Cricket Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M odds, picks and predictions
The Howard Bison (6-5) and Florida A&M Rattlers (11-1) clash in Saturday’s Cricket Celebration Bowl in New Orleans. Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is slated for noon ET (ABC). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Howard vs. Florida A&M odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Howard won the MEAC crown and became bowl eligible in their last game of the season with a 14-7 win over Morgan State, failing to cover the 8-point spread as the Under 41 hit. Senior RB Jarett Hunter ran for 108 yards (5.4 yards per carry). The star on this Bison team all season was senior WR Kasey Hawthorne, who was 2nd in the MEAC in receptions, yards, and TDs. Howard's pass defense was stifling this season allowing their opponents only 129.5 yards per game through the air.
Florida A&M finished the season on an 11-game winning streak, closing things out with a 35-14 victory in the SWAC Championship over the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Senior WR Marcus Riley had 132 yards receiving and caught QB Jeremy Moussa's only TD pass. Senior RB Terrell Jennings had 113 yards and 2 TDs. The Rattlers led the SWAC in scoring (30.7 PPG) and passing offense (232.2 yards) this season. They also had a shut-down defense which allowed only 14.3 points per game.
These 2 teams have a long history against each other being former MEAC foes. They have met 40 times with the Florida A&M winning 29 times.
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Howard vs. Florida A&M odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 11:34 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Howard +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Florida A&M -230 (bet $230 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Howard +6.5 (-110) | Florida A&M -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 50.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Howard vs. Florida A&M picks and predictions
Prediction
Florida A&M 38, Howard 14
Moneyline
AVOID.
Florida A&M will win this game comfortably but I'm not going to put down more than 2 units to win 1. I'm very interested in the spread and total in this game.
Against the spread
BET FLORIDA A&M -6.5 (-110).
I am shocked the spread is not larger. Florida A&M is the far superior team and I believe they will manhandle the Bison.
The Rattlers were double-digit favorites in their last 5 games and covered the spread in 4 of those. Howard has failed to cover in 4 of their last 5 games.
Over/Under
BET OVER 50.5 (-110).
Florida A&M has gone over the total in 3 of their last 4, while Howard went over in 2 of their last 3.
Howard's pass defense may be legit but I doubt they are good enough to slow down this Rattlers air attack. Florida A&M has scored at least 24 points in every game this season.
I also like playing the overs in a dome game like this one. They don't have to worry about weather messing with the game flow.
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