Air Force Falcons
Air Force Falcons Wednesday afternoon the Air Force Falcons and the Houston Cougars face-off for the second time this season in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, TX. Odds makers are calling the Cougars favorites in what amounts to almost a home game for Houston. NCAA betting odds have the Cougars at -3.5 with the total in the game sitting at 65.

At 7-5, Houston is in their fourth consecutive bowl game, but their 8-game, 28-year winless streak has put a damper on the party. The Cougars last bowl win was a 35-0 victory over Navy in the 1980 Garden State Bowl. Houston coach Kevin Sumlin has used the victory drought as motivation for his outgoing seniors.

"For us, none of our players were even born when UH had its last bowl win," he said. "Our legacy is important and our seniors still
have something to accomplish."

In these two teams' last meeting in September, Air Force played an impressive game through the nearly three quarters, building a 31-7 lead with 4:25 to play in the third. The Cougars late rally was not enough to combat the Falcons 380 yards on the ground.

Led by quarterback Shea Smith's 93 yards on the ground with three touchdowns along with five others who rushed for more than 50 yards, Air Force was able to hold on for a 31-28 victory over the Cougars.

The loss to Air Force was part of a 1-3 start by Houston. The Cougars turned around their season winning six of their last eight, including victories against the only two ranked teams on their schedule, Tulsa and East Carolina.

This is a different Cougars team from their last match-up. Take Houston and give the 3.5 points.