Bowl Mania: 2018 Hyundai Sun Bowl Odds And Prediction

EL PASO, TX – DECEMBER 30: The Miami Hurricanes kick off to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Sun Bowl on December 30, 2010 in El Paso, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2018 Hyundai Sun Bowl Odds And Prediction

We are finally up to New Year’s Eve with our bowl picks. We have six bowl games for our New Year’s Eve, the most of any day so far this bowl season. Next up, we have the Hyundai Sun Bowl, a New Year’s Eve staple since 1939.

More from College Football Odds

It was a rough weekend no matter what. I at least hoped Oklahoma would put up a fight. Despite Alabama not covering, Oklahoma was never really in that game.

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
Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Camping World Bowl
Valero Alamo Bowl
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
Belk Bowl
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Capital One Orange Bowl
Northrup-Grumman Military Bowl

PALO ALTO, CA – AUGUST 31: Jj Arcega-Whiteside #19 of the Stanford Cardinal catches the ball for a touchdown while covered by Ron Smith #17 of the San Diego State Aztecs at Stanford Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Stanford(-4.5) vs. Pittsburgh at El Paso, TX(2):

Stanford 8-4, 6-3(3rd PAC 12 North)

Wins: vs. San Diego State(31-10), vs. USC(17-3), vs. UC-Davis(30-10), at Oregon(38-31), at Arizona State(20-13), vs. Oregon State(48-17), at UCLA(49-42), at California(23-13)

Losses: at Notre Dame(17-38), vs. Utah(21-40), vs. Washington State(38-41), at Washington(23-27)

Record vs. bowl teams: 4-4

The big story here is just how much of a non-factor that Bryce Love was much of the season. Love only ran for 739 yards after dazzling for 2,118 last year. On one hand, that helps Stanford cope without Love heading into the Sun Bowl. On the other hand, it did limit an offense that was a more prolific passing game that it has been since Andrew Luck was in Palo Alto.

For a team usually noted for defense, this had to be a pretty disappointing season on that side of the ball. Stanford allowed more than 30 points five times. Four of those were 38 or more.

Pittsburgh 7-6, 6-3(1st ACC Coastal):

Wins: vs.Albany(33-7), vs.Georgia Tech(24-19), vs. Syracuse(44-37), vs. Duke(54-45), at Virginia(23-13), vs. Virginia Tech(52-22), at Wake Forest(34-13)

Losses: vs. Penn State(6-51), at North Carolina(35-38), at Central Florida(14-45), at Notre Dame(14-19), at Miami(FL)(3-24), vs. Clemson(10-42)

Record vs. bowl teams: 6-5

The only teams that didn’t make a bowl on Pitt’s schedule were Albany and North Carolina. The bad news is that they lost to a pretty awful 2-9 Tarheels team. The Pitt offense succeeded despite of QB Kenny Pickett, not because of him. RB Qadree Ollison was a great back when healthy. The emergence of Darrin Hall as a strong backup made this a formidable run game.

The trio of Maurice Ffrench, Taysir Mack, and Rafael Araujo-Lopes was a nice receiving tandem, but it felt like they could have been much better with stronger QB play.

Prediction:

K.J. Costello, often pegged as a game manager, was much more than that this season. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside became the playmaker in the Stanford offense. Cameron Scarlett showed promise for the future, but the glaring lack of a run game without Love is going to loom large in this game, especially considering the fact that teams that could run well gave the Panthers problems.

The Pitt running game is as good as any Stanford has faced this season. Pitt wont throw if they don’t have to, and they may not have to. The secondary is the strength of the defense, and will have to be to contain Arcega-Whiteside. At the very least, it feels like this spread is a bit too large, especially when I wouldn’t be at all shocked if Pitt won outright.

Pick: Pittsburgh

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!