Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State 2023 Cure Bowl Odds, Preview & Pick

By Hank Blaine • December 12, 2023

Saturday’s Cure Bowl from Orlando features a pair of teams that reached their conference title game as Mid-American Conference champion Miami (Ohio) faces Sun Belt runner-up Appalachian State, which is a solid favorite on the NCAAF odds.

Miami (OH) Redhawks vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers 2023 Cure Bowl Game Information

The matchup is set! The Mountaineers of @appstate_fb will take on the RedHawks of @miamiohfootball in a showdown here in Orlando on December 16th. Get your tickets now at https://t.co/qB2d6svgTs. #orlandovscancer pic.twitter.com/b9VnCgaa4w
— Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl (@CureBowl) December 3, 2023

When: Saturday, December 16th, 2023, 3:30 PM ET
Where: FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL
TV: ABC
Radio: W253-AJFM 101.5 (Miami-OH) // WKBC 97.3 FM (Appalachian State)
Live Stream: CBS Sports
College Football Odds: Miami (OH) (+6) // Appalachian State (-6)

Why Bet on the Miami (OH) Redhawks?

Miami of Ohio (11-2) upset Toledo 23-14 in the MAC title game on Dec. 2. Rashad Amos ran for two touchdowns and QB Aveon Smith added 208 all-purpose yards for Miami. Austin Ertl blocked a pair of kicks and Graham Nicholson converted three field goals for the RedHawks, who won their 17th MAC title and first since 2019. Miami defeated a team ranked in the Associated Press poll for the first time since beating No. 23 Ohio in 2012.

Smith was named the Offensive Player of the Game, finishing with 109 passing yards and 99 rushing yards (after a kneel-down on the final play). Matt Salopek led Miami with nine tackles and earned Defensive Player of the Game honors. Nicholson, who was tabbed Special Teams Player of the Game, is now 26-of-27 on field goals this season. He moved past Trevor Cook for second place in career field goals at Miami (59) and tied Sam Sloman’s record for most made field goals in one year (26).

In 540 minutes versus MAC teams (9 games), the RedHawks have only trailed for 90:37 this year. Miami never trailed against BGSU, Western Michigan, Akron or Buffalo and combined to trail for just 7:37 in the wins over Kent State and Ball State. In Miami’s eight wins versus the MAC, seven were by multiple scores.

Nicholson won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker, won MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and was named first-team All-American. Nicholson finished the season 26-for-27 on field goals and missed one extra point all season long. With a 23-for-23 regular season, Nicholson set a new FBS record for the most field goals in a perfect regular season, topping 2012 Lou Groza Award winner Cairo Santos’ mark of 21. With a pair of field goals to start the MAC Championship Game, Nicholson made 25 consecutive field goals, matching the all-time FBS record for the longest streak in one season. Overall, his 26 field goals tied for the second-most in FBS while his 96.3% accuracy was the highest by any kicker with even 15 attempts on the year.

Salopek was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Salopek, who ranks 11th nationally with 125 tackles, is the first RedHawk to be named MAC Defensive Player of the Year since Quinten Rollins in 2014. He had a career-high 18 tackles in the win over Cincinnati and has recorded double-digit tackles seven different times in 2023. He added 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and an interception for a defense that allowed just 86 points in eight conference games in 2023.

Miami’s defense was downright frightening in conference play. This season, Miami ranked first in scoring (10.8), total defense (272.5) and sacks (27). Miami was second in rush defense (114.4) and pass defense (158.1). The RedHawks shutout two MAC opponents this year (BGSU and Akron) and allowed just three points in a win over Kent State. Miami allowed just nine touchdowns in eight MAC games.

The QB Smith, though, has announced his intention to transfer from Miami and he will not play in the bowl. With Brett Gabbert out for the year, Henry Hesson should start. He has appeared in three career games, completing two passes for 17 yards. Maddox Kopp also could see time. Kopp began his career at Houston, transferred to Colorado and joined Miami this past spring. Kopp started one game for Colorado back in 2022, throwing for 123 yards and one touchdown.

Why Bet on the Boise State Broncos?

App State (8-5) lost to Troy 49-23 in the Sun Belt title game. The Mountaineers overcame a 14-0 deficit to tie the score early in the third quarter and had possession near midfield while trailing 21-17 entering the fourth. Two touchdowns six seconds apart from Troy (11-2), with a defensive fumble return off a sack immediately following a run-heavy touchdown drive from the Trojans’ offense, produced an 18-point margin. Kanye Roberts rushed for two touchdowns, and Joey Aguilar completed 28 of his 39 passes for 275 yards while increasing his season total to a school-record 3,546 passing yards for App State. Aguilar already owns the school record for passing touchdowns in a season with 33.

The Mountaineers were -1 in the turnover battle with one takeaway and two turnovers committed. Under head coach Shawn Clark, the Mountaineers are now 18-1 when winning the turnover battle, 6-12 when losing, and 10-4 when they have the same number of turnovers as the opponent. It was the team’s first loss of the season that wasn’t decided by one possession and in the final seconds of the game.

App State was making its fourth Sun Belt Championship appearance in the sixth year of the game, including the second time in the last three seasons for Clark. The only other FBS programs in the country with four conference championship game appearances in the last six seasons are Alabama, Boise State, Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and Utah.

After making its FBS debut in 2014, App State set a record by earning a bowl berth in each of its first seven postseason-eligible seasons. The Mountaineers also made history by winning their first six bowl games, with victories in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. App State is 6-1 in bowl games all-time. It has never faced Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks are 8-6 all-time in bowl games.

Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State Betting Trends

Miami (OH) is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games.
Redhawks are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games.
The total went under in 4 of Appalachian State’s last 6 games played on a Saturday when on the road.
Appalachian State is 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games.
Mountaineers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games.
The total went under in 5 of Miami-OH’s last 6 games.

Miami (OH) vs. Appalachian State 2023 Cure Bowl Expert Betting Predictions

App State 23, Miami (OH) 17.

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