2022 Independence Bowl – Houston vs Louisiana
posted December 19
The Game
It’s time for some AAC vs Sun Belt action as Houston and Louisiana do battle in the Independence Bowl down in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Cougars have a mark of 7-5 and are most certainly disappointed with how the season has gone given that they were one of the favorites in the AAC heading into 2022. The Cajuns took a step back this year (6-6) but they were a pretty scrappy bunch that managed to take down a tough Marshall team ON THE HIGHWAY.
The Details
Houston -7 Louisiana (58)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Houston -6.5
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Houston 32.5 Louisiana 25.5
Houston offense vs Louisiana defense
The Cougars did a good job of SCORING the FOOTBALL during the regular season (37 PPG, #13 FBS) and the vast majority of their damage was done thru the air (#6 FBS) thanks to the play of QB Clayton Tune (37-10 TD to INT) and star WR Nathaniel Dell (103, 1,354, 15) who’s gonna be playing on Sundays. As of now, both doods have said they’re gonna play in this game but we have our doubts. They don’t get much done on the ground and Tune is the team’s leading rusher. This appears to be a good match-up for the Cajuns as they have one of the best secondaries in the Sun Belt (15-15 TD to INT, 57%). The bad news for Louisiana is that stud DE A Jones has quit and he was easily their most dangerous edge defender.
Louisiana offense vs Houston defense
The Cajuns aren’t very scary on offense to say the least (#75 FBS rush, #74 pass) but they did manage to score 36+ in three of their final six games of the regular season. C Fields will get the start at QB and he’s certainly nothing special (57%, 10-4 TD to INT) but he can manage a game well if given help from the skill position players. Only one WR has more than 300 (!) receiving yards and that guy (Jefferson) won’t be playing in this game. They use a committee of RBs and have only managed 10 rushing TDs this season. There is some good news to talk to you about as Houston is PURE FILTH on defense (#110 total defense, #117 scoring defense) so we’d like to think that the Cajuns can find a way to move the ball in this game.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Louisiana is 6-3 in bowl games and should be jacked up playing in their home state…..Houston HC Dana Holgorsen is 3-6 in bowl games (2-7 ATS) and would rather be having a temper tantrum in his hotel room as opposed to coaching in this bowl game……Houston is #125 in penalty yards per game.
Summary
Houston has more talent but you never know if they’re gonna show up, and we’d advise waiting until gameday if you plan on backing the Cougars. There’s already been some surprise quitting announcements just before kickoff during bowl season so we’re not saying, we’re just saying.
The best move for those who want a light dusting of SWEET ACTION might be to take the Cajuns now at +7 and hope that the star Cougar duo decides to skip the game. If that’s the case, the line would drop to close to a pick ’em in our opinion, and you could then take Houston at the discounted price and go for a BETTE MIDDDLLERR. Worst case, if they play, you can buy out of your Cajuns wager if you don’t wanna be tortured for four hours. As far as the total, it’s a tough call given the situation outlined above.
Conclusion
No leanage.
<light dusting recommended as per above for pure degenerates>
Note:
‘Official play’ implies we have played the game for our standard wager amount.
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game if you want to get down on some sweet action.
‘No leanage’ implies we won’t be involved in the game from a betting standpoint. In-game wagering possibilities only.