Not every team is going to have a chance to compete for the National Championship this year, but many will like to end their season on a good note by having a chance to win a Bowl game! In my last article, I made my picks on who will cover during College Football Playoffs, but there is still going to be a great slate of games during the holiday season! While a Bowl game might seem disappointing for some teams like Alabama, USC and Tennessee, now is a great time to flex on other conferences and show them who’s boss!
Unfortunately, some players in these matchups will not make the effort to show up since their hopes for championship glory are over but we can use that to our advantage when making picks. More notable Bowl games will be played later on this month or in the beginning of January but these ones I’m about to mention could be just as exciting to watch (especially if you have some money on it. This crazy weekend in college football is about to start, so let’s dive right into it!
Fenway Bowl- Cincinnati vs Louisville
Louisville -2 vs Cincinnati
Total 40
Fenway Park, Boston, MA
12-17 8 AM Pacific Time
Baseball fans might feel a little sad that the season is over but they might enjoy watching this game! That’s right. This game will be played at the infamous Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Even if you don’t really know these college teams, it will be interesting to see them fit a football field on a baseball field and it’ll be the first time a college football game has been played at Fenway! Louisville will be playing Cincinnati for a chance to win a bowl game.
The total jumps out to me as being a bit low at first but it turns out that Louisville and Cincinnati will be missing a lot of star players. Malik Cunningham, QB for Louisville, has also opted out of this game but that’s still not enough for me to back Cincy in this one. The weather in Boston this weekend is expected to be snowy, rainy and windy, so I don’t really blame him for not wanting to participate. I’m expecting it to be a bit of a sloppy mess on offense so I’m backing the Under 40 points in this one.
Las Vegas Bowl
Oregon State -10.5 vs Florida
Total 52
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
12-17 11:15 AM Pacific Time
Taking place in my hometown, the Las Vegas Bowl will kick off this Saturday with a solid Pac 12 vs SEC matchup. This will definitely be an interesting game with the Pac-12 team, the Oregon State Beavers, being a significant favorite over the SEC Gators. If you look at some key matchups between these two conferences this year, the SEC has come out on top including when the Gators beat the Pac-12 championship team, the Utah Utes. I should also mention that the Gators were an underdog in that game and you might be thinking the +10.5 is an easy, pick right? But here’s the catch…
An SEC team wouldn’t normally be such a big underdog unless they were missing key players, which is definitely the case here. Anthony Richardson, Florida’s star QB, has decided to skip this game in order to prepare for the NFL draft. Richardson isn’t the only one missing though. Florida will be without 3 linebackers who are sitting out due to transfer protocol. Meanwhile, Oregon State has been playing great football lately, beating Oregon in a shootout 38-34. I think Ben Gulbrenson from Oregon State has a chance to take advantage of a depleted Florida team who’s more focused on their transition into next year. I’d wait until gameday to see if the public moves the Florida line down a bit but still love Oregon State in this one. Give me the Beavers -10.5.
LA Bowl
Fresno State -3.5 vs Washington State
Total 52.5
12-17 12:30 PM Pacific Time
SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, California
If you’ve never heard of the LA Bowl, you’re not alone! This is the 2nd annual LA bowl and it’ll be featuring an exciting Mountain West and Pac-12 matchup! You won’t have to worry about weather being a factor in this one, since SoFi is an indoor stadium. Both teams here are Bowl veterans with Fresno State making their 30th Bowl appearance and Washington State making its 18th appearance. I’ve loved what I’ve seen from Washington State so far this season and you would know this if you’ve been betting on them. They went 8-4 against the spread which includes a beatdown on the MWC this season vs Colorado State.
On the other hand, we also have a fierce opponent in the Fresno State Bulldogs. They’ve won their last 8 games and only failed to cover as heavy 9 to 11-point favorites during that stretch. They’re playing great football without a doubt and the public has certainly taken notice.
The line moved from Washington State -3.5 all the way to Fresno State being the favorite at -3.5. However, with all that being said, I feel that Washington State is a more well-rounded team, with a solid defense that might startle Fresno’s QB who’s more used to lesser competition in the Mountain West. The line movement doesn’t feel completely justified to me. I wouldn’t fire up on the moneyline with full confidence but getting 3.5 points for the Cougars on a neutral field seems like a great way to go. Former Washington State coach Mike Leach also passed away recently and the players may feel motivated to put up their best game in his honor. Take the 3 points and the hook on this one.
Potato Bowl
San Jose State -3.5 vs East Michigan
Total 54
12-20 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
The Potato Bowl doesn’t sound all too exciting, but don’t let the name fool you! Let’s go ahead and jump to Tuesday’s game when the San Jose Spartans take on the East Michigan Eagles. The Eagles come into this one hungry and haven’t won a Bowl game in 30 years. Their performance in the MAC conference has been exceptional, but they’ll be facing a different and more defensive style of football when they face the Mountain West’s Spartans.
Covering the spread for both teams has been a bit of a struggle especially with SJSU failing to cover against the spread the last 6 consecutive games after covering their first 4 games! East Michigan has covered in the last 4 out of 6 games but some may argue their schedule was easier, facing other MAC teams.
This isn’t the easiest pick but despite the trends, I’ll be backing SJSU to finish off their season strong and to pull through with the cover. Chevan Cordiero, their QB, has been playing very well lately. After transferring from Hawaii and joining the Spartans, he’s thrown 20 TD’s and only 3 interceptions. This junior QB has the experience and decision-making skills to earn the Spartans a Potato Bowl victory. I think it will be a close, high-scoring game with the winning team coming out on top by a touchdown. I’m going with San Jose State -3.5.
Be sure to stay tuned for Part II where I’ll be going over some big picks, including games like the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and other primetime matchups! Don’t forget to follow ZenSports on Twitter and good luck with your bets!
