Fansided

Chick Fil A Peach Bowl Odds & Prediction

By Mike Marteny

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The first of the New Year’s Six: the Chick Fil A Peach Bowl!

We have finally made it to the New Year’s Six Bowls! Unfortunately, that means that bowl season is nearing an end. Have your Bowl Mania picks been destroyed by upsets? Luckily you can still find places to play against the spread! I will continue with my picks until the very end. I am doing well in the points system, but I think I am struggling against the spread during bowl time. I am about six games behind, so maybe it gets better!

More from College Football Odds

In case you missed how the point scale works, here is a brief rundown:

5. A lock. I am comfortable making a sizable wager on this game.

4. Very confident. Not quite a lock, but I am comfortable making a decent sized wager on it.

3. Middle of the road. Good enough that I would make a small wager on it.

2. Could go either way. So much so that I wouldn’t bet on it.

1. Stay away from these.

Just in case you missed any:

On to the Chick Fil A Peach Bowl!

Houston vs. Florida State(-6.5) at Atlanta, GA(4):

Houston(12-1, 8-1):

Wins: vs. Tennessee Tech(52-24), at Louisville(34-31), vs. Texas State(59-14), at Tulsa(38-24), vs. SMU(49-28), at Tulane(42-7), at Central Florida(59-10), vs. Vanderbilt(34-0), vs. Cincinnati(33-30), vs. Memphis(35-34), vs. Navy(52-31), vs. Temple(24-13)

Losses: at Connecticut(17-20)

Record vs. bowl teams: 6-1

Florida State(10-2, 6-2):

Wins: vs. Texas State(59-16), vs. South Florida(34-14), at Boston College(14-0), at Wake Forest(24-16), vs. Miami(FL)(29-24), vs. Louisville(41-21), vs. Syracuse(45-21), vs. North Carolina State(34-17), vs. Chattanooga(52-13), at Florida(27-2)

Losses: at Georgia Tech(16-22), at Clemson(13-23)

Record vs. bowl teams: 4-1

Houston is a healthy Greg Ward away from possibly crashing the playoff. Ward was nowhere near 100% in the loss to UConn. That game showed just how much he means to the Houston offense. Lost in the offensive prowess is how solid the defense was. Navy, Temple, and Cincinnati were the only teams to top 30 on them, and none got to 35. They will need the defense to try to stop Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, who leads the nation in yards per carry.

Florida State lost on a bizarre play to Georgia Tech and decided to give Sean Maguire his first road start and second overall against the number one team. Those were the two losses. I get that Everett Golson was struggling, but I would have to think he was better equipped to at least start the Clemson game. But, I guess there is a reason I am doing this instead of coaching. Maguire has good numbers (1,128 yards, nine touchdowns, and only two interceptions), but he isn’t a game changer. Dalvin Cook is. Can the Houston defense handle him?

Cook is the X-factor in this game. If Houston can contain him like Clemson did, they have a good shot to win this. If not, it will be a double digit loss. I don’t really think there is an in-between. So, I guess the question is do I think Cook can do what he has done all season? Why wouldn’t I?

My pick: Florida State

Next: The Picks For Every Bowl Game!

Stay tuned for the picks of every bowl game against the spread!