Louisville Cardinals (7-5, 5-2 BIG East) vs. North Carolina State (7-5, 4-4 ACC)

Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC

For the second time in nine years, and first since 2005, the N.C. State Wolfpack will make a post season appearance this Tuesday night to face the Louisville Cardinals in the 2011 Belk Bowl at the Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

NC State (representing the Atlantic Coast Conference) closed the season with a 7-5 overall record (4-4 in the ACC, fourth in the Atlantic Division). In their last regular season game, NC State overcame a 27-point deficit against Maryland to score 42 unanswered points in the second half and secure the victory and the ticket to the Belk Bowl.

But while the NC State Wolfpack will have the benefit of playing in front of a partisan crowd, the Louisville Cardinals will go into the game having closed the season with a 5-1 mark.  Louisville (Co-Champions of the Big East Conference) finished the regular season with a 7-5 record (5-2 in the Big East, tied for first place). They won five of their last six games, including victories over West Virginia and Rutgers.

The Cardinals found their path to victory thanks to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the Big East’s rookie of the year. Bridgewater went 5-4 as a starter and is Louisville’s first true freshman quarterback in over three decades.

Let’s take a look at the current betting odds:

Louisville Cardinals:+1.5-110

North Carolina St Wolfpack: -1.5-110

Over/under: 44-110

(Odds as of 9:00 am eastern 12/27/2011)

The College Football odds above are at Wagerweb.com, a leading offshore sportsbook and highly recommended sponsor at Inspin.com. The betting odds do change so please check the website for updates. For more information, please click here.

Odds Analysis:

The betting odds on this game have been up and down.  The Wolfpack opened as a -1.5 point favorite on December 5^th and the wiseguys immediately drove the game up to -3. However, opposing sharp money started to bang away at the dog over the past week and the game dropped as low as a pick. Yesterday the money on NC State money again took the line to -1.5 and has settled in for the time being. The betting public consensus is a little heavy on the Cardinals at 57% so the game could go back to a pick before kick-off.

The total on the game opened at 45-110 and has dropped a full-point to 44-110 with some sharp money in the UNDER. The public consensus on this game is an overwhelming 92% on the OVER. Expect this total to rise before kick-off as bookmakers scramble to write back some under money. The 44-count is a key number on football totals although not as strong in college as it is in the NFL. Bettors who decide to go over will want to take advantage of the 44 before it climbs higher.

Winning Betting Trends:

North Carolina State Trends

Wolfpack are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 bowl games. 100.00 %
Wolfpack are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games in December. 100.00 %
Wolfpack are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games. 100.00 %
Wolfpack are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog of 0.5-3.0. 100.00 %
Wolfpack are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 Bowl games.100.00 %
Wolfpack are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game. 80.00 %
Wolfpack are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0. 80.00 %

Louisville Trends

Cardinals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game. 100.00 %
Cardinals are 6-0 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.  100.00 %
Cardinals are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog.  100.00 %
Cardinals are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 10.5 or greater.  100.00 %
Cardinals are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass.  100.00 %
Cardinals are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 vs. ACC.     90.91 %
Cardinals are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.  87.50 %