The 2021 Frisco Bowl betting matchup is a historic contest for both teams. UTSA (12-1) can get the first bowl win in program history with a victory and can also tally a rare 13 win season. San Diego State (11-2) can get to 12 wins for the first time in school history if they can take down the Roadrunners.
The Aztecs got stomped 46-13 by Utah State in the Mountain West Championship game, but are still -2.5 favorites in the Frisco Bowl. One major reason that SDSU is favored is because Texas-San Antonio loses a key offensive weapon with RB Sincere McCormick (1,479 yards) opting out of this game to focus on NFL draft preparations. Is that going to doom UTSA or is this still a program built to win?
McCormick Loss Hurts
It’s been a great year for the Roadrunners, especially on offense where they have scored 40+ points in five of the last eight games this season. That includes some wins over a Big 10 opponent in Illinois (37-30), Hawai’i Bowl participant Memphis (31-28), and beating Boca Raton Bowl winner Western Kentucky twice.
Of course UTSA has a whole different look to their #12 scoring offense (37.8 ppg) with Sincere McCormick deciding to avoid the injury risk and sitting out in 2021 Frisco Bowl betting. That’s a huge loss as the Junior has back to back 1,400+ yard rushing seasons, was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year, and had eight games of over 100 yards rushing this season. Most recently McCormick ran for 204 yards and 3 TDs in the 49-41 win over Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Championship game.
It’s next man up for the Roadrunners, which presents a great opportunity for Senior Brenden Brady who had just 261 yards rushing on the season. Brady had 71 yards rushing in the loss to North Texas and ran for 61 in the season opener against Illinois. San Diego State has a solid defense too though, ranking #2 in the country allowing just 77.6 yards/game.
SDSU Needs a Bounce Back
One thing that bowl games do is let teams wash the bad taste out of their mouth after a horrible showing in their conference championship matchups. That’s exactly the spot Brady Hoke’s San Diego State squad is in after an uncharacteristic 46-13 loss to Utah State in the MWC title game as -6.5 favorites.
The 46 points given up by the San Diego State defense was a season high, with Utah State’s Logan Bonner throwing for 318 yards and 4 TDs. Jordon Brookshire was just 11/23 passing for SDSU for 117 yards as the Aztecs have continued their year-long struggles to find quarterback consistency. Jalen Mayden came in and went 5/6 for 50 yards, and normal starter Lucas Johnson is questionable with a knee injury so the team continues to be in disarray under center.
Greg Bell had just 11 carries for 50 yards against Utah State, but the Senior is just 3 yards shy of 1,000 for the season. A strong running game and a top 20 scoring defense (19.5 ppg) still give the Aztecs a good chance in this matchup.
Free 2021 Frisco Bowl Betting Pick
It’s a 5-hour drive North for UTSA which means a big contingency of fans should be in attendance for this matchup. The Roadrunners are bearing down on history with a 13-win season, but how will they do without McCormick? Senior RB Brady has a great opportunity, and for as good as this SDSU defense is they just have no quarterbacking.
UTSA 31 – San Diego State 19
Free Pick: UTSA +2.5
