The Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy will send their No. 8 scoring offense against the Utah Utes No.3 Scoring defense when the two schools battle for a win in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, Thursday night at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego with a 9 p.m. ET kickoff.
Oddsmakers at Sportsbetting.com installed Utah the favorite with a 9- point chalk and -260 on the money-line; however, the line has since come down to a -7 1/2 point mark. The game total is holding at 64 ½ points down from its 67 point opening mark.
Early side wagers had 90% of gamblers taking Navy and the (+9) points when betting opened but that figure is down to 78% prior to kickoff with the adjusted 7 ½ point line. Money-line figures has Navy getting 52% of the action while 58% of the early money likes the UNDER (64 ½) in totals wagering.
Navy (8-4) will rely on its triple-option rushing attack led by quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada who leads the team in rushng with 782 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Midshipmen led the nation in rushing offense at 351.5 yards per game.
Utah (8-4) will counter the Navy rushing onslaught with a defense led by nose-tackle Gabe Long. The Utes only gave up 84.3 rushing yards per game in the seven game stretch to end the season. Utah ranks No. 2 in the nation in pass efficiency defense (94.5), No. 3 in scoring defense (15.5) and No. 15 in pass defense (189.4). In addition, the Utes rank No. 7 nationally in opponent third down conversion percentage (28.8%) and are tied 14th in sacks (36). The Utes led the MWC in all of those categories.
Kyle Wittingham is 23-14 in his third year as Utah's head coach and has won seven or more games all three years. He is 2-0 in bowl games with wins over Georgia Tech (2005) and Tulsa (2006).
Ken Niumatalolo will coach Navy in his fifth straight bowl game after the departure of former head coach Paul Johnson who bolted to Georgia Tech two weeks ago. Niumatolo was elevated to head coach status on a permanent basis from his job as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
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