Music City Bowl 2015: Texas A&M vs. Louisville TV Schedule, Time and Odds

It's a tale of programs on quite different trajectories Wednesday when the Texas A&M Aggies get together with the Louisville Cardinals in the 2015 Music City Bowl.

Kevin Sumlin's Aggies sit in a serious free fall despite eight wins thanks to the departures of quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray, who both decided to transfer and leave things in the hands of inexperienced quarterback Jake Hubenak.

Louisville had a much easier go of things to close the season, rattling off five wins in six games behind an elite run defense and the efforts of dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Redemption awaits Texas A&M or Louisville can grab another rung on the ladder Wednesday in what figures to be a low-scoring affair. Here's everything to know about the interesting pairing.

Game Details

When: Wednesday, December 30, at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

Television: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 47.5

Spread: Louisville (-4.5)

Team Injury Reports

NAME	POS	STATUS
Speedy Noil	WR	Out Wed
Otaro Alaka	LB	Out for season

NAME	POS	STATUS
Brandon Radcliff	RB	Prob Wed
Jamari Staples	WR	Ques Wed
Keith Kelsey	LB	Prob Wed
James Hearns	LB	Ques Wed
Trevon Young	LB	Ques Wed

Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.

Starting Over

Hubenak, an NJCAA transfer who tossed 47 touchdowns at that level last year, is the last man standing with a scholarship at the position.

In limited action this year, Hubenak has gone 12-of-27 with 92 yards and a score. He will look to lean on leading receiver Christian Kirk, who has 70 catches for 925 yards and six scores.

The burden of production, though, mostly falls on running back Tra Carson, who averages 4.8 yards per carry with 1,059 and six touchdowns. The problem, though, is the fact Louisville held five opponents to 20 points or fewer and ranks 14th in run defense while allowing an average of just 118.8 yards per game on the ground.

The matchup might place more pressure than the Aggies would prefer on their new starting quarterback, but center Mike Matthews is one of many who have made it clear they don't lack for confidence in Hubenak, according to Mike Organ of the Tennessean.

"It will be an adjustment as it is when any new quarterback takes over an offense, but Jake is [a] great quarterback," Matthews said. "From Week 1, when he was the third-string quarterback, he was always slinging the ball. He's got a great arm and I've said it all along, 'That guy's talented.'"

It's not an ideal situation to trot out a third-string quarterback for his debut against a game opponent in a bowl game. At the same time, though, a strong showing could pay off in a huge way as the Aggies look toward the future. 

One More Time

For Louisville, this is all about ending on a high note.

Grand expectations chased the Cardinals into the season, only for them to drop each of their first three games. The loss to Auburn looks terrible in hindsight, but Houston went on to win 12 games and Clemson's the top team in the land, which makes the 20-17 loss look pretty good.

Even better is how the Cardinals have played as of late, especially in a 38-24 beating of Kentucky to close the season. There, Jackson threw for 130 yards and a score and added another 186 yards and two scores on the ground as a rusher.

Led by Jackson, the ground game remains the focal point for the Cardinals:

NAME	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Lamar Jackson	141	734	5.2	9
Brandon Radcliff	128	587	4.6	7
Jeremy Smith	60	270	4.5	3

Louisville almost has to lean on the run this year to stay out of its own way considering the offense has turned the ball over a whopping 27 times.

So while going against a third-string quarterback seems easy enough, giving him chance after chance to get into a rhythm and put points on the board is a pretty good way to end the season on a sour note.

For Louisville, leaning on the ground game and a strong defense against a vulnerable opponent offers the way to victory.

Prediction

Garry Jones/Associated Press

It's hard to get behind Texas A&M and Hubenak right now. 

Could it end up being one of bowl season's better stories and a serious spark for the program looking to put a nightmare season behind it? Maybe, but Louisville's defense doesn't figure to suffer a letdown. 

Louisville can sit on the clock in this one after jumping out to a lead. So long as Jackson and Co. take care of the football, this one belongs to the Cardinals—and even when they don't they still win, hence winning five of their last six while coughing up 17 turnovers.

Jackson's going to get the Cardinals out to a lead and shut the pace down with the run, ruining whatever Sumlin might have planned to protect his quarterback.

Prediction: Louisville 28, Texas A&M 23

Statistics courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.