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.

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