College Football: National University Holiday Bowl Odds And Prediction
By Mike Marteny
We have made it to bowl season! I have picked every single college football game against the spread for you this season. There is no way I’m going to abandon you now!
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I am back to give you all of the bowl picks against the spread. This year, I am going to do each bowl individually so you have all of the information you need to make your wager or pick, whatever the case may be.
Just in case you missed anything:
- R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
- Gildan New Mexico Bowl
- Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
- Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
- Miami Beach Bowl
- Boca Raton Bowl
- San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
- Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
- Hawaii Bowl
- Zaxby’s Heart Of Dallas Bowl
- Quick Lane Bowl
- Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl
- Northrup Grumman Military Bowl
- Hyundai Sun Bowl
- Duck Commander Independence Bowl
- New Era Pinstripe Bowl
National University Holiday Bowl at San Diego, CA:
Nebraska:
Wins: vs. Florida Atlantic(55-7), vs. McNeese State(31-24), at Fresno State(55-19), vs. Miami(FL)(41-31), vs. Illinois(45-14), at Northwestern(38-17), vs. Rutgers(42-24), vs. Purdue(35-14), at Iowa(37-34 OT)
Losses: at Michigan State(22-27), at Wisconsin(24-59), vs. Minnesota(24-28)
Record vs. Bowl Teams: 5-3
(24)USC(-7.5):
Wins: vs. Fresno State(52-13), at Stanford(13-10), vs. Oregon State(35-10), at Arizona(28-26), vs. Colorado(56-28), at Washington State(44-17), vs. California(38-30), vs. Notre Dame(49-14)
Losses: at Boston College(31-37), vs. Arizona State(34-38), at Utah(21-24), at UCLA(20-38)
Record vs. Bowl Teams: 4-4
Common Opponents:
Fresno State: Nebraska won by 36 at Fresno. USC won by 39 at home. Advantage: NEBRASKA
Prediction:
On paper, this looks like a close game, or maybe even Nebraska having a slight edge. So why am I so anti-Nebraska in this one? Turmoil. There is way too much turmoil surrounding the program right now.
This is different than when Bill Callahan was let go. He had lost the team, and everyone knew he was gone. This is also a bit different than the Frank Solich situation in which Bo Pelini led the team to a win in the Alamo Bowl. First off, the firing of Bo Pelini came as a shock to almost everyone. Especially after a big come from behind overtime win over rival Iowa. Even @fauxpelini thought he was safe. You can bet that the real one did as well.
Second, we all know the facts. That Pelini was one of only two coaches to win at least nine games in each of the last seven seasons. The other is Nick Saban. In all fairness, had Chip Kelly stayed at Oregon, he would likely be on that list. Coaches don’t get fired after nine win seasons. It just doesn’t happen.
Unless you coach at Nebraska. The fans, boosters, and alumni are creating a toxic situation. This is the second coach out of the last three that one or more of the above have chased out after at least eight wins. What more do they want in a coach? Nebraska has a rich history, but they are just not a top 15 destination anymore. In fact, they might not even be a top 25 job. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that they do fire successful coaches.
They had a long list of coaches that they wanted to replace Pelini, and Mike Riley was not on most people’s list. The hiring came as a shock to the fan base because they think they deserve better. They traded a nine win coach for a five win coach. Of course, if you read between the lines, the circumstances in Corvallis are much different than the ones in Lincoln.
The Nebraska program is still in a little bit of shock. The players as a whole loved Bo. Just look at some of the player tweets from after the news broke. I’m not saying that Mike Riley is a bad guy. I know that he has done a lot with a little, but mostly just for one game at a time. But for a program that has consistently gotten whipped by ranked teams over the last five years or so, they will take it. The question is, as a guy who is the antithesis of what Bo was, how will the players react?
My guess is that we won’t know by this game. This game likely will tell us nothing since Barney Cotton will be the interim coach. He has been around since the Tom Osbourne coaching days, so that is their way of keeping continuity within the program.
I’m guessing it won’t matter with everything else going on. Oh, you want a practical reason to go with USC? How about the USC offense against the Nebraska defense. Or the fact that Tommie Armstrong has gone from trying to complete passes to having everything being a throwing for distance contest. The Pac 12 is light years ahead of the Big Ten(14) in terms of conference strength. And this game is played in Pac 12 territory. This could get ugly
Pick: USC