2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl – Eight will be great when the eight-win Temple Owls take on the Wyoming Cowboys in the 2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl live from University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday Dec. 17, at 2:00 PM ET. Touthouse college football bettors will get the expert betting insight they’ll need in order to make a pair of wise and hopefully winning wagers as we break down this intriguing ‘under the radar’ matchup between two teams that each had very solid seasons. With kickoff time quickly approaching, let’s get started.

2011 Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Temple vs. Wyoming
When: December 17th 2011 2:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Where: University Stadium in Albuquerque, NM
Pick: CLICK HERE FOR THE WINNING BETTING PICK
Point Spread: Temple Owls (-6.5) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (+6.5) Over/Under 49

Temple Owls (8-4 SU, 8-4 ATS, 5-7 O/U)
The Temple Owls won their final three games of the regular season to finish with eight wins and routed Kent State 34-16 in its regular season finale while narrowly cashing in as a 16.5-point home favorite to close out the season with consecutive ATS victories.

Temple ranked a stellar 46th in the nation in scoring by averaging 30.1 points per game and that was mostly because they finished an eye-opening seventh in the nation in rushing as junior running back Bernard Pierce rushed for 1,381 yards and 25 touchdowns on the season.

While Temple leaned on Pierce to provide its offense, the Owls failed miserably when they tried to throw the ball as they averaged a pitiful 123.2 passing yards per game (117th).

Defensively, Temple was mostly miserly in limiting their opponents to just 122.6 rushing yards per contest (26th) and an even more impressive 13.8 points per game, goof for third in the country behind Alabama and LSU.

Temple is 1-2 all-time in bowl games but lost to UCLA 30-121 in the 2009 EagleBank Bowl.

Here is a look at temple’s key trends this season.
The Owls are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 non-conference games.
The Owls are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following an SU win.
The Owls are 1-4 ATS in their L/5 games against a team with a winning record.
The Over is 4-0 in the Owls last 4 games overall.
The Over is 4-0 in the Owls last 4 games as a favorite.
The Under is 12-3 in Temple’s last 15 games following an SU win.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TEMPLE VS. WYOMING WINNING PICK
CLICK HERE FOR FREE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS

Wyoming Cowboys (8-4 SU, 7-5 ATS, 4-7-1 O/U)
The Wyoming Cowboys lost two of their final five games but beat Colorado State 22-19 in its regular season finale despite failing to cover the spread as a 6-point road favorite.

Like their counterparts in this matchup, the Cowboys run the ball first and foremost as they finished 32 in rushing (186.8 ypg). Wyoming however, passes the ball a lot better than the Owls as indicated by their 73rd-ranked passing attack (213.5 ypg). Wyoming averages 27.0 points per game (60th).

Run defense was a problem for the Cowboys this season as they allowed 27.0 points per game (66th) while finishing 115th against the run and a respectable 33rd against the pass.

Freshman quarterback Brett Smith had a fine first season in completing 69.5 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

The Cowboys are 6-6 all-time in bowl games and beat Fresno State 35-28 in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl in its last bowl game.

Here is a look at Wyoming’s key trends this season.
The Cowboys are 4-0 ATS in their last quartet of games against a team with a winning record.
The Cowboys are 5-2 ATS in their L/7 games overall.
The Cowboys are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games following an SU win.
The Under is 5-0 in Wyoming’s last 5 games overall.
The Under is 4-1 in Cowboys last 5 games versus a team with a winning record.

If you enjoyed this Temple vs. Wyoming New Mexico Bowl pick and point spread preview, be sure to visit Touthouse.com this entire bowl season for winning college football predictions from our professional sports handicappers.