The Duluth Trading Cure Bowl is set and we have a very good matchup between two teams that finished in the top 25. The 2022 Cure Bowl matches the UTSA Roadrunners up against the Troy Trojans. Both teams are on ten-game winning streaks and won their conference titles. One team will add another win to their impressive season while one team will end their season with a heartbreaking bowl loss. Troy is a 1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 55.5. With that being said here is my preview for this Cure Bowl matchup.
UTSA
The UTSA Roadrunners started off the season with a tough loss to Houston and a 21-point defeat to Texas. After that, the Roadrunners were locked and loaded and poised to win the C-USA which they did. Offensively, the Roadrunners are top 15 in points per game and total yards of offense on average. They also are top 20 in passing yards per game as well. This offense is led by quarterback Frank Harris who has thrown for 3,865 passing yards (6th in the nation) to go along with a touchdown to interception ratio of 31:7. UTSA has two receivers with over 900 receiving yards this season in Zakhari Franklin and Joshua Cephus. This offense is lethal and I think Troy’s stellar defense is going to struggle in this bowl matchup.
Now we look on to UTSA’s defense. Overall they aren’t quite as solid, but they do what they need to do to put their offense in a position to win games. They give up 26.5 points per game and give up just under 415 total yards of offense per game as well. UTSA will need their passing defense to step up in a big way in order to contain this Troy offense. Senior defensive backs Corey Mayfield Jr., Clifford Chattman, Nicktroy Fortune, and Kelechi Nwachuku will need to step up in a big way for UTSA to win against Troy.
Troy
Troy has been a good story out of the Sun Belt this season. They lost to Ole Miss and suffered a one-score loss at Appalachian State. The Trojans have Gunnar Watson starting at quarterback in this one, he has thrown for 2,705 passing yards to go with a 13:10 touchdown to interception ratio. Former Texas Tech and West Virginia quarterback Jarret Doege also got some playing time this season when Watson was out.
This offense is led by Kimani Vidal who has rushed for over 1,000 yards this season to go along with 9 touchdowns. Troy scored 26.2 points per game this season. Offensively they throw for 252.8 yards per game. They rush for 121.6 rushing yards per game. Finally, they average just under 393 total yards of offense per game. Troy will need a good game from Vidal and Watson in order to win this Cure Bowl matchup.
Defensively, this Troy team has been the backbone of this team. They rank 55th in the nation in total yards of offense per game. Only allowing 17.5 points per game this team has only given up more than 27 points twice this season and lost both of those games. If their defense continues their good play of not allowing a ton of points, they easily win the Cure Bowl against UTSA. UTSA’s defense will give up points, Troy needs to not give up more than 27 to win.
Betting Trends
-Over is 5-0 in last five non-conference games for UTSA.
-Over is 8-0 in last eight bowl games for Troy.
-UTSA is 4-1 ATS in last five games overall.
-Troy is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 December games.
The Don’s Cure Bowl’s Best Bet
The Duluth Trading Cure Bowl will be one of the best bowl games early on. My best bet is UTSA ML (+105). I think the Roadrunners’ rushing attack is going to be too much to handle for the Trojans’ defense. Troy will put up points offensively, however they won’t be able to stop UTSA defensively. I see this final score being 33-30. Lean the over and take the Roadrunners Moneyline to the bank.
