th, 11:45 a.m. (ET)
2012 Armed Forces 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 Owls have to figure out the triple option
This is sort of the duh statement of the year at this point for the Armed Forces Bowl. Rice allowed over 192 yards per game on the ground this year and ranked 92nd in the country in rushing defense. However, this is a totally different style of defense than what the team has seen all year long in Conference USA. QB Connor Dietz and the gang are going to run it about 80-85% of the time, and the rushes are going to come from all different directions. It’s all about assignment football for Rice in this game, and with three weeks of practice to prepare for this one, there really are no excuses for players that are out of position. Still, saying it and executing it are two totally different things to do, and Rice is going to have a tough time getting the job done. There will be busted plays for sure, but in the end, the Owls are going to have to limit those big time plays. Around 300 yards is the threshold in this one. Anything more than that and Air Force is going to be in great shape. Anything less, and the Owls should be able to win this one if all else turns out to be equal in the end.

Armed Forces Bowl Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook
Rice Owls +2.5
Air Force Falcons -2.5
Over/Under 61.5
Click Here to Bet Your Armed Forces Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Taylor McHargue has to be a star
QB Taylor McHargue is clearly the heart and soul of the Rice offense. He is the man that takes the snaps, and he’s the one that is going to do about 40% of the rushing of the football as well. The key might be McHargue throwing the football, though. In his last three games of the year, he completed over 65% of his passes, averaged 254.3 passing yards per game, and had two scores with just one pick. In those games, the team averaged 39.3 points per game. McHargue has averaged less than 6.7 yards per pass attempt four times this year, and the team went 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS in those games. It went 6-2 SU and 6-1-1 ATS in the eight games aside from that. It’s clear to see that McHargue is the key to the Rice offense, and he is going to have to take advantage of a very suspect Air Force defense if he is going to win this one.

Key #3: Cody Getz has to get the football and be the pilot of the offense
There were five players that had at least 400 rushing yards this year for the Falcons, and RB Cody Getz was the leader of the pack with 1,213 yards and nine TDs. He did all of this in just 10 games, and he had some ones to remember in there for sure. In his first two games of the year against the Idaho State Bengals and the Michigan Wolverines, he had three TDs in each game. Getz accounted for 887 yards and eight TDs on the ground in his first five games of the campaign but just 65.2 yards per game and one score in his last five games. In the last three losses of the year for the Falcons, Getz had 82, 55, and 23 yards, and that just doesn’t cut it. Granted, we know that there could be others that ultimately get the job done for Air Force, but it is clear that Getz is likely going to have to have a big time game to pick up a victory.

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