Louisville coach Scott Satterfield can improve to 5-0 in bowl games when he leads the Louisville Cardinals against the Air Force Falcons in the 2021 First Responder Bowl on Tuesday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. The 49-year-old Satterfield defeated Mississippi State in the 2019 Music City Bowl in his first season at Louisville. In his previous stop, at Appalachian State, his teams went 3-0, winning the Camellia Bowl in 2015 and ’16 and the Dollar General Bowl in ’17. Satterfield’s counterpart, Troy Calhoun, is 5-5 in bowl games, all at Air Force.
Kickoff is 3:15 p.m. ET. The latest Louisville vs. Air Force odds from Caesars Sportsbook list this game as a pick’em, while the over-Uunder for total points scored is 54.5. Before making any Air Force vs. Louisville picks or First Responder Bowl 2021 predictions, be sure to check out what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters the third week of the 2021-22 college football bowl season on a 43-30 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has dialed in on Louisville vs. Air Force and revealed its coveted picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see all of the model’s college football picks. Here are the college football odds and trends for Air Force vs. Louisville:
- Louisville vs. Air Force spread: Pick’em
- Louisville vs. Air Force over-under: 54.5 points
- Louisville vs. Air Force money line: Cardinals -110, Falcons -110
- LOU: QB Malik Cunningham ranks sixth in the nation in rushing TDs (19)
- AFA: The Falcons lead the country in rushing yards per game (340.8)
Featured Game | Louisville Cardinals vs. Air Force Falcons
Why Louisville can cover
Quarterback Malik Cunningham is a dynamic runner with the football. The junior from Montgomery, Ala., ranks sixth in the country in rushing touchdowns (19) and 23rd in the nation in rushing yards per carry (6.01). He needs only 32 rushing yards to become just the second QB in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Lamar Jackson is the only other quarterback to reach that mark.
In addition, Louisville faces a team that cannot exploit the Cardinals’ weakness on defense. Louisville is allowing 245.1 passing yards per game, which ranks 10th in the ACC and 94th in the nation. However, Air Force’s triple-option offense averages just 82.5 passing yards per game; only one team, Navy, averages fewer.
Why Air Force can cover
Air Force has the top rushing attack in the country. Led by junior fullback Brad Roberts, the Falcons average an absurd 340.8 rushing yards per game, which is 60.2 yards more than the next best team, Army (280.6). In its last game, Air Force rumbled for a season-high 511 rushing yards against UNLV.
In addition, linebacker Vince Sanford has the ability to get into Louisville’s offensive backfield. A 6-foot-1 junior from Hamilton, Ohio, Sanford ranks ninth in the FBS in tackles for loss per game (1.4) and 19th in sacks per game (0.79). For his efforts this season, Sanford was named to the all-MWC second team defense.
How to make Louisville vs. Air Force picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning under on the point total, projecting the teams to combine for 51 points. It also has an against-the-spread pick that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see the model’s Air Force vs. Louisville picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Louisville vs. Air Force? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Air Force vs. Louisville spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is on a 43-30 run on top-rated picks, and find out.
Discussion about this post