Arizona Bowl Betting 2023 Predictions, Odds, Preview

The Ohio Bobcats defeated the Wyoming Cowboys 30-27 in the 2022 Arizona Bowl.

Check out last year's coverage here below and tune back in with us soon for the 2023 Arizona Bowl Odds, Picks and Predictions.

For the first time ever, Barstool Sports will put on a bowl game. Barstool had hoped to do it for the first time last year, but the Arizona Bowl was canceled due to a COVID outbreak. That won’t happen this time around as the Ohio Bobcats are set to take on the Wyoming Cowboys on Friday afternoon in the desert.

The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl will be held on Friday, December 30, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. ET from Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona.

Ohio Bobcats vs. Wyoming Cowboys Betting Prediction

The Wyoming Cowboys will look to win the Arizona Bowl for the second time in four years on Friday afternoon. Wyoming is a short underdog by the college football betting odds though as Ohio was one of the best Group of Five countries in the team this season. The Bobcats don’t have sensational quarterback Kurtis Rourke, but the Cowboys have been offensively challenged all season and will have a hard time picking up points.

Score Prediction: Ohio 23, Wyoming 17
Best Bet: Ohio -2.5

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Ohio Bobcats vs. Wyoming Cowboys Betting Odds

Arizona Bowl Betting Resources

• Date: Friday, December 30, 2022
• TV-Time: Barstool, 4:30 p.m. ET
• Venue: Arizona Stadium
• Location: Tucson, Arizona
• Expert Picks

Ohio Bobcats Betting Analysis

MAC Offensive Player of the Year Kurtis Rourke was having a phenomenal season for Ohio. Rourke was an outstanding dual-threat quarterback like older brother Nathan Rourke, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-November. Sophomore C.J. Harris has ended up starting the last two games, and he hasn’t been nearly as effective. Harris has completed 27 of 52 passes for 359 yards with one touchdown and one interception. That led to the Bobcats losing in the MAC Championship Game once more.

Sieh Bangura was one of the top running backs in the MAC this season, and he will likely see more of a workload with Rourke injured. The freshman had at least 20 carries in each of his last four games, and Bangura ended the season running for 940 yards (4.8 YPC) and 12 touchdowns. First Team All-MAC wide receiver Sam Wiglusz should be the top target in the passing game with 69 receptions for 850 yards and 11 touchdowns. Jacoby Jones (17.4 YPR) and James Bostic (18.5 YPR) are big play threats, but they will likely be muted with Rourke out.

Ohio doesn’t have a good defense, ranking 95th nationally in SP+. However, the Bobcats were opportunistic and one of the best teams when it came to forcing turnovers. They had 11 interceptions and forced 15 fumbles (recovering 13 of those fumbles). Linebacker Bryce Houston was second on the team in tackles and led the Bobcats with 5.5 sacks. Zach Sanders and Tariq Drake tied for the team lead with three interceptions apiece.

Wyoming Cowboys Betting Analysis

The Wyoming offense has been extremely challenged ever since Josh Allen turned pro. Wyoming was ranked 123rd in Offensive SP+ this season as neither Andrew Peasley nor Jayden Clemons performed well under center. Peasley completed just 51.4% of his passes for 1,388 yards (5.7 YPA) with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. He threw five picks in his last three games, so that led to Clemons seeing more action. Clemons has completed just 12 of 29 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in relief, and he hasn’t been a marked improvement as a runner either. Peasley averaged 4.7 YPC and Clemons ran for 4.5 YPC.

Titus Swen led the Cowboys with 1,039 rushing yards (5.0 YPC) and eight touchdowns on the ground. However, he decided that he would enter the NFL Draft, and he won’t be taking part in the bowl game. Second-leading rusher Dawaiian McNeely averaged 5.7 YPC and third-leading rusher D.Q. James averaged 8.6 YPC, but both players are expected to miss this game due to injury. Joey Braasch (29 attempts) was the only other running back on the roster with experience, but he entered the transfer portal, so no one is quite sure what Craig Bohl will do at running back. Leading receiver Joshua Cobbs is in the portal too.

Wyoming has a solid defense, as the Cowboys rank 62nd in Defensive SP+. They have struggled at forcing turnovers this season, but they have done a very good job of getting after quarterbacks. Linebacker Easton Gibbs was a First Team All-MWC selection after leading the team in tackles, and DeVonne Harris, Jordan Bertagnole, Braden Siders, and Oluwaseyi Omotosho all recorded at least five sacks.

Arizona Bowl History

The Arizona Bowl began in 2015 and the matchup now features schools from MAC and the Mountain West conferences, after previously having a tie-in with the Sun Belt Conference. The game takes place at Arizona Stadium from Tucson, Arizona.

The inaugural Arizona Bowl pitted a pair of Mountain West schools as Nevada held off Colorado State, 28-23.

New Mexico State thrilled its fan base with a 26-20 overtime victory over Utah State in the 2017 installment of the game, covering as 5.5-point favorites. It was the first bowl win for the Aggies since 1960.

Nevada edged Arkansas State in overtime of the 2018 edition, 16-13, marking the third 'under' in the five-game history of the Arizona Bowl.

Wyoming helped the Mountain West improve to 4-1 in the Arizona Bowl as the Cowboys cruised past Georgia State in the 2019 installment.

The 2020 version of this bowl had a huge surprise, as the Ball State Cardinals of the MAC won outright as 9.5-point underdogs against San Jose State of the MWC. The Under has cashed in three of the past four, and four of six, in this bowl game.

The 2021 installment, which was sponsored and to be streamed on Barstool Sports, was canceled. Boise State had COVID-19 issues, forcing them to pull out. Central Michigan then moved to the Sun Bowl with a vacancy, ending up with a much bigger pay day.