2019 Frisco Bowl Betting Picks, Odds & Predictions: How to Play Kent St. vs. Utah St. With Jordan Love Playing

2019 Frisco Bowl Odds & Betting Pick: Kent State vs. Utah State

• Spread: Utah State -6.5
• Over/Under: 67.5
• Date: Dec. 20
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2
• Location: Frisco, Texas

The Frisco Bowl doesn't usually make headlines, but it did this year in the days leading up to kickoff.

Utah State quarterback Jordan Love and two other players were cited for marijuana possession earlier this week, but will play on Friday despite some speculation and line movement against the Aggies.

Love's had a rough year, but is a legitimate NFL prospect who already declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Kent State is looking to win its first bowl game in program history behind an offense that really came on late in the season.

Who has the edge in this matchup? Let's break down the 2019 Frisco Bowl.

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Utah State vs. Kent State Line Movement

After opening as high as -9.5, Utah State has come all the way down through the key touchdown number thanks to a mixture of betting activity and player uncertainty. Fifty-five percent of bets generating 77% of money have landed on Kent, which brought this line down to a flat +6, though more recent moves have reversed direction toward the Aggies.

The total has attracted 61% of bets and 72% of money to the over, which has convinced oddsmakers to up their line from a low-water mark of 64 up to 67.5. — Danny Donahue

Collin Wilson: How Many Points Is Jordan Love Worth?

Originally, the biggest news ahead of the Frisco Bowl was that Utah State quarterback Jordan Love was going to play even though he declared for the NFL Draft. Love had a down season in 2019, but is still projected by some as a first-round pick.

Now, the biggest news is that Love and leading rusher Gerold Bright were arrested for possession of marijuana and was in danger of missing the Frisco Bowl.

However, coach Gary Anderson confirmed that Love will play on Friday.

When word got out about the charges against Love, Kent State took some money to go under the key number of +7, but the over/under has actually ticked up to 67.5.

Even with confirmation of Love's status, we still haven't seen Utah State money push the Aggies back over a touchdown.

Both of these teams rank inside the top-10 in pace and, even without Love, there should be some points in this game as neither defense boasts an impressive statistical profile. Utah State particularly struggles against the run, ranking 110th in line yards and 109th in stuff rate.

With Love under center, our projected spread for this game was Utah State -5.5, so there was already value on the Golden Flashes even if the Aggies had their No. 1 quarterback.

The Bet: Kent State +6.5

Collin Wilson is 506-429-27 (54.1%) overall betting on college football. You can follow him in our free app.

Stuckey: Kent State Is A Live Dog

I can't think of a team that will have more motivation than Kent State. Head coach Sean Lewis is slowly turning this program around. The Golden Flashes have never won a bowl game and this is their first postseason appearance since losing to Arkansas State in 2012.

That was one of only three all-time previous bowl appearances with the other two coming in 1954 and 1972 against Delaware (now FCS) and Tampa (which doesn't even have a football program now) in the Refrigerator Bowl (my favorite bowl name ever) and Tangerine Bowl.

On the other hand, Utah State is no stranger to bowl games. The Aggies have played in seven bowls over the past nine years, winning four of the seven. It's certainly reasonable to wonder how motivated they may be against a .500 MAC team.

The Kent State defense is nothing to write home about and may arguably be the worst among all bowl teams, but that isn't the strength of the Lewis' team.

The offense really started to come on toward the end of the season and the Golden Flashes also boast an extremely solid special teams unit (top 15, per S&P). That's a rare feat for a MAC school.

Even with Love playing for Utah State, I still make this under a touchdown, which means I still  like the underdog at the current price.

Stuckey's Pick: Kent State +6.5

Stuckey is 528-487-30 (52%) overall betting on college football. You can follow him in our free app.