Cure Bowl Betting Odds: Texas San Antonio Roadrunners vs Troy State Trojans

This could be one of the more competitive of the bowl games as the Conference USA and Sun Belt champions square off. The Cure Bowl Betting Odds have this matchup as a near Pick’em.

Both teams are coming off impressive wins. Frank Harris threw for four scores and ran for another as Texas San Antonio overwhelmed North Texas 48-27 to win the Conference USA Championship game. The final two TD throws came after the once comfortable lead was cut to seven points in the fourth quarter.

Troy, coming off three straight losing seasons, scored on five of its first six possessions and cruised to 45-26 victory over Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt title tilt.

UTSA has won four of its last games against Sun Belt teams and has covered in four of those meetings.
Troy is 8-3 in its last 11 games against Conference USA squads and has covered in each of its last five wins.

Troy is 10-3 against the college football betting lines this season while UTSA is just 7-6

Game Information

Opposites Attract

This is an intriguing matchup with UTSA’s top-10 rated offense meeting up with a Troy defense that is in the top 20 nationally in yards allowed. That is reflected in the Cure Bowl betting odds.

Coastal Carolina’s bid to play in this game for the third year in a row ended with a loss to Troy in the Sun Belt championship game. Although there were 88 and 71 points scored in the last two Cure Bowls, the total is set at 54 for this matchup with Troy currently a 1.5-point favorite according to the Cure Bowl predictions.

Troy could have the advantage when it comes to impact players suiting up in front of friends and family with 14 Florida natives on the roster. Safety Craig Slocum (96 tackles, six pass breakups), defensive linemen Javon Solomon (44 tackles, 4.5 sacks), Shakel Brown (three sacks) and Buddha Jones are among the top Sunshine State products for the Trojans.

Defensive lineman Lamonte McDougle (16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss) is one of three players from Florida on the UTSA roster.

UTSA Looks to Air it Out

We’re not sure that the Roadrunners are the best nickname for one of two Conference USA teams with more than 4,000 passing yards this season.

UTSA tested itself early with games against Houston and Texas and lost both of those games before hitting conference play. Still, according to the Cure Bowl betting odds, the Roadrunners are a slight underdog as the Roadrunners look for their first bowl win after losing games in 2016, 2020 and 2021.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if UTSA won a tight affair against Houston. Perhaps that would have been enough for the Roadrunners and not the Tulane Green Wave representing the teams from the Group of Five conferences in the Cotton Bowl.

UTSA was undefeated in conference play. However, the Western Kentucky, North Texas and UTEP games were decided by a combined total of 10 points.

Zakhari Franklin posted back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons while Clarence Hicks had 10.5 sacks.Team B

Trojans Bowling Again

Troy has won its last four bowl games, but this is the first bowl appearance since the 2018 season

Troy is one of the best-kept secrets in college football with the Trojans taking a 10-game winning streak into the bowl game. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the Cure Bowl betting odds favor the Trojans.

Troy flirted with .500 seasons in each of the last three years before putting it all together in 2022.

It helps that 11 of the top 13 tacklers are juniors or seniors and that Troy is tied for the Sun Belt lead with 39 sacks. It is a little troubling that the Trojans allowed 40 sacks, though. The defender making the most impact plays might be sophomore T.J. Jackson, who has a team-high eight sacks.

Kimani Vidal is Troy’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2018.

Get Ready for Action-Packed Cure Bowl

Other than a matchup in the College Football Playoffs, it’s rare to find a bowl game featuring two teams with double-digit winning streaks as both the Trojans and Roadrunners have won 10 games in a row.

Troy’s success has come with linebacker Jayden McDonald and defensive lineman Luis Medina both being limited to three games this season.

Running backs Brendan Brady and Trelon Smith are both questionable for Texas San Antonio as is tight end Gavin Sharp.

Brady (699 yards) is second on the team in rushing while Sharp is averaging 15.2 yards on his five receptions this season.

The teams are a combined 9-2 in one-score games this season so both should feel at ease if this game comes down to the final possession or two.
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