CFB: 2021 Quick Lane Bowl preview

Western Michigan (7-5) meets Nevada (8-4) in the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl on Monday morning at Ford Field in Detroit. The Broncos are trying to cap off an impressive season which included wins over ACC champion Pittsburgh and MAC champion Northern Illinois. Nevada has the 4th ranked offense in the country and won their most games since 2010. Western Michigan is led by sophomore duo Kaleb Eleby and Skyy Moore, while the Wolf Pack lean on senior receiver Romeo Doubs. The Broncos are 6.5-point favorites with the over/under at 56 prior to kick off of the 7th annual Quick Lane Bowl.

Head coach Tim Lester is in his fifth season at Western Michigan and is appearing in a bowl game for the third time. Sean Tyler and La'Darius Jefferson are explosive running backs for the Broncos, who rank 18th in the nation with 480.1 yards per game. The running backs have combined for 1,836 yards and 19 touchdowns. Moore is an extremely skilled receiver, who ranks 8th in the country with 91 receptions. Western Michigan is 5-2 (16.8 average margin of victory) when Moore goes for 100+ yards. Lester's team is looking to keep momentum going into a promising 2022 campaign.

"Now we have a chance to win our second bowl game. It's a great opportunity for all our guys for different reasons, Lester told the Detroit News leading up to the Quick Lane Bowl. Our program, our alumni, our seniors, and our young players. We're excited about it." The Broncos last appeared in the 2019 First Responder Bowl, a 23-20 loss to Western Kentucky, but have a great shot to beat Nevada and end the season on a high note. WMU went 3-1 in the non-conference with a season-opening loss to eventual Big Ten champion Michigan before a thrilling 44-41 upset at Pittsburgh in September.

Nevada recently hired former Oregon defensive coordinator Ken Wilson as head coach after Jay Norvell left for the Colorado State job. The Wolf Pack finished 5th place in the Mountain West following a 52-10 blowout win over Colorado State in the final game of the regular season, and could win a second consecutive bowl game after beating Tulane in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl a year ago. That will be a bit more difficult though as Nevada will be without star quarterback Carson Strong, who will prepare for the NFL Draft. Nate Cox, a 6'9 back up QB, will look to fill in for the potential first rounder.

Strong ranked sixth in the country in passing yards (4,186) and passing TD (36), as the team averaged 36.7 points per game. Romeo Doubs is an electric pass catcher, who compiled 80 catches for 1,109 yards and 11 touchdowns. Another Los Angeles-native alongside Doubs is senior linebacker Daiyan Henley, who led the defense with 94 tackles, four interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. Nevada is appearing in their 19th bowl game with a 7-11 record and secured the most wins since going 12-1 behind WAC Offensive Player of the Year Colin Kaepernick in 2010.

Each program is hoping to end 2021 with a memorable victory and continue building towards next year. I expect it to be a close game but Western Michigan will have home field advantage and their entire offensive is intact. Nevada should be able to cover the points, going 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games. Expect the Broncos fans to fill out a good portion of the 64,500 capacity at Ford Field. The day before kick off, both teams and travel parties also packed more than 22,800 pounds of food alongside Gleaners Food Bank to support schools and shelters in Southeastern Michigan.

Photo Credit: USA Today.