saturday 12/19/15
new mexico bowl
arizona -10 vs
new mexico cats limped home this year, losing 4 of their last 5. they also may have been the only team in the country who didn't have a bye week, plus they lost 3 of their top 4 lb's over the course of the season. that plays right into the lobos strength of running the ball. plus the game is on their home field.
winlas vegas bowl
utah -2 vs
byu you don't see a lot of bowl games get chippy. this one might. after playing every season since 1922, utah chose to end the series between the two schools which are just 40 miles apart. cougars are a little better offensively, especially if rb booker doesn't play for the utes. utah is better defensively. cfb nerd stat #1-teams returning to the same bowl they won last year are just 32-48-1 as favorites.
loss, even though byu outgained utah by 200 yards and held them scoreless for 3 qtrs!camelia bowl
appalachian st -7.5 vs
ohio u post season game back in montgomery at the ex-home of the blue-grey all star game. appy st went 10-2 in their 1st season on the d-1 level, but this is way too many points to give. ou was devastated by injuries mid-season, but got healthy in november and finished w/3 straight wins, including one over n illinois on the road.
wincure bowl
san jose st. -3 vs
georgia st. anyone who laid a future bet on gsu making a bowl this year made some dough. they entered the season having won just 2 games in the past 3 seasons, neither vs a fbs team. san jose st was 3-9 last year, 5-7 this year. they have a pretty decent defense, but gsu's qb nick arbuckle ended the season w/7 straight 300+ yd passing games. one of them was a season-ending 34-7 shocker over ga southern. cfb nerd stat #2-bowl faves who won 3/less games the previous year are just 12-23 ats, while bowl dogs who won 3/less the previous year are 19-7 ats.
loss. why did gsu try a bomb on 4th and 1 down by just 4 late in the 4th???new orleans bowl
louisiana tech -2.5 vs arkansas st. not exactly 2 name programs but this should be a fun game to watch. two good qb's in driskel for lt and knighten for asu. red wolves won their last 8 games, but i'll take the bulldogs in a shootout that goes down to the last possession
winmonday 12/21/15
miami beach bowl
western kentucky -2.5 vs
south florida usf coach willie taggart will recognize a lot of wku players in this game, since he recruited a lot of them, having coached there for 3 yrs before moving to lead the bulls. usf started the season 1-3, but then won 7 of 8. the hilltoppers won the sub belt, going 11-2 with a high octane offense scoring 49+ in 8 games. slight lean to usf who's played the tougher schedule.
losstuesday 12/22/15
famous idaho potato bowl
utah st -6.5 vs akron the zips get to fly 1700+ miles for this one. disappointing year for usu, who lost 3 of their last 4, while akron won their last 4 games to qualify for its first bowl game in a decade. betting trends would tell you that favors the underdog, but i still think utah st is better.
boca raton bowl
temple -1.5 vs toledo 2 teams who had great seasons but disappointing finishes. the rockets got upset in their finale, knocking them out of the mac ccg. temple's loss at usf kept them out of a possible new year's day bowl. toledo has the better qb in phillip ely, but temple has a better d and still has their head coach on the sideline. matt campbell has already left the glass city for iowa state. that makes a difference. owls.
wednesday 12/23/15
poinsettia (or is it poinsetta?) bowl
boise st. -8 vs northern illinois niu is a spectcular 25-9 ats getting points on the road, but they've lost 3 qb's so far this year and is down to a walk-on. rypien hasn't been very consistent for bsu, but he's the edge in a game that is otherwise pretty evenly matched.
go daddy bowl
bowling green st. -7.5 vs
georgia southern nice contrast in styles here, w/gsu running the triple option and mac-champ bgsu a passing attack behind pro prospect matt johnson. neither team was that strong defensively. have i ever mentioned that my father in law was the 2nd ever freddy falcon mascot at bg? he has... almost every time i see him. lol. i think the falcons win but i'll take the points.
thursday 12/24/15
bahamas bowl
western michigan -3 vs middle tennessee st. i can think of worse places to be on christmas eve than the bahamas. both teams finished 7-5, but wmu did it vs a much tougher schedule (8 bowl opponents).
hawaii bowl
cincinnati -2 vs
san diego st. ok. i can think of 2 worse places to be on christmas eve. another big style contrast, with uc's air attack vs the aztecs' run-oriented style. but sdsu also has a very stiff defense. the bearcats don't, especially vs the run, allowing 190+/game.
saturday 12/26/15
st. petersburg bowl
marshall -4 vs
connecticut the herd faltered down the stretch losing 2 of 3 in cusa. uconn is in its 1st bowl since the fiesta in '11. marshall's also missing their best rb.
sun bowl
washington st. -3 vs
miami funny how the same 8-4 record can be seen differently. the canes were disappointed, the cougars were ecstatic. luke falk was outstanding at qb for wsu this year, but his best wr is probably out of this game. i like how the canes played under their interim coach after golden got let go (4-1), and they have a good defense.
heart of dallas bowl
washington -9 vs southern mississippi i like nick mullens, the qb for s miss. they outgained their foes by 156/game. but uw played 10 bowl teams this year, and the huskies have a legit top 10 defense.
pinstripe bowl
indiana -2 vs duke another match up of teacher vs student w/bobby knight and... uh... oops. wrong sport, wrong century. 1st bowl in nearly a decade for iu, who hasn't won a bowl game since '90. 4 straight bowl for duke, but the blue devils haven't won one since '61. one drought is guaranteed to end. duke's d was good early in the year but not after mid october, and that plays right into hoosier qb nate sudfield's passing game. iu's defense sucks too, btw, so expect a lot of points.
independence bowl
virginia tech -13 vs
tulsa lots of sentiment for beamer in his last game for vt. disappointing season for the hokies, who lost qb brewer in the opener and, by the time he got back in the lineup, his team was 3-5. tulsa was 2-10 last year, so they're excited to be in the post season. big favorites historically don't do well in bowls, especially before new year's, though.
foster farms bowl
ucla -6.5 vs nebraska i noticed jerry has been talking more about women's volleyball this year. not a good sign for husker football. unl finished 5-7, but 4 of those losses were on the final play. ucla was a dark horse national title contender in many eyes before the season. normally that dynamic would favor nebraska, but ucla is better at almost every position, both sides of the ball, imho.
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