Salute to Veterans Bowl: South Alabama vs. Western Michigan Prediction

South Alabama Jaguars (6-6 SU, 5-7 ATS) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (6-6 SU, 5-7 ATS)
IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl
Date/Time: Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 9PM EST
Where: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
TV: ESPN

The South Alabama Jaguars take on the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday, as the bowl-season kicks off in Montgomery with the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. On the surface, this might not stand out as one of the more thrilling bowl events of the season, with a .500 Sun Belt team in South Alabama taking on a .500 team from the MAC in Western Michigan. I’d still expect a good game from two teams that didn’t have it easy this season, overcoming a lot to get even to this spot. WMU started the season 1-3 with their only win over Bethune-Cookman, fighting back well in spots to become bowl-eligible. South Alabama, meanwhile, started at 2-4 before winning 4 of 6 to get to this bowl game. Western Michigan was able to end the season on a good note, beating Eastern Michigan, 26-18, on the 30th. South Alabama, however, faltered at season’s end, losing to Texas State, 45-38, on the 29th. Let’s break this one down!

Momentum Coming into This

It feels a bit strange to say with the Broncos coming off a win and the Jaguars coming off a loss, but South Alabama actually looked better to finish the season. It wasn’t good seeing their defense fail them in their last game, in addition to throwing a costly pick-six late. But coming up short to a dangerous Texas State team doesn’t undo how they won four of 5 heading into that game. Not to dismiss how Western Michigan revived their season, but after showing major signs of life by winning four in a row, they hit an untimely skid of three straight losses leading up to the nice bounce-back win against EMU two weeks ago.

Can Western Michigan’s Offense Deliver?

This Broncos’ offense has been all over the place this season. During their little surge in midseason, they were really coming through, putting up big point-totals and seeing QB Hayden Wolff putting up big numbers with a backfield exploding in production. The 26 points they put up against Eastern Michigan was a step in the right direction, and maybe some extra time off allowed them to rest some weary bodies and regroup mentally, but whatever we were seeing in October with this offense has fallen off a cliff. Wolff ended up throwing just two touchdowns in their last four games and their three-pack of good backs in Jaden Nixon, Jalen Buckley, and Zahir Abdus-Salaam has ebbed of late.

One might look at how South Alabama finished the season, allowing a robust 45 points to Texas State. They made things easy for Texas State with a slew of turnovers and other miscues that make that point total a bit misleading. And leading up to that, in their previous six games, they had only allowed more than 22 points just once. They can be pretty stout and make plays on defense, with safeties Jaden Voisin and Wesley Miller having combined for eight picks this season. Western Michigan is going to need to see a higher-end version of what they have surfaced in Mongomery this Saturday.

Can the Jaguars Pounce on the WMU Defense?

It’s important that the South Alabama offense was able to finish in good form, scoring 38 and 35 points in their final two games leading into this spot. An outstanding issue is the state of quarterback Gio Lopez, who suffered what appeared to be a foot injury in the loss last week to Texas State in what might have been his worst game of the season. A dual-threat player, he adds to a robust run-game that has big-time contributors like Fluff Bothwell and Kentrel Bullock. He also works well with one of the best receivers in the Sun Belt Ja,maal Pritchett, who has 91 catches. They have a lot of different ways that they can get you and for the purposes of this game and matchup, having shown a higher-end version of what they can produce more recently counts for a lot perhaps.

Western Michigan’s defense ended the season in fine enough form, allowing just 18 points to Eastern Michigan after allowing just 14 the prior week to Central Michigan. And they are allowed to improve, as it is a good sign they’re holding up this well after taking some knocks throughout the season. It’s still hard to not notice what happened this season when the Broncos faced off against the better offenses in their conference, allowing 31 to Bowling Green, 42 to NIU, 41 to Buffalo, and 42 to Ball State. It’s not entirely clear how this equation sweetens much as they’re about to take on South Alabama’s offense.

Lay the Points

While not a home-game for the Mobile-based Jaguars, with Birmingham a few hundred miles away, they are still in-state. Western Michigan, meanwhile, doesn’t make it down to this part of the country very often. A positive stance on South Alabama should probably be accompanied with some promising news on the Gio Lopez front. But assuming he’s able to go with a little extra time off, I see South Alabama making enough plays on both sides of the ball to fend off the Broncos and emerge with the win and cover in this one. I’m taking South Alabama.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread:

I’m betting on the South Alabama Jaguars minus 7 points.

BAS Sportsbook -105 Odds!

BetAnySports is the perfect 5Dimes replacement, offering reduced juice with -105 odds on most markets. If you’re looking to get more value from your bets, this is the sportsbook for you. With the same great features you loved about 5Dimes, BetAnySports provides competitive lines, smooth navigation, and a wide range of betting options. Ready to step up your game? Join now and enjoy -105 odds… Read More