Louisville vs Washington Sun Bowl Prediction, Preview, & Odds – 12/31/2024

The Louisville Cardinals are set to take on the Washington Huskies in the Sun Bowl on December 31, 2024, at 2:00 pm EST. According to the betting odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, the Washington Huskies are listed as 2.5 point underdogs. The total for the game has been established at 49.5, with -110 odds on each side of that total. Get ready for an exciting matchup as these two teams battle it out on the field.

To help you get ready for the Sun Bowl, you can continue reading to get our full breakdown of this Louisville vs Washington matchup. Here, we look at the keys to this game for both teams. We also provide you with our best bet for this contest, which is derived from years of college football betting experience and our sophisticated college football betting model, so you can trust our prediction for this contest and our picks throughout the bowl season.

Louisville Looks For Third Straight Win

The Louisville Cardinals go into the college football bowl schedule on a two-game winning streak. They finished their regular season with wins over Pitt and Kentucky to get to 8-4 on the year. Now they will look to finish their season with a third straight win as they take on a Washington team that is completing its first season as a member of the Big Ten.

Louisville's offense was firing on all cylinders late in the regular season and they will look to continue that in this game. But that will be hard to accomplish with quarterback Tyler Shough opting out of this game. After scoring 39 points per game in the final two games of the regular season, the Cardinals offense could struggle in this matchup thanks to his absence.

Washington Hoping to Finish Above .500

The Washington Huskies went 6-6 this season, going 4-5 in their first season in conference play as a member of the Big Ten. Here, the Huskies will look to get a win that would put them above the .500 mark for the season. To do that, they will look to take advantage of the absence of Shough on the opposite side, which Washington will hope means a better defensive performance than usual.

Washington played a brutal schedule in the Big Ten this year in fairness to them. Their last three losses all came against teams that qualified for the College Football Playoff, as they dropped games to Oregon, Penn State, and Indiana over their last five games. Here, against a non-playoff team, the Huskies will look to get a win that will elevate them to 7-6 in their first season after making the national championship game.

Louisville vs Washington Best Bet

We are going to back Washington to win this Louisville vs Washington matchup in the Sun Bowl. While the Huskies certainly have their share of shortcomings this season, they should be able to take advantage of the absence of Shough. Look for the Washington defense to stand tall here and for them to end their season above the .500 mark for the season with a signature win in El Paso.