Pinstripe Bowl Predictions: Boston College vs. Nebraska Pick ATS

Boston College Eagles vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 12/28/24
When: noon ET Saturday, Dec. 28
Where: Yankee Stadium, New York
TV: ABC

Point spread: BC +3.5/Neb -3.5
Money line: BC +145/Neb -170
Over/under: 45.5

In one of three match-ups this bowl season that pits the ACC against the Big 10, Boston College battles Nebraska in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

With a bowl victory, the Eagles will record their most wins in a season since 2009. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers already won more games this season than they did in their previous seven.

The Big 10 owns a seven-game winning streak on the ACC in this Pinstripe series. Can Nebraska make it eight straight? Or will BC hoist the ACC flag?

Bowl Season Betting Odds

The CFB bowl season betting market opened Nebraska at -4 over Boston College, with an over/under of right around 45.5. Early betting action shaved that spread to -3.5.

According to Sagarin’s ratings (Sagarin.com) the line on this game should be -3.5 points. How ‘bout that?

Pinstripe Bowl Betting Preview

 
Boston College reached bowl eligibility this season, its first under Coach O’Brien, by going 7-5 overall and 4-4 in ACC play. The Eagles started 4-1 this season, the only loss coming in a tough decision at a pretty decent Missouri team. BC then struggled through a 1-4 stretch, which included a blown game against Louisville and a tough loss at SMU. But the Eagles then beat North Carolina for their sixth win, then finished with a 34-23 victory over Pittsburgh back on Nov. 30.
 
So Boston College is back in a bowl for the second straight season; last year, they beat SMU in the Fenway Bowl.
 
BC, favored at -3.5 in that season finale against Pitt, only led 20-17 late into the third quarter but pulled away from there. The Eagles out-rushed the Panthers 128-23.
 
Boston College actually only out-gained two of its last seven opponents but out-rushed each of its last five foes. The Eagles also own a +7 turnover margin over their last five games.
 
BC, with 17 returning starters from a team that played 7-6 last year, was expected to finish somewhere in the middle of the expanded ACC this year. And that’s exactly what they did.
 
Meanwhile, Nebraska reached bowl eligibility this season by going 6-6 overall, which is the best thing the Cornhuskers have done in almost a decade. But they also played just 3-6 in Big 10 action. Nebraska started 5-1, with a good win over Colorado and an overtime loss to Illinois. The ‘Huskers then lost four straight, including a bad one to Indiana and tough decisions against Ohio State, UCLA, and USC. But Nebraska then beat up Wisconsin for win No. 6, then finished the regular season by giving a game away to Iowa 13-10 back on Nov. 29.
 
So the Cornhuskers are playing in a bowl for the first time since they lost the Music City Bowl to Tennessee back in 2016, which is hard to believe.
 
Nebraska led that season finale with the Hawkeyes 10-0 well into the third quarter. But a fumbled punt sparked a 13-0 Iowa run that ended with a 53-yard field goal at the buzzer.
 
Just another tough, close loss for the Cornhuskers.
 
The ‘Huskers dominated the stat sheet that day against the Hawkeyes; they just blew the game.
 
Nebraska, with 17 returning starters from a team that played 5-7 last year, was expected to finish in the upper division of the Big 10 this year. But five one-score defeats put the kibosh on that.
 
This will be the first-ever meeting between these two programs.
 
On the personnel front, Nebraska suffered a slew of opt-outs for this bowl and will be without at least three starters.

By the Numbers

 
Boston College averaged 367 YPG on offense this season, 176 rushing. Defensively the Eagles allowed 361 YPG, 114 rushing. This while playing what Sagarin ranked as the 60th-toughest schedule in the country.
 
Nebraska averaged 360 YPG on offense, 132 on the ground, and held opponents to 315 YPG, 106 on the ground. This while playing Sagarin’s No. 40 schedule.
 

College Football Betting Trends

 
Boston College is 3-1 both SU and ATS this season in games Grayson James took most of the snaps at QB, averaging 34 PPG.
 
Boston College played 4-4 SU, 6-2 ATS this season against teams that made bowls.
 
Nebraska played 2-5 SU, 2-3-2 ATS against teams that made bowls.
 

Totals Report

 

• The overs are 7-5 in Eagles games this season, which are averaging 53 total points.
•  The unders are 4-8 in ‘Huskers games, which are averaging 44 points.

 

Free Pinstripe Bowl Betting Pick

 
Boston College is averaging 34 PPG since making a change at QB. Also, we expect the Eagles to win the ground battle in this game. Also, BC owns the better performance against bowl teams. Meanwhile, Nebraska just has a knack for playing close games. This one should play close, too. We’ll take Eagles, plus the points.