Well, it is that time of the year again. The time where college football goes away for eight months. I dread this moment every season, but since Vegas has released their odds of winning the 2016 national championship (7:2 Ohio State has the best odds) that means I need to go back for one final embarassment this season. I have to revisit the bowl picks against the spread.
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Just in case you missed my picks:
- 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
- Autozone Liberty Bowl
- Russell Athletic Bowl
- Advocare V100 Texas Bowl
- Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
- Belk Bowl
- Foster Farms Bowl
- Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
- Vizio Fiesta Bowl
- Capital One Orange Bowl
- Outback Bowl
- Goodyear Cotton Bowl
- Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl
- Northwestern Mutual Rose Bowl
- Allstate Sugar Bowl
- Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
- Taxslayer Gator Bowl
- Valero Alamo Bowl
- Ticketcity Cactus Bowl
- Birmingham Bowl
- GoDaddy Bowl
- National Championship Game
Winners against the spread will be in BOLD:
Nevada(-1.5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette: MISS! Not off to a good start here. Nevada got dominated on both sides of the ball. Cody Fajardo had maybe his worst college game in an uneventful finish for him.
Utah State(-10.5) vs. UTEP: HIT! There was a reason that I had this so high in my bowl pick em picks. This was the biggest mismatch of bowl season. On paper, anyway.
Utah(-2.5) vs. Colorado State: HIT! Sometimes this is what happens when a good team from a major conference gets a smaller school. Utah just had better athletes at every position, and it showed.
Western Michigan(-1.5) vs. Air Force: MISS! I knew better. I let the allure of Western Michigan’s skill players get me away from how bad their defense was this year. This would not be the only time that would occur during bowl season.
South Alabama(-1.5) vs. Bowling Green: MISS! South Alabama had a good fourth quarter to make this game look closer than it actually was. That is of little consolation to me though.
BYU vs. Memphis(-2.5): HIT! This was one of the best games of bowl season, and the only one to take more than one overtime to decide. This great game will be more known for the brawl that began on the final play of the game and continued on the field for a few minutes. It was ugly.
Marshall(-10.5) vs Northern Illinois: HIT! Rakeem Cato was too much for the Huskies and their porous defense. This wasn’t a game for very long. The Huskies were little more than a speed bump for the Thundering Herd.
Navy vs. San Diego State(-3.5): MISS! SDSU had several chances to win this game, so they really have no one to blame but themselves. The Aztecs forced four turnovers, but gave three of them back. Their field goal attempt with 20 seconds left missed wide right to end a sloppy one.
Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky(-4.5): MISS! Wow! This was the best game of bowl season, but it sure didn’t look like it for the first three quarters. Central Michigan trailed 49-14 to start the fourth quarter. Game over, right? Wrong. the Chippewas scored 34 unanswered points in the quarter, including a four lateral play as time expired that ended up in the end zone. The Chippewas then went for two and the win, but missed.
Fresno State vs. Rice(-2.5): HIT! Fresno became the first bowl team to finish under .500 this season with their poor showing against Rice. They couldn’t get anything at all going in this one.
Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech(-5.5): HIT! Many were expecting a poor showing from the Big Ten(14) this bowl season. This game certainly let that belief carry on for a while longer. The Illini were dominated.
Rutgers vs. North Carolina(-3.5): MISS! Many, myself included, didn’t give Rutgers much of a chance in this one. All they did was shut out the vaunted Tarheel offense in the first half and coast to a victory.
North Carolina State vs. Central Florida(-2.5): MISS! The Wolfpack team that led Florida State for a half showed up in this one. They held off a fourth quarter comeback by the Knights to hang on where they couldn’t against the Seminoles.
Cincinnati(-2.5) vs. Virginia Tech: MISS! The Hokies played their best game in nearly two months while stifling a pretty good Cincinnati offense. The Hokies took control in the third quarter and never looked back.
Arizona State(-6.5) vs. Duke: MISS! Duke’s late effort in the fourth quarter took this from a win to a loss for those of us betting spreads.
Miami(FL)(-3.5) vs. South Carolina: MISS! The Gamecock defense showed up for this one. Yet another favored team took the loss.
Boston College(-2.5) vs. Penn State: MISS! A missed extra point in overtime ruined this one for Boston College. They were outplayed for most of the game, so call it karma at work.
Nebraska vs. USC(-7.5): MISS! Nebraska showed up for this game. Their defense was a mess as usual, but their offense played well for most of the game. If not for a couple of dropped passes and plays made by USC, this could have gone an entirely different way.
Texas A&M vs. West Virginia(-1.5): HIT! This game started out as a shootout. The teams combined for 34 first quarter points. Then either the defenses showed up or the offenses got tired. This was just the beginning of a bad day for the Big 12. It got MUCH worse for the conference after this one.
Oklahoma(-4.5) vs. Clemson: HIT! I expected us to lose, but this was ridiculous. I haven’t seen an Oklahoma offense have that much trouble moving the ball since 1998. I know that the team is young, but there really is no excuse for this kind of a showing. They gave up. And no one ever, EVER, wants to see that from their team. What an embarrassment. On the flip side of that, you really have to hand it to Clemson. They played a terrific game on both sides of the ball. They would have beaten Oklahoma in any game this year playing like that.
Arkansas(-6.5) vs. Texas: HIT! This game showed just how much of an uphill battle that Texas still has. They were never in this, and it wasn’t all the fault of the offense. The defense gave up 21 points in the second quarter to really put this one out of reach going against the stout Hogs D.
LSU(-7.5) vs. Notre Dame: MISS! I almost went Notre Dame because of the half, then I remembered how bad they were over the last six games. Playing a different quarterback made all of the difference in this one.
Georgia(-7.5) vs. Louisville: MISS! I expected Louisville, especially the defense, to show up for this. They did not. Georgia was consistent running the ball throughout the game, and the Cardinals never had a chance.
Maryland vs. Stanford(-14.5): MISS! If you would have told me that Maryland would score 21 and Stanford would still cover, I would have thought you were crazy. The Stanford offense gouged Maryland the way that they couldn’t against the Pac 12 defenses this year.
Mississippi vs. TCU(-3.5): MISS! I never saw this coming. I really thought about taking TCU, but I was expecting a close game. I’m sure many of you were too.
Arizona(-3.5) vs. Boise State: MISS! You have to hand it to Boise. They always show up on the big stage. They played Ole Miss tough early in the season, then they go own the Fiesta Bowl yet again in what was a de-facto road game.
Mississippi State(-7.5) vs. Georgia Tech: MISS! Another black eye for the SEC. Georgia Tech’s option offense was run to perfection the whole game, and the Tech defense came up with enough plays to pull away.
Auburn(-7.5) vs. Wisconsin: MISS! It was a rough new year for me, as well as the SEC. I knew Auburn’s defense had holes, but I had no idea that they would pick Stave off three times and still lose……
Michigan State vs. Baylor(-2.5): MISS! Baylor had this game handily until their defense fell asleep in the fourth quarter. This was an incredible comeback by Michigan State. In fact, it was eerily similar to the one Baylor pulled on TCU in Waco. Oh, the irony!
Oregon(-7.5) vs. Florida State: HIT! Most people thought I was nuts when I said Florida State was going to get buried. The writing was on the wall though. Mariota does not make mistakes, and Florida State makes way too many.
Missouri(-7.5) vs. Minnesota: MISS! It was so hard to pick Missouri games this year because in some games they would look like this, and in others, they would be a complete mess.
Alabama(-7.5) vs. Ohio State: MISS! The Buckeye offensive line was one of the most underappreciated units on any team this year. They did a great job of keeping Alabama’s outstanding defensive line off of their young QB so he could make plays on an otherwise average Alabama defense. This was one of the best games of the bowl season. Alabama looked like they were going to run off and leave the Buckeyes in the second quarter, but this team showed character and came from two touchdowns behind to beat the number one team.
Houston vs. Pittsburgh(-3.5): HIT! This might have been the best game of bowl season. In case you missed it, Houston scored 29 fourth quarter points to win it. They were down 24-6 at the beginning of the final stanza.
Iowa vs. Tennessee(-2.5): HIT! This was another one that was a mismatch. This year, Iowa was nothing more than a name. For Tennessee, this marked a return to relevance for a program that has suffered mightily since Phil Fulmer was forced out. The suffering is over. This team is loaded with freshmen, and will only get better.
UCLA(-1.5) vs. Kansas State: MISS! UCLA was cruising, up 31-6 at the half. Kansas State had a great second half to get back in the game, but they never could get over the hump.
Washington(-7.5) vs. Oklahoma State: MISS! This game was not as close as the scoreboard indicated. The Oklahoma State defense was very good in this game, which is kind of surprising considering how they looked for much of the year.
East Carolina vs. Florida(-7.5): MISS! Who would have thought that the SEC would struggle, yet the SEC East went 4-0 in bowl games?
Toledo(-3.5) vs. Arkansas State: MISS! World, meet Kareem Hunt. Kareem Hunt, world.
Oregon(-7.5) vs. Ohio State: MISS! Ohio State’s defense played the game of their lives. Who would have thought that they could turn the ball over four times, and not only win, but blow out the Ducks?
Well, that is it friends. Another college football season is in the books. For me, it was a rough bowl season. I went just 12-27 against the spread. That puts my disappointing season total at 318-379 for a disappointing 45.6% against the spread this year. I guess my goal next year will be to just get back to even.
We are done with College Football until I come back with conference previews in August, but don’t worry, we have a lot to keep you occupied! We have fantasy football staffers who are keeping you up to date on this year’s draft picks, this year’s rookie class, and any other relevant fantasy football news. We are also keeping track of all of the baseball and basketball trades, and what they will mean for player’s fantasy value. And don’t forget the FanDuel lineups for the NBA!
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