The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Mississippi State Bulldogs will square off on December 30th at the Music City Bowl, and we are set to make our college football bowl games predictions for the duel in Nashville.

Music City Bowl: Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Music City Bowl Location: LP Field, Nashville, TN
Music City Bowl Date/Time: Friday, December 30th, 6:40 p.m. (ET)
Music City Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com

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Key #1: Wake Forest has to find some way to get past this stout MSU defense
The Demon Deacons aren’t the stoutest offensive team in the country this year, as they average just 374.5 yards per game and 26.8 points per game. They only had one game with more than 35 points scored this year, and that game against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs from the FCS. Against bowl eligible teams, this offense was even worse for the most part, save for the big time game against the Florida State Seminoles. Remember that Mississippi State played in the big time SEC West, where there were games against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Auburn Tigers. Yikes. It’s amazing to think that the Dogs are only allowing 19.9 points per game this year, and unless all of a sudden, the Demon Deacons find some tremendous offense with someone that we aren’t expecting, this should surprisingly be a bit of an easier task for a tremendous Mississippi State defense.

Music City Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Wake Forest Demon Deacons +6.5
Mississippi State Bulldogs -6.5
Over/Under 48
Click Here to Bet The Music City Bowl Picks!

Key #2: Vick Ballard and LaDarius Perkins need to find some holes in the Wake Forest defense
Ballard and Perkins combined to run the ball 260 times this year, which, unlike a season ago, made this offense a lot more of a 50/50 run/pass team as opposed to a team that predominantly ran the football and threw it sometimes. The passing game still isn’t really all that great in terms of getting the ball down the field, as the team is only averaging less than seven yards per pass attempt on the campaign. Ballard came up just short of 1,000 yards on the ground last year, and he did so on more carries than he has had this season. Ballard is going to finish up his career in this one, and Wake Forest is going to have a hard time stopping him when he can take it between the tackles, especially knowing that this defense is conceding 162.9 yards per game on the ground, No. 69 in the nation.

Key #3: Chris Givens needs to make the big time play
In certain games this year, the Bulldogs were able to really do a consistent job of stopping most drives, but they were often prone to those one or two plays that really broke their backs. Givens has been doing that exact same thing to opposing defenses all season long. Though he only caught 11 more passes than his fellow WR Michael Campanaro, Givens averaged over 17 yards per reception, one of the best marks in the entire country. His 1,276 receiving yards were tops on the team, and he had nine TDs. He also had 71 yards on the ground and was often used in a number of different lights. He can break this game wide open for the Demon Deacons, and if he doesn’t do so, Wake Forest is going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble.

Click Here to get the best college football picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our Music City Bowl picks and the NCAA football picks for the rest of the bowl game odds.

The 2010 college football betting season is almost here! In order to prepare you for the start of the season, we are analyzing the college football odds to win the ACC at Bankroll Sports, courtesy of BetUS Sportsbook.

There are several teams in this conference capable of taking home a championship, but Florida State Seminoles (+300 at BetUS) is the best choice. The offense returns ten starters, including junior quarterback Christian Ponder. He will have plenty of talented options to throw to, as three top junior receivers in Bert Reed, Jamar Fortson, and Taiwan Easterling will take the field. The Seminoles also have plenty of playmakers at tailback, with Jermaine Thomas and Ty Jones being the primary workhorses. New defensive coordinator Mark Stoops will provide a spark for a unit in need. Expect a big showing from cornerback Ochuko Jenije and a much improved run defense, with three returning linemen and two returning linebackers. The conference schedule shapes up nicely, with Boston College and Clemson coming to Tallahassee. The only road challenge will be in Miami.

Also strong contenders for the ACC crown are the Virginia Tech Hokies (+300 at BetUS.com). The offense features eight returning starters, including 2009 ACC Rookie of the Year Award winning RB Ryan Williams. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor will have a core of three junior WRs at his disposal, with Jerrett Boykin, Danny Coale, and Dyrell Roberts. On defense, the team only has five returning starters, but has plenty of talent to build around. The team returns its starting linebackers and senior cornerback Rashad Carmichael will again provide a big impact in the interceptions department. Of course, no analysis of Virginia Tech is complete without mentioning Beamer Ball. Expect plenty of blocked kicks, while Dyrell Roberts will provide numerous yards on kick returns. The Hokies open their season against Boise State and have a history of losing their first game of the season. However, after that, they have an easy run until November when they face Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Miami.

Not far behind these two giants are the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (+1000 at BetUS). Of the seven returning starters on offense, the most important is quarterback Josh Nesbitt. He was one of the team’s two 1,000 yard rushers from a year ago. The defense may be a slight problem, with limited depth on the line. However, a deep core of linebackers and a switch to the 3-4 system greatly helps the situation. The schedule is not going to be easy, with road games at Clemson and Virginia Tech, followed by Miami coming to town. However, if Nesbitt can keep up his dual threat capability and the defense can gel in its new scheme, Georgia Tech could surprise.

As always, there are those conference teams who won’t be so lucky. For the ACC, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (+3000 at BetUS Sportsbook) fit the bill. The Demon Deacons need to find a new quarterback and have implemented a new, option-based offensive system. The line is inexperienced at best. If the team has to rely on the ground game, the damage could get worse, as neither of last year’s top running backs in Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass averaged more than 4.8 yards per carry. The defense has a few strengths, but is not deep. Two starting linebackers in Hunter Haynes and Matt Woodlief will be relied on heavily with the loss of tackles Boo Robinson and John Russell up front. The strong secondary will be offset by a weaker run defense, along with the added pressure that comes with a new offense trying to gel. All this plus a tough schedule with road games at Virginia Tech and Florida State makes for a two win ACC campaign at best.

ACC Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook(as of 7/20/10):
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Miami +250
Florida State +300
Virginia Tech +300
North Carolina +500
Boston College +800
Georgia Tech +1000
Clemson +1200
North Carolina State +2500
Wake Forest +3000
Virginia +5000
Maryland +6000
Duke +7500