Bowling Green vs. Minnesota prediction: Quick Lane Bowl odds, pick

Bowling Green and Minnesota meet in Detroit on Tuesday in the Quick Lane Bowl.

The Falcons started the season incredibly poorly but rebounded by winning five of their last six games to finish 7-5.

They will have most of their full roster and will be motivated to close out their season with a win over a Power Five team.

Minnesota snuck into a bowl game with just five wins and lost its final four games of the regular season.

The Golden Gophers have a lot of potential opt-outs and have already lost their defensive coordinator, so motivation might be in question.

(2 p.m. ET. ESPN)

Even though Minnesota is on its third-string quarterback and both offenses play at a snail’s pace, I’m not sure how either defense is going to consistently get stops.

Bowling Green, which lost two of its best defensive players and hasn’t shown an ability to stop the run, is going up against an offense that is likely going to run it the majority of the time.

The Falcons’ offense — especially QB Connor Bazelak, who played well down the stretch and was a big reason why Bowling Green won five of its last six games — has drastically improved.

Additionally, Minnesota struggles to defend its own territory, so Bowling Green should be able to put a lot of points on the board.

In 2021, Bowling Green went to Minneapolis as a 30.5-point underdog and won the game outright, so anyone left from that Gophers squad could be looking for a little revenge.

I have 47.2 points projected for this game, so I like the value on the over at 39.5 points.

THE PICK: Bowling Green-Minnesota Over 39.5 points (BetMGM)