The X’s and O’s of the Independence 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 Ohio Bobcats vs. Louisiana Monroe Warhawks. The Independence 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 Ohio vs. Louisiana Monroe predictions!

2012 Independence Bowl: Ohio Bobcats vs. Louisiana Monroe Warhawks
2012 Independence Bowl Location: Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
2012 Independence Bowl Date/Time: Friday, December 28th, 2:00 p.m. (ET)
2012 Independence 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: Ohio has to get healthy along its offensive line
Health has been a big time problem for the Bobcats all season long, but the offensive line has taken the biggest hit for sure over the course of the last few weeks. Many don’t realize just how important the OL is for these smaller schools. The bigger schools tend to have some depth up front, while the little ones just don’t have the resources to go out and recruit second and third string offensive linemen for the “just in case.” For Ohio, that “just in case” has been enacted quite a bit of late, knowing that the team has five linemen that are on the injury report for this game. Just in the last game of the season against the Kent State Golden Flashes, with virtually an entirely new offensive line protecting him, QB Tyler Tettleton was sacked eight times and ended up losing 35 yards rushing on the day. Tettleton can move around in the pocket, but Cam Newton wouldn’t be able to find any running room or throwing room with an offensive line as bad as this one has been over the course of the last few games. If basically a whole month off didn’t get the Bobcats healthy, it at least needed to get the guys that are able to play in a position to block for Tettleton, or this is going to be a long game for the Ohio offense.

Independence Bowl Odds at BetRevolution Sportsbook
Ohio Bobcats +7
Louisiana Monroe Warhawks -7
Over/Under 60.5
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Key #2: Kolton Browning needs to have one of those hero moments
QB Kolton Browning made himself an immediate hero in Monroe when he rushed for the touchdown in overtime that beat the Arkansas Razorbacks way back at the beginning of the season. It was the biggest play in the biggest game in the history of the ULM program, and it was the game that really sparked this 8-4 season, easily the most successful for the Warhawks of all-time. This is the first time that they have played in a bowl game in their school’s history, and Browning is the man that is going to have to figure out how to be the man to win this one. It doesn’t matter what else anyone does on the field. As long as Browning still has a chance to make some magic happen at the end, he has proven time and time again, in spite of the fact that he doesn’t have the flashiest numbers in the world, that he can get the job done. Ohio’s defense has been prone at times this year to mobile quarterbacks in the MAC, and this might not be an exception to that rule.

Key #3: Beau Blankenship has to keep the ball moving on the ground
You might not realize it, but RB Beau Blankenship rushed for 1,500 yards this year for the Bobcats in spite of the shoddy play of the offensive line. The Iowa State transfer rumbled for 109 yards against a Penn State Nittany Lions defense that proved to be a strong unit at the end of the year, and he also rushed the ball 43 times for 269 yards and two TDs against the Massachusetts Minutemen in his best game of the season. This is a man that is a horse for sure. It isn’t about the yards per carry for Blankenship, though he did average a healthy 5.1 yards per tote on the season. It’s that he averaged carrying the ball 24.4 times per game and really wore down some of these defenses. This might be the best rushing attack that ULM has seen all season long, and it is going to be a real test to a ‘D’ that allowed just 135.8 yards per game this year on the ground, ranking 32nd in the nation. If Blankenship doesn’t get his 25 carries in this game and doesn’t turn those carries into at least 100 yards, the Bobcats are in a boatload of trouble.

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Triple option fans will revel in this one on Monday night at the Independence Bowl, where we’ll make our college football picks on the duel between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Air Force Falcons. These two teams have virtually similar resumes to work with, and though Air Force had the better record, Georgia Tech clearly had the more difficult schedule. Both teams could be missing key pieces to the puzzle as well, which could make this one very, very interesting. Check out our keys to the game for beating the Independence Bowl odds on Monday.

Key #1: Jared Tew has to be a part of the offense again after the long layoff
Tew was really expected to be the key cog in the triple option attack this year for the Falcons, and we was off to a great start, running for 540 yards and three TDs on 110 carries over the course of the first half of the season. However, he broke his leg, which was thought to end his senior season. From “out for the season” to “probable,” Tew has worked his way up the depth chart and has worked himself into game condition again. He’ll probably give it a go here in the Independence Bowl, but whether he is going to be able to really be himself or not after over two months off is a different question. The three year letterman at Air Force has rushed for over 1,800 yards for his career, and he would love nothing more than to be able to cap it all off with a great performance in a bowl game in his career season.

Key #2: Tevin Washington has to prove that he can beat a bowl team
Just as Air Force had some problems with Tew being out of the lineup, QB Josh Nesbitt has been out as well. He has been out of the fold for the last four games of the regular season, which has left Washington, the future leader of this triple option in charge. The sophomore has thrown for 376 yards and has rushed for 383 more yards. However, he has turned the ball over quite a bit, and since he has taken over under center, the Ramblin’ Wreck have three losses and just one win, and the one ‘W’ came against the Duke Blue Devils. Head Coach Paul Johnson knows that the key of this triple option offense is that the quarterback has to make sound decisions and cannot turn the ball over, and really only scoring a substantial amount of points against two very poor defensive teams in the Georgia Bulldogs and Duke Blue Devils doesn’t do anything for us. Washington really has to step his game up after a month of practice to beat the Falcons.

Key #3: Georgia Tech has to be prepared for a team that has really played a tough slate
We made mention that the Ramblin’ Wreck played a better schedule, but we really can’t discount the fact that the Falcons really played a brutal slate. This was a team that hung around with the Oklahoma Sooners on the road and nearly took out the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium as well. The three TD win over the BYU Cougars really does look impressive, and a 14-6 victory over the Navy Midshipmen proved that Air Force could stop the triple option as well. The bottom line is that the Academy really has seen it all, and there is no way that this is going to be a team that is intimidated going into this one. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, only has two wins over bowl teams this year, with the better team on the bunch being the North Carolina Tar Heels. However, ‘W’s against the Tar Heels and the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders really don’t do anything for us, especially knowing that the one win with Washington calling the shots was the Duke Blue Devils.