2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl Odds And Prediction

HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 27: Michael Dickson #13 of the Texas Longhorns accepts the MVP award for the Academy Sports & Outdoors Bowl at NRG Stadium on December 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl Odds And Prediction

Bowl season is finally upon us! We are right in the middle of this. After the Christmas break, we have at least three games per day through Saturday. The last one for Thursday is the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl

More from College Football Odds

I finally lost a couple of picks over the week, but overall, I’m still doing pretty well.

For the rest of the bowls, you will get my picks against the spread and point wagers just like I did all season long. I had a solid regular season, but I can make it look a whole lot better with a strong bowl season!

Just in case you missed any:
Autonation Cure Bowl
Progressive New Mexico Bowl
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl
DXL Frisco Bowl
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Jared Birmingham Bowl
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Dollar General Bowl
So-Fi Hawaii Bowl
ServPro First Responder Bowl
Quick Lane Bowl
Cheez-It Bowl
Walk On’s Independence Bowl
NewEra Pinstripe Bowl

NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 29: Quarterback Charlie Brewer #12 of the Baylor Bears looks to throw against the Baylor Bears at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Baylor 66-33. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

Baylor vs. Vanderbilt(-4.5) at Houston, TX(4):

Baylor 6-6, 4-5(t-5th Big 12(10)):

Wins: vs. Abilene Christian(55-27), at UTSA(37-20), vs. Kansas(26-7), vs. Kansas State(37-34), vs. Oklahoma State(35-31), vs. Texas Tech(35-24)

Losses: vs. Duke(27-40), at Oklahoma(33-66), at Texas(17-23), at West Virginia(14-58), at Iowa State(14-28), vs. TCU(9-16)

Record vs. bowl teams: 1-6

As per usual, the defense was a sore spot. Charlie Brewer did pretty well running the offense, but the lack of an efficient running game really hurt this team. The Bears even put WR and former Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd in the backfield several times per game to try and kickstart the run game with moderate success. The bad news for the Bears here is that Hurd will miss the bowl game. Now what?

Vanderbilt 6-6, 3-5(6th SEC East):

Wins: vs. Middle Tennessee State(35-7), vs. Nevada(41-10), vs. Tennessee State(31-27), at Arkansas(45-31), vs. Mississippi(36-29), vs. Tennessee(38-13)

Losses: at Notre Dame(17-22), vs. South Carolina(14-37), at Georgia(13-41), vs. Florida(27-37), at Kentucky(7-14), at Missouri(28-33)

Record vs. bowl teams: 2-6

Kyle Shurmer quietly had a good year leading this offense. Ke’Shawn Vaughn is in the upper half of backs in the SEC, and there are a lot of good ones here. Vanderbilt usually doesn’t have an explosive offense, but they did this year to go along with a usually solid defense.

Prediction:

The thing that really stands out here is the absence of Jalen Hurd here for Baylor. He may have been the most important part of the Baylor offense, and that includes the quarterback. Baylor was going to have trouble running anyway. Now without Hurd, it is pretty much a lost cause.

Crazily enough, this line is actually falling. I get that this game is in the state of Texas, but Waco is still quite a ways from Houston. The crowd will help keep Baylor in this for a while, but I honestly don’t think Baylor has the offense to keep up with what their defense will give up.

Pick: Vanderbilt

Next. ESPN Capital One Bowl Mania picks. dark

Stay tuned for the rest of the bowl picks against the spread, and our DFS picks for the NBA, NFL, and even some NHL action! We have something for everyone!