Chick-fil-A Bowl
Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA
Kickoff: Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. ET
Line: TCU -3.5, Total: 56

After being left out of the first ever college football playoffs, No. 6 TCU looks to get a win against No. 9 Ole Miss in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on Wednesday.

The Rebels were amazing at the start of the season, as they reeled off seven straight wins (SU and ATS) while winning by an average of 24.9 PPG. They defeated the likes of Boise State, Alabama and Texas A&M in that timeframe, despite being underdogs to both the Crimson Tide and Aggies. Ole Miss was ranked at the top of the nation before losing three of its final five games (1-4 ATS), but capped the regular season with an impressive 31-17 win as a 2.5-point home underdog against Mississippi State. The Rebels have been dominant in recent bowl games, going 4-0 (both SU and ATS) since the 2008 campaign while prevailing by an average of 14.0 PPG and defeating some tough teams such as Texas, Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech. The Horned Frogs were right on the cusp of making the four-team playoff, but fell short due to a weak schedule where they were double-digit favorites in seven games. Their one loss came in a 61-58 barnburner against Baylor back on Oct. 11 when they were getting seven points. TCU was great for bettors all season, finishing 10-2 ATS while defeating its opposition by an average of 28.3 PPG. The Frogs scored more than 40 points eight times, and their defense was also adept at forcing turnovers with an average of three takeaways per game. TCU has been a favorite in each of its past four bowl attempts, but is just 2-2 SU (0-4 ATS) in that time while suffering tough losses to Michigan State and Boise State. Some trends to consider before placing a bet on this game include that the Rebels are 12-2 ATS (86%) on the road after two consecutive games with a turnover margin of -1 or worse since 1992, while the Horned Frogs are 22-11 (67%) after a bye week under Gary Patterson, who was just named the national coach of the year. Both teams will be thin offensively in this game, as Ole Miss has WRs Vince Sanders (knee) and Laquon Treadwell (ankle) out for the rest of the season, and OL Aaron Morris (knee) is doubtful to play. For TCU, HB B.J. Catalon (upper body) is doubtful for this game, while WR Kolby Listenbee (concussion) is questionable for Wednesday. Frogs DE Mike Tuaua (shoulder) is also doubtful to play in this bowl.

Can TCU cap off a magical season by beating an SEC school? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014-15 bowl season. StatFox Dave is heating up with a 62% ATS mark (8-5) in College Football Best Bets since Nov. 20, while StatFox Brian is 58% ATS (11-8) in Best Bets since Nov. 12. Brian is a profitable 54% ATS (13-11) in all bowl picks, and StatFox Forecaster is a strong 63% ATS (15-9) in all bowl picks.

Ole Miss kept defenses off balance by mixing it up between passing (275.6 YPG, 30th in FBS) and rushing (167.7 YPG, 59th in nation), which led to 30.4 PPG (58th in FBS). QB Bo Wallace (3,085 pass yards, 22 TD, 11 INT) looked horrible down the stretch, as he threw four interceptions and just two touchdowns in the final three games while failing to rush for positive yards in either of the final two contests. Overall, he threw for more than 300 yards in four contests as he completed 61% of his passes for 8.6 YPA. HB Jaylen Walton (583 rush yards, 5 TD) had double-digit carries just five times and finally broke the century mark in rushing yards when he rumbled for 148 yards and a touchdown in the win over Mississippi State to close out the regular season. HB Jordan Wilkins (358 rush yards, 1 TD) remains as the backup, but has been great when called upon, as he is averaging 7.5 YPC, but rushes the ball a mere four times per game. With the very likely chance that both WRs Vince Sanders (696 rec yards, 6 TD) and Laquon Treadwell (632 rec yards, 5 TD) will miss this game, it will be up to WRs Evan Engram (651 rec yards, 2 TD) and Cody Core (530 rec yards, 6 TD) to take over and get a bulk of the passing opportunities. On the defensive side of things, the Rebels were possibly the best in the nation in allowing the fewest points in FBS (13.8 PPG), as no team could seem to get it going against them through the air (187.6 YPG, 14th in FBS). Much of their success stemmed from the big-time play of DL Marquis Haynes (29 tackles, 7.5 sacks) and DB Senquez Golson (41 tackles, 9 INT, 1 TD) who can single-handedly change the outcome of a game.

TCU’s offense is second in the nation in points scored, as they put up an average of 46.8 PPG behind 332.8 passing YPG (7th in FBS) and 209.3 rushing YPG (35th in FBS). It all starts with QB Trevone Boykin (3,714 pass yards, 30 TD, 7 INT) who had six 300-yard passing performances and accounted for 39 of the team’s 64 offensive touchdowns (30 passing, 8 rushing, 1 receiving). His dual-threat capabilities improved this season as well, while he rushed for 642 yards on the ground (4.5 YPC) and had more than 40 yards nine times. HB Aaron Green (854 rush yards, 8 TD) gained more than 100 rushing yards four times in the past six games, as he averaged an amazing 7.7 YPC on the season. Green showed that he could add to the passing game as well when he grabbed six balls for 67 yards and a touchdown in the win over Iowa State to finish off the regular season. WR Josh Doctson (959 rec yards, 9 TD) was the go-to guy through the air as he totaled 266 yards and 2 TD in the final two games of the year, while WR Deante’ Gray (564 rec yards, 8 TD) gave Boykin another solid red-zone target. The Frogs defense was often overlooked with the offense playing at such a high level, but they did a great job of limiting opponents to just 20.3 PPG (18th in FBS) behind the strong play of LB Paul Dawson (128 tackles, 5 sacks, 4 INT, 1 TD) and DB Chris Hackett (73 tackles, 6 INT) who aided the team in allowing a meager 117.1 rushing YPG (13th in FBS).