It pays to pay attention to the coaching carousel during bowl season because there is a lot to learn leading up to the Cotton Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Memphis Tigers.
Memphis head coach Mike Norvell finished a 12-win season and was rewarded by being hired at Florida State, the best open head coaching job. It remains to be seen whether he will be on the sideline for Memphis for this one.
On the other side, it looked like James Franklin would be a candidate to be headed to USC, which never opened up. Instead, he received a contract extension to remain at Penn State. Also, the Nittany Lion offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne was announced as the new head coach at Old Dominion on Monday afternoon, and I haven’t seen any reports whether he will be sticking around for the bowl game.
Penn State finished 10-2 this season and is probably a bit disappointed it did not get selected to the Rose Bowl. As a Wisconsin fan, I’m okay with it. On the other side, Memphis went 12-1, winning two straight games against Cincinnati to win the AAC title.
Television, Streaming options
Date: Saturday, December 28, 2019
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Odds
Penn State -7, 60.5
Initial Betting Analysis
A bowl game like this one is so difficult to analyze from a gambling perspective because of so many moving parts. At this point, we do not know who the offensive coordinator will be for Penn State and we don’t even know who the head coach will be for Memphis. I’d stay away from this one until we know more about the coaching situation, but the over 60.5 might make sense as Memphis has gone over 40 points eight times this season, allowing its fair share of points in the process.
Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ) or 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN)
21+. NJ/PA/IN Only. Eligibility restrictions apply.
Odds and lines subject to change. See website for details.