The Bowling Green Falcons (7-5) and Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-7) meet in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday at Ford Field in Detroit. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Bowling Green vs. Minnesota odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Falcons head to Detroit, a short 83-mile jaunt up Interstate 75 to Ford Field. It’s the 2nd straight trip to The D for the Quick Lane Bowl, as Bowling Green was tripped up 24-19 by New Mexico State in last year’s installment. This is the 4th trip to Detroit for a bowl game, as Bowling Green was on the short end of a 30-27 game against Pitt in 2013 in the Little Caesars Bowl, while topping Northwestern 28-24 in 2003 in the Motor City Bowl.
Bowling Green is a little short in the backfield, as RB Terion Stewart is still recovering from a broken leg, and RB Taron Keith entered the transfer portal. The team also lost CBs Jalen Huskey and Deshawn Jones Jr. to the portal, while S Trent Simms is questionable due to an undisclosed injury, leaving the secondary rather thin.
The Golden Gophers qualified for a bowl by NCAA rule due to having the best Academic Progress Rate (APR) score after not enough teams qualified for the available bowl slots.