12/29 Birmingham Bowl
South Florida
South Carolina +10
usc-e got buried in their last 2 real games (uf, clemson) but overall their offense seemed to improve the 2nd half of the season. jake bentley has the makings of a very good qb. usf had a great 10-2 season and a productive offense but their d remains a little suspect. plus a group of 5 team a 10 point favorite over a sec team? usf has lost their head coach, the gamecocks have won their last 5 bowl games. south carolina
12/29 Belk Bowl
Arkansas +7
Virginia Tech
last year bowl teams who lost their ccg were 0-8 su and 0-8 ats. so far this year, it's 1-3 su/ats, and the 1 win (la tech) came vs a team (navy) who lost their ccg too. the hokies' usually stout d got gashed on the ground by tennessee, duke and nd. the hogs' run game is their strength, plus they are 12-2 ats off a loss vs an opponent off a loss. arkansas.
12/29 Alamo Bowl
Oklahoma State +3
Colorado
strange to see these former big 8 partners to be in a bowl vs each other. 2 more teams who lost in their finale when a win would have meant a league title. buffs' defense, especially pass d, is really good, which could cause cowboy qb mason rudolph some trouble. on the other side, osu allowed 500+ yards 5 time this year. uh oh. okie state is just 1-7 ats as bowl dogs, and 8-13 ats after playing oklahoma. colorado.
12/30 Liberty Bowl
Georgia pk
TCU pk
two programs who struggled to score consistently, and had overall disappointing seasons. big 12 teams are just 2-14 ats vs sec foes in the post season. make it 2-15. georgia in a low scoring game.
12/30 Sun Bowl
Stanford
North Carolina +2.5
if mccaffrey hadn't opted to skip the game, i'd be all over the cardinal, especially with their defense and unc's weak defense vs the run. too bad tar heel rb elijah wood is missing this game too re injury. his teammate, qb mitch trubisky, will be auditioning for a potential 1st round nfl draft pick. plus (cfb nerd stat alert) teams off a su loss as a favorite (unc lost to nc state in their finale) are 28-5-1 ats as bowl dogs vs teams off back/back wins. north carolina
12/30 Music City Bowl
Nebraska +7
Tennessee
ah the enigma that has been the vols. first 5-0 start since '98, 4 of them come from behind wins, before losing 3 of 4. on the other side, unl has lost qb tommy armstrong to a bad hamstring, which inflated the line from -3 to -7. tennessee's defense really struggled down the stretch, allowing nearly 40 pts/game to uk, mizzou and vandy, not exactly offensive juggernauts. husker d has had its holes this year too, which is why i think the scoreboard in nashville will be smoking. definitely a home game atmosphere for ut, but 4 extra points on the line i think is too many. nebraska.
12/30 Arizona Bowl
South Alabama +14
Air Force
the air force triple option attack is tough for opponents during the season with just a week to prep for it. bowl season gives more time. plus the falcons were just 1-6 ats as double digit chalk, while the jaguars were 3-1 ats getting 10+, w/2 outright upset wins (over miss st and san diego st). south alabama.
12/30 Orange Bowl
Michigan
FSU+7
attractive match up in miami at joe robbie, uh, pro player park... wait, scratch that, dolphins, i mean, dolphin, no that's still not right. land shark. er, sun life. i've got it... hard rock stadium. how can they afford the $$ just to change the marquis? dalvin cook vs um's defense will be fun to watch. fsu better hope cook can run effectively, because in the games i saw the noles play this year, their o-line allowed qb francois to get pummeled. i also saw the ugly helmets sack j.t. barrett 8 times in columbus. that's a bad combination. that said, you wonder if um qb wilton speight's right arm is healthy enough to throw downfield, something he either didn't or couldn't do vs tosu. will um be down in the dumps after a heartbreaking loss, or ticked off and looking to take it out on whoever's up next? i see a low scoring game. michigan wins but florida state covers.
12/31 Citris Bowl
LSU
Louisville +3
how good is louisville's run defense? that to me is the main question of this game. the cards overall did well, but allowed clemson and uk to top 200 on the ground. fournette may be skipping this game, but derrius guice is averaging 8 yards/carry!! lamar jackson's slide the last 2 games of the season, factored in to lsu's defense which in their 4 losses this year didn't allow more than 18 pts in any of them, plus (cfb nerd stat alert) the history of 'ville as a bowl dog (1-6 su/ats) and heisman winners getting points in bowl games (0-5 st/ats since '80)? easy. lsu.
12/30 Taxslayer Bowl
Georgia Tech
Kentucky +3.5
ga tech finished the season winning 5 of its last 6, but the stat sheets show they were actually outgained by an average of 75+/game in those wins. odd. another case here where the triple option attack of the yellow jackets will be face w/a month to prepare instead of a week. not to mention that, surprisingly, uk can run the ball too. averaged 240+/game on the ground. love the 'cats in this one. kentucky.
Jan 13, 2020 17:38:49 GMT -5
Jan 13, 2020 17:38:49 GMT -5
May 1, 2022 14:04:40 GMT -5
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