The Quick Lane Bowl is the first game on the college football bowl game schedule following a short Christmas break and features the Western Michigan Broncos and the Nevada Wolf Pack.
The Wolf Pack are dealing with some real uncertainty heading into their meeting with the Broncos. Head coach Jay Norvell has left the program to take the Colorado State job, and star quarterback Carson Strong is skipping the bowl game to prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft. With that, the college football betting odds now have the Wolf Pack as underdogs, despite them being favored before those changes.
Will the Broncos handle their business against a shellshocked Wolf Pack team? We dig into that and more with our free college football betting picks for Western Michigan vs. Nevada on Monday, December 27.
Western Michigan vs Nevada odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Before Strong was ruled out for this game, things were a lot different. The Wolf Pack opened as 6.5-point favorites, but they’re now getting anywhere between 5.5 and 6.5 points. The total, which opened all the way up at 66, is now down at 56 in some places. It can be found at 56.5 or 57 elsewhere.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.
Western Michigan vs Nevada predictions
Predictions made on 12/19/2021 at 10:10 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Western Michigan vs Nevada game info
• Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI
• Date: Monday, December 27, 2021
• Time: 11:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
Western Michigan vs Nevada betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Western Michigan: Anthony Torres TE (Questionable), Corey Crooms WR (Questionable), Bricen Garner S (Questionable), DaShon Bussell CB (Out).
Nevada: Carson Strong QB (Out), Cole Turner WR (Out), Eljiah Cooks WR (Out).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Nevada is 10-1 against the spread in its last 11 games as an underdog. Find more NCAA betting trends for Western Michigan vs. Nevada.
Western Michigan vs Nevada picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Wolf Pack are going through it heading into this bowl game. Jay Norvell is no longer with Nevada and the team is now missing Carson Strong's gigantic arm. It does, however, seem like there has been a bit of an overreaction to those absences.
Nevada was once favored by nearly a touchdown and is now getting one, which is an absurdly large swing. The Wolf Pack still have a great offensive system in place, so they should be able to put up points in this Air Raid attack. Backup Nate Cox is 6-foot-9 and has a cannon for an arm. He'll make some of the deep throws required to keep this Nevada offense rolling. And Romeo Doubs appears to be playing in this one, giving the Wolf Pack a star wideout to target. The team will miss Cole Turner, sure, but Doubs gives the Broncos plenty to deal with. The Wolf Pack also have a few running backs capable of big contributions. That’ll be dependent on Cox making throws, but the backup is a senior and has spent a lot of time in this system.
Defensively, Nevada should remain somewhat strong. The Wolf Pack gave up only 24.4 points per game this season and Norvell had very little to do with that side of the ball. This is a good unit that faces a Western Michigan team that gets most of its production in the running game. The Wolf Pack struggled to stop the run during the regular season but has had multiple weeks to prepare for a team that doesn’t have a dangerous passing game. If Nevada can hold its own in the trenches, it should still be able to eke out a bowl win.
Prediction: Nevada +6.5 (-105)
Over/Under analysis
While Nevada should still be able to put up some points in this game, the Wolf Pack are going to experience a drop-off from Strong to Cox. That’s just the reality of losing a quarterback with a legitimate chance of being selected in one of the first two days of the NFL Draft. That dip in production will likely lead to the Wolf Pack struggling to reach the 36.7 points per game threshold they averaged during the regular season.
The nature in which Western Michigan moves the ball makes it so that the clock often runs quite a bit when the team is driving. The Broncos like to pound the rock, which is always a good thing for Under bettors — especially if Nevada’s defense shows up.
It’s also worth noting that the Under is 4-1 in Western Michigan’s last five games against non-conference opponents. It’s also 6-1 in Nevada’s last seven neutral-site games.
Prediction: Under 57 (-118)
Best bet
A lot of people are counting Nevada out because of the holes left by Norvell and Strong, but the Wolf Pack have performed well as underdogs over the years. The team is also 4-0 against the spread in its last four bowl games, and the team is 14-3 against the spread in its last 17 games in which it gave up more than 200 yards in its previous game.
The Wolf Pack have had multiple weeks to clean up that rushing defense to get prepared for this remarkable Broncos running game. They should be able to get the job done and make this a very tight game. With the points, bettors should be just fine. Nevada also has a legitimate shot at winning outright.
Pick: Nevada +6.5 (-105)
Did you know that if you parlayed our Western Michigan vs. Nevada picks, you could win $26.07 on a $10 bet?
Use our college football parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
