Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Betting 2023 Odds, Predictions, Preview

The Eastern Michigan Eagles defeated the San Jose State Spartans 41-27 in the 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

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

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will pit two coaches that have done a great job at previously moribund programs against one another. The San Jose Spartans had only gone to a bowl game three times in three decades before Brent Brennan arrived in 2020, and he led the Spartans to their first conference championship in 29 years in his debut season. San Jose State regressed with a 5-7 record in 2021, but the Spartans went 7-4 this season and can win at least eight games for the first time in a decade.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Michigan Eagles had only been to one bowl game before Chris Creighton became the head coach in 2014. Creighton has made the Eagles extremely competitive in the MAC, and this will be their fifth bowl game appearance under his watch. However, the Eagles’ lone bowl win came all the way back in 1987, and Creighton would love to change that.

The 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl matchup between the San Jose State Spartans and Eastern Michigan Eagles will take place on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN from Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho.

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. San Jose State Spartans Betting Prediction

Motivation is key in bowl season, especially in these early games. Eastern Michigan will have it due to a 35-year bowl drought that the players have heard about for years now. The Eagles will be more used to playing in the cold and possible snow that we will see in Boise on Tuesday, giving them an edge over the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Score Prediction: Eastern Michigan 27 San Jose State 24
Best Bet: Eastern Michigan +4

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. San Jose State Spartans Betting Odds

Eastern Michigan Eagles vs. San Jose State Spartans Betting Resources

• Date: Tuesday, December 20, 2022
• Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Venue: Albertsons Stadium
• Location: Boise, Idaho
• Expert Picks

Updated on 11/15/2023

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Eastern Michigan Eagles Betting Analysis

Senior Taylor Powell is the starting quarterback for Eastern Michigan and put together his two best games at the end of the regular season. Powell torched both Kent State and Central Michigan, completing 54 of 75 passes for 581 yards and six touchdowns. He isn’t much of a runner though, and that’s where we might see backup Austin Smith. We saw Smith average 4.2 YPC, and he has shown some flashes as a passer.

The Eagles boast two all-conference offensive linemen in Brian Dooley and Sidy Sow. That helped Samson Evans run for 1,084 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. Tanner Knue is the most dangerous receiver on the perimeter, while Hassan Beydoun was the big underneath threat for Eastern Michigan.

Eastern Michigan has a solid defense. The Eagles are allowing just 5.2 yards per play, and opponents are completing just 54.3% of their passes against this secondary. Jose Ramirez has been a monster with 12 sacks on his way to First Team All-MAC honors, and Kempton Shine had 11 pass breakups. The special teams have been superb for Eastern Michigan too with punter Mitchell Tomasek and returner Jaylon Jackson being two of the best players at their positions in the country.

San Jose State Spartans Betting Analysis

Hawaii grad transfer Chevan Cordeiro had a solid season on the mainland with the Spartans. Cordeiro completed 61% of his passes for 2,884 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He ran for eight touchdowns, but he was sacked 40 times as the offensive line had some trouble pass blocking.

That offensive line had a lot of trouble in the run game too. San Jose State averaged just 3.4 YPC and 97.3 YPG on the ground. Kairee Robinson closed out the season with a solid game against Hawaii, but he could only average 4.9 YPC on the season, and that was just one of two 100-yard games for Robinson. Elijah Cooks was one of the Mountain West’s best receivers with 63 catches for 983 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year, and Justin Lockhart is a deep threat averaging 16.6 YPR.

San Jose State’s defense is ranked 35th per SP+. The Spartans have an elite run defense that is conceding just 3.3 YPC, and they have the MWC Defensive Player of the Year in Viliami Fehoko. The junior finished the year with nine sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss, leading the conference in the latter category. Cade Hall was also a First Team All-MWC selection with 7.5 sacks, and leading tackler Kyle Harmon joined them when it came to first team all-conference honors.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl History

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl bowl began in 1997, and the matchup currently features schools from the Mountain West Conference and Mid-American Conference (MAC). The game takes place at Albertsons Stadium from Boise, Idaho. This game was previously called the Humanitarian Bowl and MPC Computers Bowl.

Favorites won and covered three straight games in this bowl, which included Ohio's 30-21 win over Nevada in the 2019 installment. In 2020, Nevada picked up a win as a 1-point underdog against Tulane, winning 38-27 as the 'over' connected.

In 2021, Kent State of the MAC and Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference squared off on Dec. 21, 2021, with the Cowboys winning a 52-38 shootout against the Golden Flashes as the 'over' easily cashed. The 'over' has cashed in five of the past six bowl games played on the Smurf Turf in Boise, with favorites 4-1 ATS across the past five Idaho Potato Bowls.

For more coverage of bowl season, check out our College Football Bowl Central!