"Oo! Do you feel the breeze from the subway? Isn't it delicious!"
"It sort of cools the ankles, doesn't it?"like the movie choice walt. an oldie but a goodie.
BOWL WEEK 2 DECEMBER 23 (SATURDAY)12:00P
1. BIRMINGHAM BOWL – BIRMINGHAM, AL
TROY (10-2) V.
DUKE (7-5) +7.5.
winduke's coach is gone to texas a&m, and troy's coach will be headed to tulane after this game. duke qb riley leonard is gone to notre dame, but his replacement, frosh qb grayson loftis, looked good the last 3 games of the regular season. the trojans won the sun belt, it's basically a home game, the blue devils will also be missing at least 2 rb's on offense and 3 starters on defense. but, in the only game vs a power 5 opponent this season, kansas st beat troy 42-13. think 7.5 is too many points. duke is 6-0 ats in its last 6 bowl games too. duke.
2. CAMELLIA BOWL - MONTGOMERY AL
ARKANSAS STATE (6-6) V.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (6-6) -3.
lossniu has been horrible of late in bowls (0-7 su, 1-6 ats) and asu is much stronger offensively. but the huskies were significantly better (3-1 su/ats) vs bowl eligible teams this season, and the mac is now on a 16-8-1 ats run in the post season. northern illinois.
3:30P
3. LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL – FT. WORTH, TX
JAMES MADISON (11-1) V.
AIR FORCE (8-4) +2.
winno team may be more excited for a non-new year's day bowl game than jmu. but w/head coach curt cignatti on his way to indiana and starting qb jordan mccloud in the portal, that's a big disadvantage vs a disciplined air force team who slumped in november due to a rash of turnovers. the dukes' d is still good, though. air force, in a low scoring affair.
4. FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL – BOISE, ID
GEORGIA STATE (6-6) V.
UTAH STATE (6-6) -2.5.
lossgsu also collapsed down the stretch, losing its last 5 games. they're also losing their top rb, top wr, and best o-lineman to the portal, none of whom will play here. usu is efficient thru the air (260 yds/game) while the panthers' d struggles to defend the pass (allowing 287/game). utah st.
7:00P
5. 68 VENTURES BOWL – MOBILE, AL
SOUTH ALABAMA (6-6) V.
EASTERN MICHIGAN (6-6) +17
lossnice to play a bowl game in your home stadium like usa will be tonite. but after a 10 win season in '22 and having 18 returning starters, '23 was a big letdown for the jaguars. they'll be missing their top rb and top wr in this game, but have talent depth on offense. after winning 9 games last year, emu also backed up on the win total and covered just 1 of 11 lined games. that said, in addition to the mac's nice bowl ats stretch, the eagles are 28-9 ats as road dogs since '16. eastern michigan.
7:30P
6. SRS DISTRIBUTION LAS VEGAS BOWL – LAS VEGAS, NV
UTAH (8-4) V.
NORTHWESTERN (7-5) +6.5.
winfrom a locale perspective, this should basically be a home game for the utes. except for maybe at wr, they're better at every position group than nu. utah played the tougher schedule, and they're 11-5 su/10-6 ats in bowls under kyle whittingham. that said, they lost 3 of their last 5 games, 2 of them blowouts to oregon/arizona, and after back/back rose bowls and pac 12 titles, las vegas was not the expection. the wildcats ended the season gelling under first interim/now permanent head coach david braun, winning 4 of 5 to end the season. plus (cfb nerd stat alert) the last 14 times a big 10 team has entered a bowl game off a win, going up vs a pac 12 foe, they are 14-0 ats. 'cats keep it close.
10:30P
7. EASYPOST HAWAI’I BOWL – HONOLULU, HI
COASTAL CAROLINA (7-5) V.
SAN JOSE STATE (7-5) -10.
losssan jose st. enters off 6 straight wins, while ccu is down to its 3rd string qb. but they chanticleers are 20-9 ats as dogs of 12/less, sun belt bowl dogs who are .500+ are 16-9-1 ats, and the spartans are 2-5-1 ats when giving 10+. but... coastal is traveling across 5 time zones and had more players enter the transfer portal than any other bowl team. san jose st.
TUESDAY - DECEMBER 26 2:00P
8. QUICK LANE BOWL – DETROIT
BOWLING GREEN (7-5) V. MINNESOTA (5-7) -3.5
loss2 years ago the falcons upset minnesota on the road 14-10. they also did not lose to a team w/a losing record this season. gophers are 1-5 ats as road chalk of late, but 6-0 su/5-1 ats of late in bowl games. I've mentioned the mac's great recent run in the post season, but bgsu has been the opposite; 2-8 ats in bowl games since '92, though this is just their 2nd bowl game since '15. but their defense this year has been pretty sturdy, minnesota's offense put up just 16 pts/game, and they'll be starting a backup qb who threw just 1 pass-a pick-all season. bowling green hangs around.
5:30P
9. SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL – DALLAS, TX
TEXAS STATE(7-5) V.
RICE (6-6) +5.5.
lossthe owls are 7-1 ats in their last 8 games getting 13/less, was 5-1 ats as dogs this season and to my knowledge did not take any major transfer portal hits.
9:00P
10. GUARANTEED RATE BOWL - PHOENIX
KANSAS (8-4) V.
UNLV (9-3) +12.5.
loss by a 1/2 pt. symbolic of my year. lol1st bowl and 1st winning season in a decade for the rebels (they actually went 9-4 this yr, losing the mwc title game to boise st), so they'll have an emotional edge. for ku, qb jalon daniels is returning to college, and had a great season when on the field. the jayhawks are 39-1 su when favored by 10+ points, and should win. just not by 10+. unlv.
WEDNESDAY - DECEMBER 27 2:00P
11. MILITARY BOWL PRESENTED BY GOBOWLING.COM
VIRGINIA TECH (6-6) V.
TULANE (11-2) +7.5
another great season for the green wave but they've been hit hard by the transfer portal, losing their qb and best wr as well as their head coach who's off to houston. but they still have a solid defense, and I don't think the gobblers have enough offense to cover a td. tulane.
5:30P
12. DUKE’S MAYO BOWL – CHARLOTTE, NC
NORTH CAROLINA (8-4) V.
WEST VIRGINIA (8-4) -5.5
here's proof that not every 8-4 season is the same. unc was in the top 10 before losing 4 of their last 6. wvu head coach neal brown started the season on the hottest of seats w/a team predicted to finish near the bottom of the big 12, but found its running game in october and finished the year winning 4 of its last 5. tar heel qb drake mayo opted out, as did their top rb, wr, 3 te's, 2 star defenders and a couple on the o-line. the mountaineers giving 5+ is not a comfortable spot, but carolina's d has been porous all season and I think west virignia's strong rush attack makes the difference.
8:00P
13. DIRECTV HOLIDAY BOWL – SAN DIEGO
LOUISVILLE (10-3) V. USC (7-5) +7.5
the trojans... a td underdog in southern california... to louisville. that's a hard to believe sentence. even w/qb caleb williams skipping the game, you'd think usc still has a massive talent edge. the problem is how big a problem their defense has been all season long. the pac 12's awful bowl stretch of late doesn't help. since '16, the league's bowlers are 0-15 ats when entering the game off a su/ats loss. wow. the cardinals aren't world beaters by any stretch... just 3-6 ats as chalk vs fbs opponents lately. but their defense has been solid, an adjective not found in southern cal's locker room. louisville.
9:00P
14. TAXACT TEXAS BOWL – HOUSTON
TEXAS A&M (7-5) V.
OKLAHOMA STATE (9-4) +2.5
another program w/mojo issues all year long has been a&m, who enters this bowl game minus coach jimbo fisher and at least 13 opt outs. wrong team favored. oklahoma st.
