Tag: Bank of America Stadium

Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Tuesday’s Belk Bowl between the Virginia Tech Hokies and Kentucky Wildcats, with NCAA football betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Virginia Tech Hokies (8-4) and Kentucky Wildcats (7-5) do battle in the Belk Bowl Tuesday, played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET (ESPN). We analyze the Virginia Tech-Kentucky odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky: Three things you need to know

1. The Wildcats will be making their first-ever appearance in the Belk Bowl. They’re looking for a second consecutive bowl victory after upsetting Penn State in the Citrus Bowl last season by a 27-24 count.

2. Kentucky ranks fourth in the country with 274.8 rushing yards per game, while Virginia Tech ranked 27th against the rush defensively, yielding 123.4 yards per outing. That will be where this game is won or lost.

3. The Under is 4-1 in Kentucky’s past five bowl games, while going 6-2 in its past eight neutral-site games. The Over is 6-2-2 in Virginia Tech’s past 10 neutral-site contests.

College football season is almost over! Place your bets on this game, or others, at BetMGM now. Place your bets and win, win, win!

Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Virginia Tech 31, Kentucky 17

Moneyline (ML)

VIRGINIA TECH (-134) was humming along until a loss to Virginia in the regular-season finale. Still, the Hokies are the play here, as Kentucky (+110) is just too one-dimensional. That’s fine against the likes of Vanderbilt or Tennessee-Martin, but it won’t fly against a more seasoned team like the Gobblers.

Against the Spread (ATS)

VIRGINIA TECH (-2.5, -115) is a strong play against Kentucky (+2.5, -106). The Hokies have cashed in five of their past six, and as mentioned, they’re just more balanced. If the Hokies can shut down, or at least limit the likes of Swiss Army Knife Lynn Bowden Jr., who led the team in rushing and receiving yards, they’ll shut down Kentucky and hoist a trophy.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 45.5 (-110) is worth a small-unit play, but don’t get crazy. The Over has dominated for the Hokies in neutral-site games, going 6-2-2 in the past 10, and 7-3-1 in their past 11 as a favorite on a neutral field. The Over is 7-3 in Kentucky’s past 10 against winning teams, and 20-7 in its past 27 non-conference tilts, too.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1623]

Saints announce Week 17 uniform combination vs. Panthers

The New Orleans Saints will pair white away jerseys with white pants again in the 2019 season, next in Week 17 against the Carolina Panthers

The New Orleans Saints will again pair white jerseys with white pants, the team announced on its official Twitter account. This is the fifth time the Saints have used this uniform combination this season, eschewing the gold pants that were used regularly in past years. Including their “Color Rush” alternate uniforms, the Saints will have worn black or white pants in every regular season game in 2019.

New Orleans recently broke out the all-white uniforms for their Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, and they’ll be carried over for Week 17 with the Carolina Panthers. Like the other road venues the Saints have played at in these white pants, the Panthers’ Bank of America Stadium features a natural grass field (Voyager Bermuda grass, to be exact; it is the only NFL stadium to use that variety), which means nightmarish grass stains for the Saints equipment staff to deal with.

The Saints have held their own this year against a series of opponents including Tifway 419 Bermuda grass (Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium), Kentucky Bluegrass (Chicago Bears at Soldier Field), and TifSport Hybrid Bermudagrass (Titans at Nissan StadiuM), but keep the equipment staff in your thoughts in this difficult time.

Superstitious fans should be happy: though the Saints have only worn this combination four times previously since Sean Payton was hired to coach the team (all in 2019), they have yet to lose a game in white-on-white. We’ve ranked every uniform combination used by the Saints since 2006, ordered by winning percentage (don’t forget the alternate gold jerseys worn during a 2002 loss to the Minnesota Vikings):

  • White jerseys, white pants: 4-0 (1.000)
  • “Color Rush” alternates: 6-2 (.750)
  • Black and gold throwbacks: 2-1 (.667)
  • Black jerseys, gold pants: 23-13 (.639)
  • White jerseys, black pants: 38-25 (.603)
  • Black jerseys, black pants: 41-27 (.603)
  • White jerseys, gold pants: 31-24 (.564)

[vertical-gallery id=25491]