The Iowa State Cyclones and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane are set to kick off the 2012 Liberty Bowl on Monday 12/31, and I’m set to make my Liberty Bowl pick for the affair at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, TN. Kickoff is set for 3:30 ET, and I’ve got the perfect NCAA football pick for the Liberty Bowl.
2012 Liberty Bowl
Iowa State Cyclones (6-6, 5-6-1 ATS) -1
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (10-3, 7-5 ATS) +1
Over/Under 51
When these two teams met the first time around, the over/under was just 50.5 points, and the game got to 61. In that game, Tulsa only rushed for 160 yards as a team, and Iowa State was still using the lousy QB Steele Jantz under center. Why then, have the oddsmakers only moved this ‘total’ up a half point? It just doesn’t make all that much sense to me.
Iowa State’s offense is underrated with QB Sam Richardson calling the shots. He has a great football IQ, and he knows when to take off and run with the football. In the games that he quarterbacked this year, the Cyclones put up 75 points combined against the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Kansas Jayhawks. Granted, those two teams don’t have the greatest defenses in the world, but it’s not like Tulsa is a defensive world beater either. The Cyclones have also struggled defensively, allowing at least 21 points in nine straight games and averaging conceding 27.6 points per game in that stretch.
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And then there is the crazy Golden Hurricane. This team can really fly around the field when given the chance to do so, as we saw in the final four games of the season when the team outgained its foes by an average of 217.0 yards per game. RB Alex Singleton rushed for 21 TDs, and each of RB Trey Watts, RB Ja’Terian Douglas, and RB Alex Singleton averaged calling the ball at least 10 times per game. The three each had at least 765 yards on the ground, and they combined for almost 2,600 yards in 13 games. It is clear that WR Keyarris Garrett could be a factor as well after he caught 64 passes for 826 yards and nine TDs. There are just too many offensive weapons here for the Golden Hurricane to be held under 28 points, and if that turns out to be the case, there is no reason to think that the Liberty Bowl won’t get past the ‘total’.
Iowa State vs. Tulsa Picks & Tips: Over 51
