Tennessee football: Vols, SEC, CFP, and all other 2019-2020 bowl predictions
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (ESPN)
Buffalo Bulls vs. Charlotte 49ers
Line: Buffalo -6.5; Over/Under: 51.5
Friday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. ET; Thomas Robinson Stadium; Nassau, Bahamas
The first bowl game of the year is being played in The Bahamas, a nice warm climate for these two Group of Five schools while everybody else suffers through the cold. But it could be an interesting matchup to start the postseason.
Tennessee football scored an ugly win over the Charlotte 49ers back in 2018, and after replacing Brad Lambert with Will Healy, they have improved from 5-7 to 7-5. Like the Vols, Charlotte closed the year on a five-game winning streak after starting 2-5, so they are red-hot right now, and that could work in their favor.
Buffalo, meanwhile, has an elite coach in Lance Leipold, but they lost every big MAC game this year en route to their 7-5 record. This is clearly not the same team from a year ago. Still, a bowl win could signify something special and a return to the MAC elite next year.
Prediction
Buffalo has better wins than Charlotte overall, and neither team has bad losses. But both teams are excited about playing in this bowl, and Buffalo is a better program right now. So they’ll pull out the win, covering in the process. There will be enough scoring for this game to hit the over, as the Bulls hit over 40 points in four of their last five games. Their offense has come alive.