Independence Bowl Picks, Predictions and Odds

Independence Bowl Betting Preview

WagerTalk college football handicapper Tony Finn offers his BYU vs UAB Independence Bowl betting preview. At the time of posting, the Cougars are holding steady as a 7-point favorite over the Blazers, with the total sitting at 55 points.

Stay on top of the latest College Football updates direct from Las Vegas!

Independence Bowl	Betting Notes
Point Spread:	BYU Cougars -7 vs UAB Blazers
Total:	55 Points
Game Time:	3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT on Saturday, December 18
Stadium:	Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana
TV:	ABC

Independence Bowl Analysis

For a Saturday afternoon holiday bowl event, the longstanding Independence Bowl welcomes Brigham Young and the University of Alabama-Birmingham to Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Brigham Young Cougars (10-2, Independent) and UAB Blazers (8-4, C-USA) matchup have grabbed the attention of several media markets. The most prevalent of those markets in Utah, most directly Salt Lake City.

Following the close of Championship Weekend, the announcement that No. 13 ranked BYU would play unranked UAB in the 2021 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl created a storm of “what-the” and “really” comments and opinions on social media’s usual suspects. Naturally, the faithful fan base of the Cougars was less-than-thrilled at their Cougars facing a program that was neither ranked nor a power-5 school.

Upon that Sunday announcement, for a Cougars program that fell short of qualifying for a New Year’s Six bowl and were positioned with Conference USA’s Alabama-Birmingham in the Independence Bowl, you know what hit the fan.

The BYU football players and coaches did their best coach-speak at the presser following the announcement they were squaring off against Alabama-Birmingham. They played the game well, stating their please and thank you’s to the press in the media session.

Without going into the hoopla and back and forth banter of the faithful fan base’s team Twitter page, let it be known; BYU was contractually obligated to play in Shreveport if it did not reach an NY6, an agreement reached on Jan. 30, 2020, the same day BYU and ESPN announced they were extending their broadcast rights agreement through 2026 barring a move by BYU to a conference with a different televisions partner.

BYU Cougars

BYU went 6-1 against Power Five opponents during the regular season. The Cougars, however, were positioned in the Group of Five postseason folders.
BYU takes a 10-2 record into Shreveport, Louisiana, having been idle since defeating USC 35-31 in Los Angeles in their regular-season finale.
BYU is No. 30 in the Sagarin ratings and No. 39 in ESPN’s College Football Power Index.

UAB Blazers

UAB is playing in its fifth bowl in school history and fourth in the past five years.
While the BYU faithful were not thrilled about positioning the Group of Five bowl container in Birmingham, Alabama, there was an entirely different reaction. The Blazers are viewing the matchup as a win-win for their program, not just the football program, as a whole.
The Blazers were 0-2 in the 2021 regular season against ranked opponents.
UAB lost to SEC Georgia by a 56-7 final score and fell to the eventual league champion San Antonio by a 34-31 final.
UAB is No. 75 in Sagarin and No. 63 in the FPI.
UAB finished second in the C-USA’s West Division behind league champion UTSA.
The Blazers cemented an 8-4 mark during the regular season and won three of their last four games.
UAB’s football program was dropped after the 2014 season, then reinstated after a two-season hiatus in 2015 and 2016. UAB played in the Bahamas Bowl in 2017, Boca Raton Bowl in 2018, and the New Orleans Bowl in 2019.

Independence Bowl Prediction

BYU said all of the right things, the players and coaches, and have done all the right things in preparation and travel plans. This is a group of kids that will be motivated to take all of their frustrations out on the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers. It isn’t that the Cougars want to embarrass the Blazers, but I am confident nothing would please the university and even the coaching staff if they embarrassed the bowl.

BYU is the highest-ranked AP Top-25 to ever play in the Independence Bowl. The Cougars are ranked No. 12 in The Associated Press Top 25 and No. 14 in the coaches poll, the highest-ranked team to play in the game’s 45-year history.

BYU went 6-1 against Power Five opponents during the regular season. While a number of those Power Five programs were from the Pac-12 (the million-dollar question is are Pac 12 programs Power Five programs), this is a well-equipped group, a campus collection of college athletes that take pride in their work. Everything comes full circle on Saturday in this Independence Bowl, and the Cougars wire the Blazers by margin.

The pick to click in the Independence Bowl is a play on the BYU Cougars minus the points.

🎄Looking to take your betting to the next level in 2022? Check out our End-of-Year special: Buy a 90-Day All-Access pass from your favorite handicapper, and we’ll double it to 180 days at no additional cost. All plays. All games. All sports.
➡️https://t.co/bcT1PMtvnV pic.twitter.com/BeGrFOVH88

— WagerTalk (@WagerTalk) December 16, 2021

Independence Bowl Preview from The GoldSheet

Opportunities on the biggest stage haven’t gone well for Bill Clark’s program over the past few years in lopsided losses against Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Miami and Georgia, so there’s no question the Blazers will have plenty of motivation to bring their ‘A’ game over to Louisiana.

The Cougars have already notched their biggest win since the regular season ended by locking up head coach Kalani Sitake through 2027 after other schools expressed an interest in his services. QB Jaren Hall performed much better than expected in replacing Zach Wilson, who the Jets used the second pick in the NFL Draft to select, helping lead BYU to a 5-0 record against Pac-12 foes, which included finally defeating the Utes to end a lengthy, embarrassing drought in the rivalry. BYU’s MVP is RB Tyler Allgeier, a battering ram of a back who has inflicted more punishment than he’s received on the regular, a rarity at his position. Allgeier gained over 1,000 yards after contact this season and produced 20 touchdown runs, finishing tied for the national lead with Utah’s Tavion Thomas.

While there’s no question BYU feels slighted in being left out of a New Year’s Day bowl since it went 10-2, losing only to Boise State and Big 12 champion Baylor, we should still see an engaged group since there are a number of former backups getting a chance to play key roles on both sides of the ball. UAB has terrific athletes and could indeed pull off an upset if favored BYU isn’t ready to play, but Allgeier is likely the telling factor here. If he’s out there and will get his normal allotment of carries, expect to see BYU win and cover.

Independence Bowl Video Breakdown

The Cougars enjoyed a fantastic season with five wins over the Pac-12. So how motivated are the Cougars to be playing a Conference USA opponent in Shreeveport, Louisiana? WagerTalk college football handicappers Ralph Michaels, Drew Martin and Adam Trigger offer their Independence Bowl betting preview.

Independence Bowl Stats

College football handicappers Ralph Michaels and JM Sports have put together a 66-page Bowl Betting Guide featuring everything from first quarter scoring to yards per point to plays per minute. Don’t place a bet on the Independence Bowl before diving into this FREE download.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the college football bowl games, including this Independence Bowl showdown between BYU and UAB, from your desktop or phone.

**************************************************

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.