Military Bowl point spread: Picking Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Tulane Green Wave

With the Christmas holiday in the books, Bowl Season is about to pick up. The Military Bowl kicks off a loaded slate of Wednesday games when Virginia Tech takes on Tulane, and On3’s Andy Staples has made his pick.

How to watch Virginia Tech vs. Tulane

Time: Dec. 27, 2 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Annapolis, Md.

Virginia Tech is a 10.5-point favorite over Tulane in the Military Bowl, according to FanDuel. The Hokies put together a solid bounce-back season under Brent Pry after struggling mightily in his first season, bringing a 6-6 record into the bowl game.

As for the Green Wave, they’ve undergone some major changes. Willie Fritz is now the head coach at Houston, and quarterback Michael Pratt opted out. Instead, Kyron Drones will be Tulane’s starting quarterback. In addition, leading receiver Chris Brazell is also off to Tennessee via the transfer portal, and Jha’Quan Jackson declared for the NFL Draft. That’s a lot of production to replace.

Still, 10.5 points is a lot. That’s why Staples is still taking Tulane to cover.

“The beginning of the season, I thought Brent Pry was in big trouble,” Staples said on Andy Staples On3. “But they did turn it around, and I think that’s a good sign for Virginia Tech, and it seems like they’re in a much better place right now. Tulane, it’s hard to say because look, Tulane’s still got very good players. Willie Fritz did a great job a Tulane. So because Michael Pratt’s out and some of our best receivers are not there, it’s not an automatic the Tulane’s gonna lose this game. And losing by 10.5 is tough.

“But again, especially when a coach leaves, it’s very hard to figure out motivation. This game is in Annapolis, Maryland. It’s a place that you are going to have fun going to. It’s pretty cool, you get to see the Naval Academy. I don’t know where to go with this one — 10.5 is such a huge number. I’m going to take Tulane to cover.”

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Tulane put together an impressive regular season with an 11-1 record, but fell to SMU in the American Athletic Conference title game. That not only dropped the Green Wave to 11-2, but out of contention for a New Year’s Six bowl game as the highest-ranked Group of 5 team.