The 2013 Armed Forces Bowl will pit Conference USA's Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders against the independent Navy Midshipmen. The two 8-4 squads are scheduled to kick off at 11:45am ET on Monday, December 30th at the Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas; the game will be broadcast live on ESPN. The latest 2013 Armed Forces Bowl Odds have the Midshipmen listed as a -6.5 against the spread favorite and the Over/Under set at 56.5 points.

Middle Tennessee finished a solid 8-4 last season; however, despite its bowl qualifying record, it was not selected to participate in any postseason contests. The Blue Raiders returned 16 starters from that team, but most felt they would struggle with the move from the Sun Belt to the higher profile Conference USA.

Middle Tennessee certainly looked out of sorts just past the midway point as three straight losses to BYU, East Carolina, and North Texas dropped its record to 3-4 overall. The Raiders collected themselves for the stretch run, though, and they ride a five game winning streak into Monday's meeting with Navy.

Middle Tennessee's resume is not littered with high quality wins, but it did knock off CUSA East winner Marshall 51-49 and it outscored its last three opponents 138-38.

Navy, a loser in four of its last five bowl appearances, also enters the Armed Forces Bowl on a hot streak as it closed out the season with wins over Hawaii, South Alabama, San Jose State, and Army.

The Middies four losses this season came against some pretty stiff competition. Western Kentucky upended Navy 19-7 after start quarterback Keenan Reynolds exited early with an injury; the team's other three losses came against Duke, Toledo, and Notre Dame and they all took place on the road.

Both of these teams feature solid rushing attacks with Navy ranking second in the nation in rushing yards per game (322) while Middle Tennessee's 207.08 average is good for 25th. They are not much good at stopping the run, though, ranking 84th and 85th in run defense.

Notable Trends: Middle Tennessee is 1-9 straight up and 2-8 against the spread in its last 10 games as an underdog with a spread between 4 and 7.5 points.

2013 Armed Forces Bowl Odds:

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders +6.5 (-110), Over 56.5 (-110), +215 (Moneyline)

Navy Midshipmen -6.5 (-110), Under 56.5 (-110), -255 (Moneyline)

Handicapping Tips: Live Wagering
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